Hrithik or Aamir in Telugu remake?

The producers of Hindi Ghajini – Allu Aravind and Madhu Mantena – are considering a remake of the Ram Charan Teja starrer Maghadeera in Hindi. The duo are reportedly working on it and trying to obtain the dates of Aamir Khan and Hrithik Roshan, sources say.


Speaking to the IANS, Mantena said, “Yes Allu Aravind and I are remaking Magadheera in Hindi. As for the cast, it’s too early to talk about it. But Magadheera is definitely being planned to be bigger than Ghajini”


It is worth a mention here that in the original, Ram Charan Teja played a dual role, while in the remake two different heroes are being roped in. Wonder what the producers have in mind.






Courtesy: behindwoods.com

Jodhaa Akbar rocks music awards

Almost 80 years after W M Khan sang De de khuda ke naam pe for India's first talking picture Alam Ara in 1931, and made the lives of 

Bipasha sizzles to Jawani Jaane Mann. (TOI Photo) More Pictures

millions of Indians moremusical, a special award has been instituted for the Bollywood music industry by Radio Mirchi 98.3 FM. The first Tata Indicom Mirchi Music Awards were announced at Hotel Taj Lands End in Bandra on Saturday evening. (Watch )

Holding the golden trophy fashioned as female figurine, host Shaan emerged singing from amidst the audience, encouraged by co-host Tulip Joshi. As was the case at the Filmfare Awards, A R Rahman and Jodhaa Akbar swept the honours here too, bagging song of the year for Jashn-e-bahara and best male vocalist for Javed Ali for the same song.

Bela Shende, who was Shreya Ghoshal's rival at a talent hunt many years ago, came out tops with Manmohana for Jodhaa Akbar. A R Rahman struck gold with album of the year for Jaane Tu... and best music director for Kabhi Kabhi Aditi. Aptly, the lifetime achievement award was presented to singer Lata Mangeshkar for never having hit a wrong note in her life, as Bade Ghulam Ali Khan once said.

Interestingly, as many newcomers took the stage as veteran names in the business. Upcoming talents Dominique Cerejo and Benny Dayal shared space with veteran saxophonist and music arranger Manohari Singh. A spectacular lineup of performances by Bipasha Basu, Shreya Ghoshal, Genelia DSouza and Kunal Ganjawala punctuated the ceremony. In a spontaneous competition for music directors present at the awards, Javed Akhtar gave them an 'unmusical' verse to compose on IPL and the general elections.

Weeks before the actual awards ceremony, the jury met to deliberate the list of nominations and then the winners. Jury chairman Javed Akhtar along with Prasoon Joshi, Louis Banks, Shankar Mahadevan, Annu Malik, Lalit Pandit, Kavita Krishnamurthy, Sonu Nigam, Kailash Kher, Suresh Wadkar, Sadhana Sargam, Kunal Kohli, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra and Ramesh Sippy listened to 400-500 songs as they shortlisted the nominees to the 17 categories.

One of the award categories was branded the Tata Indicom Talent Hunt for which aspiring singers from 23 locations in India had been invited to compete. Contest winner Prachi Shah from Ahmedabad performed at Saturday's awards ceremony.

The title sponsor of the Mirchi Music Awards is Tata Indicom. The channel partner is Star TV and the online partner is Apnacircle.com.

And the winners are... 

Song Of The Year
Jashn-e-Bahara | Jodhaa Akbar

Album Of The Year
A R Rahman | Jaane Tu...

Male Vocalist Of The Year
Javed Ali | Jashn-e-Bahara, Jodhaa Akbar

Female Vocalist Of The Year
Bela Shende | Manmohana, Jodhaa Akbar

Music Director Of The Year
A R Rahman | Jaane Tu...

Lyricist Of The Year
Javed Akhtar | Jashn-e-Bahara, Jodhaa Akbar

Upcoming Male Vocalist Of The Year

Benny Dayal | Kaise Mujhe, Ghajini

Upcoming Female Vocalist Of The Year
Dominique Cerejo | Ye Tumhari, Rock On!

Upcoming Music Director Of The Year
Dhruv Ghanekar | Drona

Upcoming Lyricist Of The Year
Ashok Mishra | Welcome to Sajjanpur

Technical Award For Song Mixing
LATE H Shridhar | Jodhaa Akbar

Technical Award For Programming and Arranging
TR Krishna Chetan | Jashn-e-Bahara, Jodhaa Akbar

Technical Award For Film Background Score
AR Rahman | Jodhaa Akbar

Tata Indicom Mirchi Listeners Choice Song Of The Year

Kabhi kabhi aditi | Jaane Tu...

Tata Indicom Mirchi Listeners Choice Album Of The Year
Jaane Tu... YA Jaane NA

Jury's Salute For Memorable Contribution To Music
Manohari Singh | Saxophonist

Lifetime Achievement Award
Lata Mangeshkar

Courtesy:

Rakeysh Mehra ready with 'Dilli 6'

The public may be expecting a lot from 'Dilli 6', from the maverick director Rakeysh Mehra after the super success of his first film 'Rang De Basanti'.

