Ummm, yeah.... how I wish this film were at least 90 minutes shorter. Why Hindi films so often have to show us the whole lives of their protagonists, beginning with childhood, I'll never know. The first 30 minutes were a major waste of time.
And too many scenes were plain boring, including the Akbar taming elephant monstrosity. I seriously wished I had a bed to take a nap on for some of the scenes... Set designs, background music and costumes were great though.
Loved it after the movie when my wife had a puzzled look. She said they used to study a lot about Akbar in her history classes, but she couldn't reconcile it to Gowariker's version. What jarred her most was that they never showed us Jalaluddin's numerous other wives in this filmy version...

It seemed a little awkward, but perhaps Akbar stepping out of his "King"-like comfort zone and sort of spiritually indulging himself makes it one of the most touching moments(I think)throughout the entire film.

For Rana:

surround was superb in the theatre I watched...

I guess your calculation is right! I said 2.5 hrs,, that equates to 96 minutes less ofcourse, being generous!

I thought the film was quite good, though it could do with quite a bit of editing. I agree with most of the positive comments, so I won't go into that. Some scenes I found were just too long (such as the elephant-wrestling scene which I found unimpressive). The dialogue was at times too simplistic like when Sharifuddin had to mention that he was married to Akbar's sister, which met with a few laughs from the audience. Did they really think the audience is so dunce that it had to be told to them?

Out of Gowarikar's last three films (starting from Lagaan) I'd have to say that this is easily his weakest. I did however like the set design, costumes, etc but as with many films of this type (e.g. Asoka) found the battle scenes to be weak. It's like the actors were being too careful not to hurt each other. I can't believe a girl after the film was saying the battle scenes were like Gladiator and Troy...like hell it was! Some people are impressed too easily.

There's alot of things they left out and I'd say it may only be loosely based on Akbar's life. I didn't notice Birbal but he was in there somewhere. They tried to show Akbar as tolerant, with that speech he made in the end but to me that wasn't enough. They didn't show what shaped him to become tolerant such as his council of religions at his court which had scholars of different religions debating ideas. There was no mention of the religion he created himself (Din-i-Ilahi) or why he did so. Of course they had to keep his many cortesans he had out of the picture. Maybe these things happened later in Akbar's life or maybe the director didn't want to show it, because it didn't serve his purpose. Whatever the reason, I found the explanation/apology about Jodhaa at the beginning to be quite funny, though not intended. I guess Gowarikar had to bow to the pressure from the protests.

Production values! good, costumes, jewelry, set design, I concur, but film is plagued similar to asoka, and Mangal on story line.

Akbar the tolerant lover! Well thats all i conveyed to me, but film even did not make an effective case of his decision to marry YODA! lol. Akbar the great, just comes out to be a naive king.

I thought production values were very high quality n asoka too, and tha was done quite a few years earlier.

Good production values took SUCKY Eklavya to Oscar while Dharm looked so more authentic imho.
Do not tell me SHODHA AKBAR will be next OSCAR nominee or India

Really ??
Where I watched, I kept on turning my head towards side speakers to see/ notice if there was anything coming out of those speakers and I never found one. Except at 2-3 instances, one being Akbar's Darbaar when Jodha bhajan is heard in the background. This starting of Bhajan is distinctly coming from the rear speakers. Many a times, sounds were loud and hence filling the theatre. These sounds, I don't think were surround. Even if they were, these could be the equivalent of ancient Dolby Pro-Logic ??
Yes, Left Right Centre sounds were distinct directional and a plenty.

yes -- the directional separation was excellent in the theatre I saw this... you could plot the trajectories of arrows and canonballs... it was full-fledged 5.1. sometimes theatres play just dolby SR and that may have happened where you saw it.

..rahman plz do spare humanity from your singing

I'll forward same faryad to himesh reshmiya man!

odhaa Akbar stumbles in India, races ahead abroad

Syed Firdaus Ashraf | February 26, 2008 15:36 IST


A still from Jodhaa Akbar








Ashutosh Gowariker's Jodhaa Akbar would have become a loser at the box office if it had not done brilliantly overseas.



Produced at the cost of Rs 40 crores, the film first ran into trouble when a section of the Rajput community banned it in Rajasthan.



