Ashutosh Gowariker's “Jodhaa Akbar”, a Historical with spectacular mise-en-scene and epic sweep, tells the story of the marriage of alliance between the sixteenth-century Mughal Emperor Jalal-ud-din Mohammed Akbar, unifier of Hindu-stan, and the Rajput princess Jodhaa, which transforms into a love match. The film begins by establishing the difference between Akbar and the other invaders before him, for he was the first to be born on Indian soil, in a Rajput princess's home. The young Akbar (Hrithik Roshan) is seen emerging as a powerful but just Emperor who uses force only against those who attempt to usurp his throne, who is deeply committed to his faith and who respects the religious and cultural practices of the Hindus. Drawing upon their main historiographic and iconographic elements, he attempts to fill in the one area of silence in all earlier accounts of Akbar: the place of Jodhaa in his life. In Gowariker's innovative interpretation of the Akbar story, it is Jodhaa (Aishwarya Rai), a dignified and independent-minded Rajput princess, who insists on preserving her self-respect and the integrity of her religious practices within the marriage alliance, and it is the Jodhaa–Akbar love story that actively contributes to the formation of Akbar's enlightened vision. In the modern, post-Hindutva context of Indian nationalism, an image of the great Mughal Akbar as being in love with and presenting the Hindu Rajput princess Jodhaa as the Empress of India, for whom he demands respect and love from all his subjects and against whom he will brook no rebellion, is a powerful one. It addresses Hindu communal prejudices against Muslim emperors of the past as having been oppressive and tyrannical, and reaffirms the need to bring about a reconciliation of Hindus and Muslims, and a polity that is based on mutual tolerance and respect. Drawing upon the accounts of his battles and reconstituting the iconographic elements of the battle scenes from the Akbarnama paintings in the cinematic medium, Gowariker reinterprets Akbar as one who conquers not simply by force but through mercy and by winning over opponents. In one stroke of genius Akbar acquires religious sanction for his marriage with a Hindu, puts into effect his policy of uniting the people of the realm under his rule, establishes himself as one who negotiates with ease the material and spiritual realms, and makes the first gesture towards freeing himself from the religious orthodoxy of the ullemas. Ultimately in the film, Akbar announces that there will be freedom of worship and that it is the “desire and ability to tolerate other faiths that will make Hindustan glorious in the future”.