The lead roles are played by Abhishek Bachan and Sonam Kapoor. The shooting was wrapped up last Friday. The film mostly shot in Rajasthan now enters the post production stage.

Sonam Kapoor will be hoping the film to be a big success after the bad fate of her first film 'Saawariya'.

Mehra had to spend much time to find the hero of this film. He had tried to get Hrithik Roshan for the main man, but eventually zeroed in for Abhishek. Sonam Kapoor is quite lucky to be cast as the heroine as a hit can do wonders for her in the B-town.

Rakeysh Mehra was not without his share of worries as his first assistant director during the shooting had to move out to U.S. due to personal reasons.

Aamir khan after knowing about Rakeysh's crisis wanted to be his assistant but could not because of his dates being taken by 'Gajini'. So Kiran Rao, Aamir's wife and an assistant director in 'Lagaan' went ahead and helped Mehra.

Rayeksh Mehra has been very much impressed by Kiran's work and was heard praising her work and initiative during his crisis.

Courtesy: Indiaglitz.com

Jodha Akbar is 2008’s blockbuster

Bollywood Magnum Opus, Jodha Akbar has swept box office collections netting over Rs 120 crore worldwide since one month of its release. The epic tale of love between emperor Akbar and his Rajput wife Jodha Bai has made 90 crores in India and the rest, abroad. With these box office figures it has become truly the first real blockbuster of 2008.


Riding high on the marvelous performance of Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai under the able direction of Ashuthosh Gowariker (Of Lagaan and swadesh fame), the movie has captured the imagination of audiences’ worldwide. The movie is the second time the hit pair of Aishwarya and Hrithik have starred together since last year’s hit Dhoom-2. Released over 25 countries, Jodha Akbar has been dubbed into Tamil and Telegu and subtitled into English, Dutch, and Arabic.

Talking about the film’s box office response, Director of UTV Motion Pictures and co-producer of the film Siddharth Roy Kapur said, “The response ‘Jodhaa Akbar’ has received not only in India but worldwide by both critics and viewers is worth all the hard work. ‘Jodhaa Akbar’ is an epic not merely by virtue of the timeless story it tells, but also because of the tremendous tribulations its creation entailed. In fact, the film is a standing monumental testament to Oscar nominated director Ashutosh Gowariker’s vision and commitment. To complement Ashutosh Gowariker’s efforts are power-packed performances by Hrithik and Aishwarya.”

The movie had faced bans in several Indian states due to opposition by various communal groups who wished to fan sentiments against the story line of the romance between a Muslim emperor and his Hindu wife. But ultimately the freedom of expression triumphed.

Jodha akbar has the distinction of being one among the highest grossing Hindi movies ever in its opening weekend with 25 core plus netting in India and 35 crore plus abroad. In India alone, the film released in nearly 1000 screens of which 400 were through digital cinemas. The scale of its release makes ‘Jodhaa Akbar’ the biggest ever release for an Indian film till date, according to company sources.
Courtesy:

Rahman – The January Secret.

The month of January seems to turn the Musical Wizard on; there is a special connection between Rahman and January. Whenever he has had an album or a movie release in January it has for sure gone on to rock the charts for months, maybe an entire year altogether. Not impressed, well then the last three Januaries (2006, 2007 & 2008) have been nothing but Rahman, not in Kollywood but definitely so in Bollywood.

2006 - On the 26th of January, the movie Rang De Basanti released. Now if you have not heard Rang De Basanti (which is quite close to impossible) then you possibly do not know that Rahman is very close to the best in India when it comes to delivering high energy Punjabi numbers. The Rang De Basanti song which had Daler Mehendi in full throttle with the desi drums for company pumped adrenalin into the farthest corners of our body. Then there was the ‘Paathshala’ which might be called the ‘School of Rock/Rap’ for Indian film music, something never heard or tired before. Then Khalbali with the distinct Arabic feel that made you want to dance. And of course, there were the signature Rahman melodies, Roobaroo (the song that unearthed Naresh Iyer) and Tu Bin Bataayein that left a lump in your throat- January 2006.

2007 - We need not tell you what was unleashed in January 2007. For the ones not so fortunate with their memory- Guru. Another Mani Ratnam-Rahman combo that gave us everything that we needed for our hearing pleasures. Maiya Maiya, again an Arabic touch but very cleverly tweaked to suit our tastes. But then this was just the average part of an album that had two lilting melodies- Tere Bina and Aye Hairathe, the latter especially making us linger on in the sweet symphony of Hariharan’s voice as it blended with the subtly used tables. Not to forget the thundering background music that gave us the thrill.

