Just saw Jodha-Akbar and here's a word of caution. The director has taken a few creative liberties with the story and that usually disappoints purists like me. I raged when I saw Troy; when I saw The Bourne Ultimatum; when they cut a crucial part of Alexander in our cinemas. And I cried when Santosh Sivan botched up Asoka! So am I disappointed with Jodha-Akbar? Not in the least bit! Firstly because, the movie gives a disclaimer before the move begins. Secondly, because tampering is minuscule, largely done only to flesh out the romance angle in the movie. Thirdly, because the soul of the story and the historical bits about what made Akbar great have been left intact. And finally, because I am a fan of the director Ashutosh Gowarikar has become.

The film is very well made. Excellent production values, thanks to UTV. The canvas is huge and the production values measure up to those of films like Troy. Although they're not as lengthy (and thus that detailed), this is pretty evident in the battle scenes.

The lead pair are very well matched. Two megastars of mainstream Hindi cinema in probably their biggest roles to date, looking good and essaying their roles very very competently. Aishwarya isn't really known for her acting, but she pulls off a role that could easily have gone very wrong if it hadn't been played with restraint. To this fan, is is difficult to imagine any other current actress in the role. Hrithik on the other hand makes it look effortless. He is wonderful as the young Mughal Emperor! This is one actor who has an extremely malleable face. A face that can look as easily retarded as it can look regal! In his relatively short career, Hrithik has already essayed a wide variety of roles, not all of them easy, and most of them very well. This is one guy who has the potential to dwarf every other megastar that Bollywood has seen! This writer personally believes that if he did indeed say that he will one day overtake Shahrukh Khan, he is setting his sights too low! The lyrics disappoint. In trying to chase authenticity Javed Akthar comes up with lyrics that don't roll off the tongue very easily. Probably the nicest song in the movie is the bhajan that Krishna devotee Jodha sings.

The narrative lags at times, but that is because of the nature of the subject and the director's desire to do full justice to it. The costumes one assumes are well researched and therefore fairly authentic, but it is the exquisite jewellery that really stands out! The action is excellent, but I must point out that some sequences have been lifted straight out of Troy, specially from the Achilles-Hector battle! Gowarikar repeats Bollywood's gilded baritone Mr. Bachchan does yet another turn as narrator.

The movie has a message for modern India. It shows how Akbar's rule of tolerance and peaceful co-existence set him apart from other so-called "foreign" rulers in the past, and how he managed to unite India into a massive empire under him, while other more partisan rulers failed at the same task.

Gowarikar is not your run of the mill director. He has made an Oscar nominee in the past; a Swades which I thought was a very good film; and he refuses to make crass commercial films that "may work with our masses". He is a responsible film-maker, a patriot to boot, who understands that he has the additional responsibility of educating the viewer and influencing his taste. It is pitiable that there are unnecessary controversies in Rajasthan about the movie. Instead of trying to negate undeniable facts, the Rajputs should feel proud of the part their princess played in India's history.

To me this movie is a victory of committed film-folk like Ashutosh Gowarikar, Ronnie Screwala and Hrithik Roshan over the unabashedly commercial, Bollywood pimp-brigade of Yashraj, Karan Johar and Shahrukh Khan. If you ask me where I would put my ticket money, it would (again and again) be on the former!