I just watched Jodhaa Akbar. It received various lukewarm reactions from the audience till the day it had released. It can be classified into two.
1. Too lengthy, very boring, overboard, chatu etc. etc.
2. Good film, ignoring the fact that it’s too long. It’ll give you aesthetic satisfaction.

After watching it, I support those having the 2nd opinion. I agree that it’s too long but 3 ½ hrs was worth spending for this film. I felt sleepy & my leg started aching but that was because I was really tired that day! But it’s very beautiful. It contained the good, the bad & the ugly characters (every film contains them except Karan Johar films where each & every characters are like tulsi leaves washed in Ganges water!) It’s lavish! The sets, the costumes, the jewelries, war & love sequences, food, animals…the whole film in fact! Hrithik & Aishwarya’s ethereal beauty enchanted me! They are fabulous actors! I love Hrithik anyway but my heart doesn’t have enough space for Mrs. Aishwarya Rai Bachhan. I liked her in very few movies & Jodhaa Akbar is one of them. Her best scene in the movie, according to me is when Jodhaa Bai learns about her husband, the Badshah of Hindustan Jalaluddin Mohammad Akbar’s illiteracy. What expression! The music is nice. Very contextual, melodious, full of soul & very royal. Jashn-E-Bahara & In lamho ki daman me are my favourites but songs like Khwaja mere khwaja & Marhabba didn’t impress me much before but after taking into consideration the situation, I liked them too! Manmohana is another wonderful song in the movie! But the background score is awesome. I could recognize elements of Bahar in it. The language used in the film is another character of the film. The urdu was understandable except few words of which we found out the meanings ourselves. I’ve decided, whenever I would like to talk with someone in private, I would utter the word Ekant! It showed very well how Diwan e Aam was used for administrative & political purposes & Diwan e Khaas for aesthetic discussions with few selected people. The way Akbar asked Bairam Khan & the Maulavi to retire was really amusing! It was nice to watch Sonu Sood as Sujamal. It had been a long time since he was seen in silver screen after Ashiq Banaya Aapne that too in a meaty role. Last but not the least; Big B’s narration is an added treasure.

Now, let’s view the film from a different angle. After watching the film, I think, instead of Jodhaa Akbar, it should have been christened Joddha Akbar (warrior Akbar). The film started with war, ended with war. In the middle of the film, Akbar & others decided about warfare, annexation, strategy, little bit of religious practices. The scarce time he was left with, he spend with his wife Jodhaa. In fact the matrimonial alliance was a part of annexation of Rajput Empire. But yes, it was successful to show how much fond hubby Akbar was for wife Jodhaa in certain scenes. The narrator raised the question that why Jodhaa Bai & Akbar’s love story isn’t so famous? How can it be? It’s just another story of arranged marriage metamorphosing into a passionate love story. Jodhaa Bai was clear with her concept of marriage; ‘Saat janmo ka bandhan’ which she couldn’t do away with. So love Akbar or hate Akbar, she hardly had any choice. If you stay with a person for 24*7, it’s quite normal that slight affection will grow for that person in your heart. Same happened with Jodhaa Bai. Moreover, Akbar took care of the whole country & became the favourite ruler. In the process he won her heart which was the condition for having Jodhaa’s love! It was more like watching Akbarnama than Jodhaa Bai & Akbar’s love story. I’m sure, if Sanjay Leela Bhanshali, Karan Johar or Yash Chopra dealt with the subject, the film wouldn’t have anything else but Jodhaa & Akbar romancing everywhere, in bedroom, in court, in terrace, in temples & mosques, in kitchen, inside the utensils (man, they were so big!) & who knows, even in the Warfield! There would even be a rain song & dance sequence. I hope it showed how Din I Ilahi came up, his Navaratna - little bit of humour from Birbal & some more music from Tansen. Hope they knew some more expressions for appreciation except Subhanllah! The questions which will always remain unanswered are, howcome the young Akbar (played by the boy who played the role of Aishwarya’s son in Kuchh na Kaho) had black eyes & the grown up Akbar was cat eyed! Same with young (popular child model) & grown up Jodhaa, the difference is between black & dark brown eyes. Were contact lenses so popular in those days?? Par koi baat nahi, bade bade filmo me aisi chhoti chhoti galtiya ho jati hai! What was the need of showing the eunuch as one of Jodhaa Bai’s personal attendants? Did someone like this really exist? Where did Dai Maa disappear after the truth regarding her wicked plan was unveiled? Did she meet the same fate as her son Adam? What was the source of so much dazzling illumination before the song in lamho ki daman? Aishwarya was perfect for Jodhaa’s role but what about Hrithik? He would have fitted perfectly for Alexander the Great’s role. As it is he has a Greek God kinda physique & look. But the picture of Akbar which we are used to is short & fat. Govinda would have been the ideal actor to play Akbar. Even Shah Rukh Khan, if he had put on some weight. But let it be for the sake of the mass!

After the scrutiny, all I can say is, love the film or hate the film, you can’t ignore the film. According to the box office reports, it’s a hit! Inshallah!