2008- The music is just catching on in some parts of India but Rahman has definitely scored a hat-trick of hits in successive Januaries. Jodha-Akbar has sealed the love story of Rahman and January (Jodha Akbar Music was released in January). It may not be the ‘first time love’ kind of songs but Rahman has given one of the finest albums in recent times. Jashn-e-Bahara is definitely the most ‘melting melody’ that has come out since Aie Hairathe- the perfect use of Sonu Nigam’s sweet voice. ‘In Lamhon Ke Daaman’ too makes us lose ourselves in layers of finely crafted sound. But the cake is really taken by the instrumental versions where the flute replaces the vocals-mesmerizing. And for the thrill, hear Azeem-o-shaan shahenshah with its resounding drums.

So, what’s for January 2009- we cannot wait.

Courtesy: behindwoods.com

Tamil Jodha Akbar bombs badly

The Tamil regional dubbed release of Hrithik Roshan-Aishwarya Rai starrer Jodha Akbar has proven to be a disaster for UTV. The film has bombed even though past Hindi films have done good business in the state in their dubbed versions.

It was released in 8 theaters in Chennai. But there have been reports of Jodhaa Akbar having been taken off after matinee show itself on opening day due to lack of audience and replaced with 10,000 BC a Hollywood release this week which has open to over 95% response.


Given the dubbing costs and print costs, JA's local version will prove to be a big loser.

Courtesy: Ibosnetwork.com

'Jodhaa Akbar' now in Tamil

Ashutosh Gowariker’s magnum opus 'Jodhaa Akbar', starring Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai, after having impressed the hindi-speaking audience, would now be released in Tamil.

The music for the film is by maestro A.R. Rahman, who has come out with some grand numbers. The Tamil lyrics have been written by Na. Muthukumar. The audio, that has been released recently, is doing well, say sources.


The film has turned out to be a super-hit, especially in the overseas market where it is doing terrific business aided by favourable reviews from the foreign press. The domestic revenue too has been above average considering that the film has not been released in Rajasthan and has been banned in Madhya Pradesh and certain other areas.

The Hindi version, released two weeks back, has so far collected 65 lakhs from Chennai alone. This is indeed quite a feat, considering the film’s running time of 3 hours and 30 minutes.

However, UTV is planning to release a more tightly-edited version. The dubbed version would be released across Tamil Nadu on 6th of March.

Courtesy: Msn.com

MP High Court Gives Clearence To ‘Jodhaa Akbar’

Finally, Madhya Pradesh High Court has wiped out the ban on ‘Jodha Akbar’s’ exhibition across the state.

Siddharth Roy Kapur, UTV Motion Pictures director said, “The Madhya
Pradesh High Court has ruled in favour of UTV and we are commencing the
screening of Jodhaa Akbar immediately across the state. This is a huge
boost to all advocates of creative freedom in our country, and we are
very grateful to the court for recognising the validity of our stand
and allowing Jodhaa Akbar to resume screenings.”

Right from the outset, Gowariker’s Jodhaa Akbar has been bounded by
arguments, and turned an issue of abhorrence for the Rajputs.

The Rajputs said that Ashutosh Gowariker has hurt their feelings and
they felt that the movie maker has low them by picturing wrong concepts
and has exploited Indian history.

Despite being prohibited in Rajasthan, Ambala and parts of Gujrat and
Bihar, the movie also confronted temporary postponement in MP
accompanying protest against it by the Rajput community at cinema
houses.

This made UTV move the MP High Court to receive order revoked leading to their final win.

While talking about the HC decision issued, Ashutosh greeted the judgment with relief and respect for the High Court verdict.

He said, “The film portrays love between two cultures and religions
through a marriage of alliance between a Mughal emperor and a Rajput
princess. This is an alliance that took place 450 years ago; an
alliance that we need to respect, admire and learn from even today. He
also adds that a disclaimer had been inserted at the start of the film
saying that the film is a work of fiction and it draws from history but
at the same time it is not the exact representation of it and there can
be other viewpoints.”

Courtesy: topnews.in

Jodhaa Akbar on NDTV’s The Big Fight

Yes, I caught a little TV last night. A little less sleep as well! Was actually sitting down to watch my favourite shows on Star - Seinfeld & Friends, when I saw Ashutosh Gowarikar on the telly. I stopped, wondering how it had got this far. Very interesting actually. There was a panel that comprised film folk (Gowarikar, Farooque Shaikh, Sudhir Mishra, a fairly pansy Komal Nahata & another film critic), a lady historian, and the root cause of all the trouble in Rajasthan a certain Mr. karni (described as the patron(!) of the karni sena).

Some excerpts:

karni was ranting about his problem actually being with the depiction of Jodha Bai as Akbar’s wife when she was actually his daughter in law. He found that offensive & disparaging to the Rajputs. I wonder if that was actually the motivation behind it, but if it was I thought fair point. Until I heard Nahata speak. Nahata said that the movie had been in the making for 2 years, that the name had been in the offing for 5 months before the release of the movie. Why did the karni sena have to wait for the release to protest? Hmmm… Interesting.

