Review: Zee TV's Jodha Akbar

Jodha Akbar

The pre-requisite of a historical biopic is that there should be a quaint flavour. In Zee TV’s Jodha Akbar (Balaji Telefilms) there may be ancient palaces and historic battles being re-created but the antique touch seems to be just on the exterior. This soul of the serial lacks the archaic touch. Agreed that Producer Ekta Kapoor’s team has travelled the lengths and breaths of India and has researched extensively for this biopic but somehow the vast historical research hasn’t been fused in with the fictional element with subtle artistry.

The serial had an opening which did not really seem to have any connection with the historic theme of the show. Why were the opening shots of idols of various Hindi Gods and Goddesses in a contemporary set up? Jodha (Paridhi Sharma) in the series is shown as a princess in the ancient city of Amer.

The shift to the contemporary tourist spot of Akbar Ka Makbara was relevant though as the intention was to show that the spirits of Jodha and Emperor Akbar (Rajat Tokas) are still alive four hundred years after their demise, which we did like.

The map of India which was laid out with places marked in Urdu was quite innovative but the mainstream viewers who are unfamiliar with the Urdu alphabet and familiar with the Devanagari alphabet will not be able to decipher it.

We did like the topic chosen as the prime focus of the show- of the courageous and ruthless Emperor Akbar being transformed to a kind and benevolent king and a better ruler with great appreciation for art, culture and love for his people by his dear wife Jodha.

Many of us have already seen Ashutosh Gowariker’s movie Jodha Akbar starring Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai. Had this serial trodden down the same route, those who have already watched the movie may have had no interest whatsoever in watching the TV series. The serial re-tells the same story in a totally different way which is its USP.

Ekta seems to be spoon feeding her viewers in the biopic. The omniscient narrator over-explains thereby killing suspense. Why should the narrator mouth the reasons behind the happenings and what is going on in people’s minds? Maybe the same could have been implicitly conveyed through dialogues. Also the first episode ended with a seemingly cruel grin playing on Akbar’s lips. Did that had to be done to indicate that Akbar is pitiless? Why does Ekta have to be so explicit? Doesn’t art lie in concealing art?

The battle scenes were done well. The scenes in the Rajput palace were also fairly good with relaxing and less somber scenes which included chirpy girl talk. The striking contrast between Akbar and Jodha’s worlds were thereby beautifully conveyed.

Coming to the performances, all actors have put in sincere hard work but it seems that they could have been given better directions. Of course, Jodha is shown as a vivacious and chirpy princess who defies norms which she considers irrelevant, but somehow the dignified grandeur in her doesn’t come out all that well in the process. Whereas in Sony Entertainment Television’s Maharana Pratap, Rajshree Thakur and Aashka Goradia play majestic queens very gracefully. Aishwarya Rai too had blended the gracefulness of a queen and the strength and sweetness of a woman quite well in the movie.

The story and dialogues are satisfactory but could have been even better. Once again, the ancient feel isn’t coming out vividly through the dialogues.

Cinematography in television historicals is improving with passing day. We quite liked the various kinds of scenes starting from the battle to the palace sequences being shot against various colours and hues of the moody sky at different times of the day.

The costumes, jewellery and makeup are good but somehow seem to lack the finesse of the way the same has been done on Maharana Pratap. In the latter show, this has executed with better artistry which makes the kings and queens look very graceful. The art direction in Jodha Akbar is grand and good but could have been better.

The songs played in the serial where somewhat jarring and too modern. The sound effects of the battle scenes were satisfactory.

To sum up… Jodha Akbar has opened on an average note and needs sprucing up. We do hope that the love saga is explored with subtle artistry.

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PallaviBhattacharya's picture

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Submitted by PallaviBhattacharya on Wed, 06/19/2013 - 18:20

Comments

shaista khan's picture

Why ekta is ruinning akbar's character.he was a very gud emperor.ekta stop telling rubbish story in form of jodha akbar as we all knw what really akbar was.........its a total fake history......
AISHANI's picture

Also the selection of actors by Ms. Ekta Kapoor isn't paying off... Paridhi looks older than Rajat, and Rajat appears to be a truant schoolboy of 17, despite his clothes and get up. Natasha Sinha should've been allotted the role of a Muslim noblewoman, because she had carried it off with elan in Shivaji. Her voice doesn't suit the needs of a Rajput Queen. Even Raja Bharmal is disappointing. Although one does not want to, constant comparisons do emerge with the film version, where the characters were stronger... in terms of appearance. Plus, the camera movements are making this biopic a bit melodramatic, and constant background score is drawing it towards the saas-bahu league. Maharana Pratap is faring better because of the cinematography, the camera shots and the general ambiance created by the characters, costumes, script, dialogue. As for the dialogues, it seems as though the Rajasthani accent is being carelessly used, and so is the Urdu accent. Dialogues are the most important aspect of any form of narration, and if they are unappealing, the whole narration might fall flat. Jodhaa Akbar is unfortunately not being able to recreate the era, as Tellychakkar's article has rightly pointed out. Ms. Kapoor and her team should take extra care to bring a sense of dignified grandeur into the biopic. Mercenary plots like Akbar losing his jutis can be replaced with something heavier and more dignified, that will bring out Akbar's nature as Ms. Kapoor wants to. In other words, quite a bit of tweaking will have to be done in order to bring the serial into the same league as Maharana Pratap, or even make it better.
Kauser Usmani's picture

This serial is all lies. Aimed to spread hatred among different communities in India. Showing totally wrong image of Akbar the Great. It should not be aired. Both Ekta Kapoor and Zee TV are loosing is credibility by airing this nonsense
Khushdeep kaur's picture

Haters will hate , but they both look awesome together.
shaista khan's picture

O plss kya esa koi record he ki akbar raah chalte ladkiyon ko utha le jata tha.ye kya research kia he balaji ne??????akbar was very humble kind n overall wo aurton ko bht respect deta tha.pls ye show band karo.
Samy's picture

people who will watch this show will be either uneducated or dumb. Ekta kapoor has totally distorted everything. I do not think it is worth watching. Pull it off.
tejeshwar singh's picture

This serial is a foolish serial with wrong and fake story in this story there is all false story about jodha.the serial crew is just having fake story.in rajput we will cut head but not you our pleasure to any one and in this serial akbar will catch any rajputs wife and her husband ran is a fake story,in my opinion this serial should be closed.i am myself a rajput.
AdiS's picture

I was looking forward to this soap but was extremely disappointed with the person chosen to play Akbar. Why does he hiss and speak. He looks and acts very artificial. The story also seems very untrue since history has always portrayed Akbar as a great Mughal emperor and very empathetic. Change the story line and Akbar if you want the soap to succeed.
rehanica 's picture

jodha akbar is really a nice show rajat tokas who is playing d role of akbar is just perfect who said to replace him just go to hell only he is d person who is giving his best he is better den hrritik roshan
jeevitha's picture

i think Rajat has done better than Hrithik acting doesn't mean only voice facial expression and body language also plays an important role,. Any way for your information he is just 18 or 19 year old boy we all like his acting i don't think so any one can replace him for this role

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