Jodha Akbar in the eye of the storm

AS IF there weren’t enough problems for Jodha Akbar director Ashutosh Gowarikar that one more has cropped up and this time around it’s the toughest.

A Rajput community in Rajasthan has begun its string of protests against the release of the film in their state and has threatened to disrupt screenings if their warnings are ignored.

The Bachchans have been majorly affected by the controversy. The Karni Sena, a Rajput community that is spearheading a campaign against the release of this historical romance, shouted slogans against the lead pair in front of the hotel where the Bachchans had come to celebrate Abhishek’s birthday. Abhishek is shooting there for his film Dilli 6, and Amitabh, Jaya and wife Aishwarya had flown down to celebrate at a party with close friends. But the party was cancelled due to Amitabh’s illness and the protest which followed.

Apart from dealing with Amitabh’s ill health, the family had to tackle the huge protest outside their hotel. The group of protesters burnt posters of the film and tried to forcefully enter the hotel, but the police and hotel staff prevented them. The Karni Sena is opposing the film’s release as they feel Gowarikar has distorted facts about the relationship between Mughal emperor Jalaluddin Akbar and Rajput princess Jodhabai in the magnum opus.

The Rajput community says that Gowarikar is presenting Jodhabai as Akbar's wife, which is factually incorrect. According to them, Jodhabai was not the daughter of Raja Bharmal of Amber. Motaraja Udai Singh of Marwar was her father and she was married to Akbar's son Salim. And Mughal king Shahjahan was her son.

Jodha Akbar though has been passed by the censors and will carry a UA certificate because of some violent war scenes. Ashutosh has also been asked to carry a disclaimer on the various names of Jodhabai and asked to retain only the name Jodhabai. Some historians say that she was called Harkhabai, Shai Bai and Man Mati, but Ashutosh clarified that he consulted the royal family of Jaipur who gave him the clearance to use the name Jodha.

Ashutosh has also been asked to carry an additional disclaimer stating that the historical facts shown in the film are just one version of history and there may be another version. But despite all these efforts, the activists from Karni Sena haven’t decided to watch the film before deciding that the facts have been distorted.

After a back problem, issues with a music company and delays, the last thing Ashutosh needed was protests against the screenings of his film, which is to release in a week’s time. Hrithik though is not shaken by the developments in the last few days, but he is a little upset. “It’s not fair to judge a film without seeing it. How can you protest without knowing the content? Those who are doing this are only looking for importance. I don’t think this will go to the extent of screenings being disrupted. I’m sure once they see the movie, they’ll fall in love with it,” he says.

Courtesy: Khaleejtimes.com