Nahata also pointed out that none of the protests in Rajasthan were peaceful requests to cinema owners. He rattled off names & locations of various cinemas in Rajasthan & Madhya Pradhesh where the owners have said that they are scared as they’ve been told politely that their cinemas will be burned down if they screen the film. At this point Farooque Shaikh (ever the gentleman) asked whether this was a lawful form of protest. Why could they not go through the Indian Legal system, the courts instead of protesting in such barbaric ways?

The anchor (can’t seem to recall his name) pointed out that the legal system takes about 30 years to resolve a case & by that time the movie will have influenced crores of people. To which Farooque quietly said something to this effect, “If Rajput history hasn’t been hurt in 700 years, what difference could another few years possibly make?”! Hmmm… Very Interesting.

Mr. karni was making some noises in totally unintelligible English about the future possibility of Indira Gandhi being potrayed as Gandhiji’s daughter. The anchor then asked Ashutosh if he felt that he had an additional responsibility since he was making a movie on historical figures. Ashutosh (& the historian lady) agreed. Ashutosh said that he had spoken to the current Raja & Rani of the Kachchawa dynasty of Jaipur before he made the film & as part of his research, as Jodha belonged to their family. He stated that he had narrated his script to them & that they’d given him the go ahead with both the depiction of Rajputs in the film AND the name Jodha (as that was what they too believed her name to be, from among the plethora of names she is referred to by historians)! I’m assuming the right-wing brigade is now going to label this royal family of Jaipur, traitors & pseudo-hindus (HOW I ABHOR that term!)

At this point some of the film folk asked how many no-objection certificates should a film-maker obtain? In response to a later suggestion by an audience member, the historian lady also said that she “didn’t think it was practical”. A film-maker approaches the censor board for a certificate. Nowadays they apparently approach the animal welfare board for a certificate too. Ashutosh does his research very well, consulting Jodha’s descendants besides a variety of historians, yet he must strive for another few NOC’s! Farooque (by now the legal eagle) said that the right way of lodging a protest is to ask the censor board to step into court. Let them fight the case, why should the film-maker be constantly bothered?

A valid question came from the anchor again: What if someone makes a film deliberately tampering with history? Would the filmy panel still back his creative license?

Sudhir Mishra then gave the example of the despicable mee nathuram godse boltoay. He said that to him Gandhiji was the greatest son that India produced. He said that to him the very idea of the aforementioned (can’t bring myself to type out that name again!) play is anathema. He said he “abhors” it. Yet he will stand up for the playwright’s right to write & show it. This is the “bleddy” problem with moderates I think!

A few things that I’d like to say here:

What is the function of a sena? Debate? Obviously not. Then why are they being given an ear to?

I’ve said this here as well & I’m saying it again. One thing that these jokers don’t realise is that their protests are in vain. They’ve blown this thing out of proportion. Ashutosh is suddenly on prime-time television, talking about his movie. He’s not spending a rupee on promoting it on movie & music channels. Instead he’s part of a panel discussion to discuss his movie! WOW! The added curiosity will send more people to the cinemas. Despite the movie playing only 3 shows instead of 4, despite it not being shown in Rajasthan & now in MP (both despicable BJP states), the movie has made almost the same amount of money as the other box-office winner. Add two more states & it will easily overtake that crappy piece of film-making!

Instead, if they’d protested quietly, like the Opus Dei did to The Da Vinci Code, people wouldn’t have branded them as barbarians & would’ve heard their voice. The Opus Dei, after the movie had run it’s course, was quietly featured in the Indian Express & all doubts were dispelled about it’s beliefs. No harm done to them. But like I’ve said before, the Christian community in India is the model of good behaviour. Now I’ll be called everything from a “pseudo” (UTTERLY LAUGHABLE TERM, NEED A NEW NAME!) to a missionary to a church-agent! :-D

Anyway, over to the awam…


Courtesy: Mutiny.in

What ails Gowariker’s portrait of a lady?

Two years ago, Mughal-e-Azam, the K Asif classic, had a second innings. In style. It burst into colour, enjoyed nostalgic reviews and headed for the UK and the US. The 2008 film, Jodhaa-Akbar, is headed — nowhere. Madhya Pradesh and Bihar followed Rajasthan in banning it. For the first time, perhaps, historical validity has become the mainstay of a film controversy.

Jodha, who existed more in folk memory than between the covers of history books, first made her silver screen debut as Akbar’s wife in Mughal-e-Azam, which was released without a disclaimer. No one raised a stink — then. “It probably affronts the contemporary consciousness of Rajput society which is imbued with Hindu consciousness today, irrespective of what happened or did not happen in the past,” reasons Bhagawan Josh, a history professor in JNU. If story telling is an art, that art has its politics.


During the genre’s heyday, till the 1960s, historicals have ridden on artistic licence. Recent films like Subhash Chandra Bose and Gandhi My Father, raised the heckles from few corners. Mangal Pandey (2005), whose bravery has always been contentious, drew some flak. The film even saw unknown local groups like Mangal Pandey Suraksha Samiti spring up. Says Sharmistha Gooptu, editor of Revisiting 1857: Myth, Memory and History, “Though 1857 has been the subject of seven films, only Mangal Pandey created a furore.” Jodhaa though has been the queen of controversy. Why? One explanation is, as Josh says: “Women are the social skin of a community.”

