Movie Review - Jodhaa Akbar

I wrote this back in February but never published it... Ooops.

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Let me preface this with the statement that I speak maybe a dozen words of Hindi. I know two phrases: "My name is ___." and "Bring one more beer please"


But I had some colleagues visiting from the US and I thought it would be a fun team even to take my Bangalore team out for a movie and dinner with them. I let the team pick the movie and this is the latest mega-hit, so we booked it even though the movie is nearly 4 hours long.

The stars Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai (I can't add the Bachchan to her name...I'm in denial) were stunning. When Hrithik hits the screen for the first time, all you see is his chin, and still the ladies in the audience started hooting and howling. Likewise when Aishwarya arrives, there was silence, then a hoot and a whistle. They are simply stunning on the big screen.

Filmed all over north India's desert in Rajastan at lovely old forts and palaces, the scenery is amazing. Some of the interior shots are similarly breathtaking.

The story itself is one big 4-hour tease. You just can't believe it takes 3 hours for this couple to actually hook up. So much taunting and teasing and then denial. Painful to watch.

As with most Hindi films there are the requisite 5 songs and two fights. In this case, though, there are some truly captivating musical scenes, especially the Sufi scene.

I can't wait for the DVD to come out so I can see it again with English subtitles. The cinematography won't be nearly as impressive on my little TV, but I bet I'll still like it.