Gowariker called for a hurried press conference on February 16, a day after the film released, to defend it but the damage was already done. He argued that a character like Jodhaa existed in history and was married to Akbar, but the film still did not get an entry in Rajasthan. The Madhya Pradesh government soon banned the film in the second week of its release.



As if that was not enough, multiplexes all over India refused to release the film on February 15, due to a profit-sharing dispute. The film released in multiplxes only the next day.



"When the film did not release on the first day of release, Jodhaa Akbar lost out badly. By the time a settlement was reached, the film had lost the precious first day advantage. The exams period, controversy and poor release strategy was almost suicidal for Jodhaa Akbar," Vinod Mirani, trade analyst for rediff.com, says



Luckily, the overseas market saved the film.



According to a release from Imagesmiths, the public relations firm that was handling Jodhaa Akbar for UTV, the film made Rs 52.70 crores in India in 10 days, and Rs 21.30 crores in the overseas market.



The film made a whooping Rs 10 crores on the first day in the US and was among the all-time highest grossers like Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna [Images] and Om Shanti Om. It made Rs 5.60 crores in the UK.



In the Gulf region, it did a business of Rs 3.20 crores, in Australia, it grossed Rs 3.20 crores and among other centers, it did a business of Rs 1.15 crores.



Trade analysts, however, say what finally matters is not the gross collections but the net collections. And that, they say, would make Jodhaa Akbar an average to below average film at the box office.



"The gross collections of a film does not matter; the net does. The gross includes costs like entertainment tax, show tax and municipal tax. UTV should declare its net collections," Mirani says.



new

"Jodhaa Akbar will scrape through because of its overseas business. It will also recover its money through satellite rights. But its theatrical business is not exciting for the film," added Mirani.



Another trade analyst, Komal Nahta says, "The length of the film (three hours 20 minutes) was the biggest drawback for Jodhaa Akbar. But it will be a loser overall though overseas, it is doing well."



He echoes Mirani's thoughts as he says, "The overseas release will not make the film sink to a disaster level."



An exhibitor, on condition of anonymity, said that the film was not doing well because it was released at the wrong time, and since it did not appeal to the Indian youth.



"The film is better suited for people above 45. Besides that, exams were on in many centers where the film was released. The music was decent but did not catch up in a big way. Thus, these factors affected the prospects of the film," he said.
UNI

*** QUEEN and LORD BUSH saved the day!

odhaa Akbar Rules The Box Office!!Add to hotlist
By Our Correspondent ©2008 Bollyvista.com


Jodhaa Akbar
Jodhaa Akbar
Jodhaa Akbar has grossed Rs. 74 crores (approx 19 million USD) in just 10 days worldwide … a record for a Indian film!

Some key figures of the gross collections:

· India: Rs. 52.70 crores (one of the biggest openings ever in Indian cinema)

· US: USD 2.5 million = Rs. 10 crores (already one of the highest grossers of all time in the US market in just 10 days!)

· UK: GBP 700,000 = Rs. 5.60 crores (amongst the Top 10 first 10 days for an Indian film in the UK market)

· Gulf: USD 800,000 = Rs. 3.2 crores (amongst the Top 5 first 10 days for an Indian film in the Gulf)

· Australia: USD 286,906 = Rs. Rs. 1.15 crores (already tracking to emerge as the 2nd highest grosser of all time in Australia)

· Rest of the World = USD 380,000 = Rs, 1.5 crores

General:

The Telugu and Tamil versions will release on the 6th of March and are expected to create a huge stir in the South market.

The film has generated spectacular box office collections despite:

1. Not having a release in one of the key markets for this genre of movie - Rajasthan. UTV Motion Pictures is still in talks with various local groups to try and get the film released in the state, as interest levels among audiences are at fever pitch.

2. Suspension of screenings in the state of Madhya Pradesh over the 2nd weekend by the State Government. UTV has moved the MP High Court already to lift this suspension and has announced that it will go up to the Supreme Court if need be.

May I ask? If character of MAYA MANGA was ever in any historic books on Akbar? I have read, NO RATANS, BIRBAL, MAAN SINGH, TAN SEN, but who the hell was Mayi manga controling Shodha Akbar?

Or it is just SELF CREATED character by Gwarikar and his writers? the way they created 4 hours of LOVE STORY with no love or passion, whatsoever?

doesn't akbarnama have any mention...

Mata manga ke liey mangana padde ga bhaii