It’s in the plot

Historicals, from the very first feature film, Raja Harischandra (1913), have always been an important genre of Indian cinema. They have mostly had Mughal and Rajput themes.

The problem lies not so much in the script as in the immediate socio-political context, feels Ira Bhaskar, professor of cinema studies in JNU. Mahboob Khan’s Humayun (1945) was about the emperor’s relation with his Rajput sister. “Historicals, though set in the past, always addressed contemporary issues. In 1945, when Partition seemed imminent, this film tried to put forward the message of Hindu-Muslim amity. The focus of the film was not Humayun’s love interest but his Rajput sister,” she explains. So the mootpoint is that the controversy is tailored to suit political needs.

Space for imagination

K Asif might have had it easy but directors today know that they have to do their homework more so to ward off hungry wannabe politicos. Director Santosh Sivan consulted historians for Asoka but the film was criticised for showing Kaurvaki as the reason for Asoka’s Buddhist turn. But then as Bhaskar points out, “The hallmark of historicals has always been the combining of the romantic with the political.”

Shyam Benegal, whose Subhash Chandra Bose faced criticism for showing that Bose married an Australian without ‘proof,’ says, “There is a lot of pressure to get the facts right, which is why filmmakers never flout well-known facts.” Commenting on Jodhaa, Sudhir Mishra, director of Khoya Khoya Chand says,“Gowariker said that he ‘imagined responsibly’. There should always be space for imagination in History.” Historians are not spewing venom. “There was no need for Gowariker to meet historians. Facts are not necessary to bring out historical truth. That Jodha didn’t exist is a fact but the historical truth is Mughals had matrimonial alliances with Rajputs. Mughal-e-Azam might be factually wrong but brings out the contradiction of the times between power and love,”says Josh.

If the filmmaker has done his homework and historians not very unhappy, then who is at the source of the entire hullabaloo? The average moviegoer?

Shah Nadeem, a lecturer at Delhi’s Zakir Hussain College, who went to see the film reacted thus: “I was pleasantly surprised to see the kind of historical detail that went into the film. In Akbarnama, Abul Fazal refers to the emperor’s spiritual experience under a tree after which he gave himself the title of Insaan-e-Kamil. This is depicted onscreen as Akbar dancing to the song Khwaja Mere Khwaja in a trance. That apart, the killing of Aadam Khan by throwing him off twice from the pulpit, Akbar’s fascination to tame mad elephants are all historical facts. Of course, it’s all in filmy style but that’s ok.”

Which brings us to the same question, if not the audience, who do the shrill voices of protest belong to? Observes psephologist Yoginder Yadav, “With politics taking a communitarian turn, and with the young and infantile visual media looking for issues that are easy to turn into a story, the trouble makers are making merry.” Filmmakers too agree. Says Mishra, “There are too many vested groups in India. Who were these people before they started protesting?” Says Benegal: “Such protestors would want us to keep making fairytales so that they can use them to launch their political careers.”

Guiding history

But what about the lady in question? Says Najaf Haider, a professor of medieval history at JNU: “The whole concept of Jodha probably came into being in the 19th century from the stories of the tourist guides. They have a tremendous burden of narrating a story about each monument they show and often make up stories to fill gaps.” According to him, all three references to Akbar’s Rajput wife — in Abul Fazal’s Akbarnama when the Rajput marriage proposal comes, when Akbar gives her the title of Marian Zamani, and in Jahangir’s autobiography, Tuzuk-I-Jahangiri referring to his mother’s death — mentions no name. “But the fact that the Jodhpur princely house came into existence in the 17th century rules out the name Jodha in 16th century, when Akbar ruled,” says Haider.

Maximum mileage

With Bollywood emerging as a major newsmaker, these protests have become the easy way to hog limelight. Is there a solution to this problem? “To call the bluff of the protestors one should deal with it like a law and order issue. One tends to blame the people but it’s the politicians who are trying to make some capital out of it. It’s the most publicly displayable stunt at little cost,” Dipankar Gupta, the author of Interrogating Identity. Yadav puts his finger on the political pulse.

“One phenomenon that has been documented is that community identities are invented and discovered in the arena of politics through symbolism. Such protests should be seen in that context, and in Rajasthan with elections around the corner it’s all too obvious.”

Courtesy: hindustantimes.com

Hattrick for Aishwarya Rai and Hrithik Roshan with Jodha Akbar ?

Will Jodha Akbar / Jodhaa Akbar prove third time lucky in openings for Bollywood queen Aishwarya Rai and the superman Hrithik Roshan. The magical duo has already proved their magic in Dhoom 2 .

Aishwarya Rai ’s great run started with Guru opposite now husband Abhishek Bachchan and continued with Dhoom 2 where she lip-locked opposite Bollywood hunk Hrithik. And again with Jodha Akbar, can Aishwarya prove her worth ! Her Hollywood movies Pink Panther 2 and Singularity are still in post production but we doubt if the beauty queen needs to go back to Hollywood any more.


Hrithik Roshan has been magical right from his first movie Kaho Na Pyar Hain in his home production (Papa Rakesh Roshan ’s). And could deliver box office magic only in home productions which included science fantasy Koi Mil Gaya and sequel Krrish. But Hrithik has now three back to back Bollywood hits and much like Akshay Kumar and Shahrukh Khan, he is among the most dependable stars today.

But due credit for Jodha Akbar goes to the Oscar nominated director Ashutosh Gowarikar for this epic movie. Not all historical movies work well in Bollywood as proved by Umrao Jaan ( Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan) and Mangal Pandey [corrected: thanks natalia] (Aamir Khan, Rani Mukherjee).

Jodhaa Akbar already earned Rs. 25 crores over the weekend all over India and is doing great abroad. The movie started slow but is already picking up in box office numbers. The controversies in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh are still on. But as we have seen in the past, controversies help the movies to stay in the headlines and help box office statistics. Question remains if it can recover the huge investment and be declared a hit.

Courtesy: cityupdates.com

I'm happy with the response: Ashutosh Gowariker

Filmmaker Ashutosh Gowariker said he was careful in preserving Rajput pride and dignity while making the period drama Jodhaa Akbar starring Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai.

Excerpts of an interview:

Having made a film that does history proud, how do you feel about these sporadic protests?
You hit the nail on the head. These are sporadic incidents that appear much larger than they really are. While making the film, I did my best to go by the book. I consulted the best historians and went through the most rigorous research.

And there are different names used for Akbar's wife, Jodha being one of them. In fact, there's a disclaimer about the Rajput queen's name in the beginning of the film and to see that, the protestors have to see the film.

Most protests in our country are premature and based on insubstantial evidence.
Well, I want to say to people in the country and abroad that I've done deep research. Even the secondary characters like Shariffuddin, Bairam Khan and Mahamanga, which some critics have found filmy, are founded in history. That climactic combat between Akbar and Shariffuddin that I've shown really took place.

the trouble, do you think filmmakers should stay away from historicals?
No. We must make what we've to make, fearless of repercussions. I think you've to follow your heart. Of course, we must go back into the past, but after thorough research. I don't think there's any substitute for research. Since we're a multi-cultural and religious nation there're bound to be questions about historical movies.

We must be ready and equipped to handle these. I just hope more and more people come and see Jodhaa Akbar. The reports so far are very encouraging. What I want now is for the film to release in Rajasthan. Jodhaa Akbar belongs to Rajasthan. Let them see the movie.

Where did your imagination come in?
My imagination came in while describing what happened between Jodha and Akbar in the privacy of their chambers. There I had to get creative since no one knew what actually happened. That artistic licence apart, I haven't been jingoistic or fanciful in depicting history. In fact, I've been very careful in preserving Rajput pride and dignity.

Do you think the protests are politically motivated?
I wouldn't know. But it's a part of the Rajput community that's protesting against my film. So I've reason to believe the Rajputs are offended. I want to tell them that history books have given several names to the queen. I used the most popular of those names. But why focus on this issue? My intention was to show how the Rajputs made a difference to Mughal history.

Did you anticipate such loud protests?
Honestly, I did! After the release of Ketan Mehta's Mangal Pandey, there were protests about how he was depicted. So I feared this would happen.

Unlike my protagonists in Lagaan and Swades, Jodhaa and Akbar were real people. I delved into Rajput and Mughal history and prepared as much as I could. I also approached Jaipur royalty to get the facts, customs and traditions right.

And not once have you made Aishwarya Rai behave out of character!
Yes, I made sure of that. Only after the Jaipur royalty gave me the green signal to call my female protagonist Jodha did I proceed with my film. In anticipation of protests and controversies that are very much part of all our historical films, I decided to be very careful about historical detail.

Film personalities like Shyam Benegal and Raza Murad have hit out at the protesters.
I respect their opinion.

Courtesy: hindustantimes.com

Did Ashutosh Gowariker really hurt the Rajput Pride.

Well, the verdict is still not out on it. There were reports that the Hritik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai starrer Jodha Akbar has not portrayed history correctly. The movie has now been released in 26 countries.

And now after watching Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai sizzle in the Ashutosh Gowariker movie what do the people feel ? Some say it is an epic and some say it is entertaining. The movie has received a warm welcome on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. It is doing good business abroad. Back home in India, the state of Rajasthan has banned it. There is a demand to ban the movie in MP. Gujrat has seen some violence.


Ashutosh Gowariker says that he has done his homework correctly. He used the best possible research to make the movie. One cannot go back in history. As long as it does not hurt sentiments it should be fine. Finally movies are for entertainment and the certification board should decide before the release if a movie has crossed the lines or not. All the post release controversies just adds to more news articles like this.

Courtesy: Cityupdates.com

Jodha Akbar banned from Ambala, Haryana

Post the bomb blast in Maharashtra yesterday, the misfortune for Jodha Akbar continued up north in Haryana today. The film has now been removed from the Ambala district of Haryana effective Thursday.

Assorted groups had been protesting the film's release in Haryana, which is linked to a Hindu soldier turned leader Hemu. Hemu had won 22 battles in a row in mid-16th century, and for a brief period subdued the Mughal Empire out of power from Delhi. The locals believe he had been depicted incorrectly, and as an insulting caricature in Jodha Akbar.

The film had been screening in 2 prints in Ambala.

The loss adds to other centers where the screenings of the Hrithik Roshan - Aishwarya Rai Mughal saga has been evicted, led by from the state of Rajasthan.

Courtesy: Ibosnetwork.com

Box Office: Jodha Akbar opening falls 11 crores short; 2nd week advance

UTV software has claimed a Rs 38.5 crore opening weeked gross (including overseas) claim for Jodha Akbar, 25 crores of which they claim are India grosses. These, notwithstanding disputes, are decent, not historic recordbreaking opening numbers that was being expected for the mega budget epic.

Below are the opening weekend distributor worldwide gross figures for some high profile films of last year whose distributors released their weekend figures:

Salaam-E-Ishq - Rs. 50 crore (Eros)
Partner - Rs. 42 crore (Eros)
Heyy Baby - Rs 41 crore (Eros)
Jodha Akbar - Rs. 39 crore (UTV)
Jab We Met - Rs. 12 crore (UTV)

These figures again are distributor claims, not independently verified. At times, ticket sales have been believed to be much less than advertised claims.

Meanwhile advance booking for 2nd week for Jodha Akbar has opened to an underwhelming response again Except for south which is better on limited screenings, bookings in Mumbai stand at 25% for its 2nd Friday despite a blank open week with no releases. That is below average for 2nd week. For reference, the film is trending worse than Hrithik Roshan's last non-hit at the box office, Lakshya.

Moreover unlike Lakshya, the film is still recording 0 collections from Rajasthan and looks to be heading for a washout from that territory, which means a loss of upto 6-7 crores, including in part the other centers where the screenings were stopped.

Pirate CDs have also come out in the market and videos are available on the internet.

At best, Jodha Akbar looks to be an above average/average film and having been forced out of the northwest, if the collections in other parts of India don't turn upside over the coming week, it can still be heading towards emerging the first big budget flop of 2008, a major loss of a film many were hoping would set new box office milestones across India for years to come.

Courtesy: Ibosnetwork.com

Tata Elxsi`s visual effects for ‘Jodha Akbar`

Focused on providing world-class, quality animation (2D & 3D), special effects, and gaming services to customers world wide, VCL has combined creativity and technology for Jodha Akbar, producing realistic and breathtaking images and creating the much required glory of the splendid Mughal era

Visual Computing Labs (VCL), a division of Tata Elxsi Ltd announced that it has rendered the exclusive visual effects for the most awaited movie of the year ‘Jodha Akbar’. A whole year of post production and over one hundred artists from VCL helped make give this epic drama a large scale canvas that has till now not been seen in Indian cinema.


Focused on providing world-class, quality animation (2D & 3D), special effects, and gaming services to customers world wide, VCL has combined creativity and technology for Jodha Akbar, producing realistic and breathtaking images and creating the much required glory of the splendid Mughal era.

Pankaj Khandpur, Creative Director, Visual Computing Labs, Tata Elxsi said, “Ashutosh Gowarikar, the director and co-producer of Jodha Akbar, discussed the visual effects of the movie with Tata Elxsi way back in 2005. With world-class creative talent, a strong and experienced team of artists and advanced CG filmmaking technology and techniques, VCL has been able to create realistic battle sequences in the movie and restore the long lost splendour of the 16th century Mughal dynasty.”

“Our team spent many months prior to the shooting to just test the feasibility of doing the shots in CGI. A team of modellers and texture artists was put onto the job to digitally restore the forts and palaces to look like they did in the 16th century. Wherever the structures were badly ruined Tata Elxsi went in and completely rebuilt them in CGI, and then using high-resolution digital images texture mapped the structures to blend in seamlessly with the existing fort or palace,” he further added.

Over 200 shots were meticulously planned during pre production in computer-generated imagery (CGI) for the 3 battle sequences in the movie. Wherever the camera movement was complicated and the existing layers proved inadequate VCL built the soldiers in CGI using crowd duplication software.

Additionally, all the arrows were hand animated in CGI and put into the battle sequences. Large tracts of ground had to be cleared of all modern day traces, most apparent being tyre marks of vehicles. Dust was added digitally to enhance the feeling of scale to the battle sequences and then the ground was strewn with dead bodies and vultures in the sky all done in CGI to show the devastation after a heavy battle.

Courtesy: Indiainfoline.com

Mughal Descendent Ziauddin Tucy Says Jodha was Akbar´s wife

Criticising the controversy over the Bollywood movie 'Jodhaa Akbar, a descendent of Mughal Emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar, claimed that Akbar had indeed married Rajput Princess Jodha Bai and conferred the title of Malaika Maryem Zamanni Begum on her. In a statement in Hyderabad, Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar's great grandson Y Ziauddin Tucy said, "It is indeed a specimen of sheer gaucher that certain vested interests are unnecessarily creating trouble without judging the realities."


Emperor Akbar married Jodha Bai to strengthen his forces and to extend his empire's boundaries. The brave Rajputs not only proved their sincerity but they did everything to support the Mughal empire.

Not only Akbar, but Aurangzeb also married a Rajput princess, he claimed while releasing two copies of rare paintings of Emperor Akbar and Jodha Bai. The recently-released 'Jodhaa Akbar,' directed by Ashutosh Gowariker, has been mired in controversy after some Rajput organisations protested the depiction of Jodha as Akbar's wife. They claimed Jodha was married to Akbar's son Jehangir.

Courtesy: planetbollywood.com

Box Office: Jodha Akbar flops in large parts of India

Expected to rewrite box office history, Jodha Akbar at this point is hoping to not itself become history too soon at the box offices around the country. Driven physically out of Rajasthan, the film's commercial prospects elsewhere where it's allowed to screen vary from good in metros like Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Bangalore; to so so (Indore, Kolkata), to poor across Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Chattisgarh and Gujrat where it has flopped outright.


The much hyped, mega budget magnum opus was expected to shatter opening records around the nation by its makers, but that is not happening. In fact in many small centers the Hrithik Roshan-Aishwarya Rai starrer opened to shockingly dismal 25% response and went downhill.

The film also witnessed mass attacks in places like Patna, Meerut, Gurgaon, Ahmedabad, leading to 0 collections; and as it is the box office was going well below expectations there.

Jodhaa Akbar however has been released on around 92 prints in Mumbai, which is very high. And that print saturation will help it post some big numbers in first week in Mumbai and few other places, as it is posting 40% collection during weekdays after a 80% weekend. But even there it is posting great collections in some multiplexes and dismal collections at others. The response is decidedly ambivalent even where it is generally positive and that will keep it from scaling heights it was hoping for.

Overseas, as reported first exclusively on IBOS over the weekend, the film has opened well.

However for across India, relative to cost and expectations, the mega budget Jodha Akbar looks to be leaning more towards also-rans of history not making box office history as week 1 nears its end.

Courtesy: Ibosnetwork.com

Hrithik Roshan's dervish dance wins hearts

The response to Jodhaa Akbar from critics may be mixed. But there is one extraordinary sequence in the film that has won the hearts of critics and audiences alike.

That sequence is when emperor Akbar ( Hrithik Roshan ) goes into a trance while listening to the qawwali “Khwaja Mere Khwaja”. Quietly, the emperor rises from his seat, walks into the whirling dervishes and begins to whirl with one hand pointed to the sky and the other pointed to the earth.


Now, we all know how good a dancer Hrithik is. But before shooting this sequence, even he was clueless. Though the whirling doesn’t require any complicated steps, Hrithik had to do it with genuine feeling so as not to make the dance look superficial.

And the conviction with which Hrithik conveyed the spiritual ecstasy of Akbar in that dance has won hearts.

None other than superstar Amitabh Bachchan had lavish praise for this particular sequence in the film.

In fact, Big B has reportedly stated that such an outstanding moment has not been captured in cinema since Stanley Kubrick’s film ‘A Space Odyssey’.

And almost every movie critic has complimented this very sequence.

For the song’s composer, A R Rahman , “Khwaja Mere Khwaja” is a very personal and spiritual number. Rahman originally composed the song three years ago only for himself. It was much later when Ashutosh Gowarikar approached him to compose for ‘Jodhaa Akbar’ did Rahman decide to use the song in the film.

Courtesy: Apunkachoice.com

The most spectacular aspect about JODHAA AKBAR!

As expected, it is the track 'Azeem O Shaan Shahenshah' which has turned out to be visually most spectacular part about JODHAA AKBAR.

Ever since this A.R. Rahman track was heard first as a part of the film's theatrical promo, the bet was on that it would make for a breathtaking experience once seen on the big screen. The scale and magnitude of the number was such that it had to be complimented by lavish picturisation, grand choreography and great visuals.


As expected, Ashutosh Gowariker has made it happen with his technical crew as the number in appreciation of Jalaluddin Akbar, 'Azeem O Shaan Shahenshah', has turned out to be a grand outing. Going completely in synch with the elaborate mood of the film and the high-on-drama sequence where Akbar gets the acceptance from the people of his country for perhaps the first time ever, 'Azeem O Shaan Shahenshah' would easily be counted as one of the most impressive things about this Hrithik-Ash film.

Courtesy: Glamsham.com