Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Hrithik Roshan in Jodhaa Akbar

Jodhaa Akbar is caught up in a virtual sandstorm of controversy. The film presents a love story between the fiery Rajput princess Jodhaa and the Mughal emperor Akbar. It has evoked vociferous protests from certain quarters, which say the film distorts history. Consequently, the movie is not being shown anywhere in Rajasthan and has been put under the scanner in various other parts of the country, where shows have been interrupted and protests have exploded.
The man at the centre of it all is Ashutosh Gowariker, who looks dazed by the controversies swirling around his film.

The director says: “Jodhaa Akbar is getting a very good response but I’m very sad that the film has not been released in Rajasthan. The film is rooted in Rajasthan as princess Jodhaa is from Rajasthan and it is my wish that each and every person of Rajasthan should watch the film. Why only Rajasthan, the entire country should watch it. Because the film shows how a change was brought about in the Mughals because of the Rajputs.”

Point out to Ashutosh that the contention of most protesters is that Jodhaa was not Akbar’s wife and he goes into damage-control mode. He quotes his extensive research: “I have read many books on Akbar and on the Rajputs. I have referred to books like Medieval India by KL Khurana and he has named Jodhaa as the wife of Akbar. I have also referred to Akbar by Muni Lal and he too has named Jodhaa. I also read a book called Madhyakaaleen Bharat by Hari Shankar Sharma, in which he has written ‘Akbar ne Raja ka adar kiya tha uski doosri putri ko vivah mein sweekar kiya jo ki itihaas mein Jodhaabai ke naam se vikhyaat hai’.”

But there is a school of thought that claims Jodhaabai was not Akbar’s wife; she was his bahu — wife of son Jehangir. Ashutosh has his research ready to refute this claim too. “Regarding the question that Jodhaa was the wife of Jehangir, I referred to books like Jehangirnama in which it is said that the king of Marwah, Raja Uday Singh, who was also called Mota Raja had a daughter who got married to Jehangir, and her name was Jagat Gosain. In another book called History of Jaipur by Jadunath Sarkar, it is said that Salim (also called Jehangir) was married to Mira Bai who was daughter of Mota Raja. Further, I referred to Medieval India by Satish Chandra who is a very respected and reputed historian; and he too has referred to Jagat Gosain as the daughter of Mota Raja and wife of Jehangir.”

Ashutosh Gowariker

Eager to soothe ruffled feathers, an emotional Ashutosh states: “I would like to add that if someone is hurt because of her name, then I regret it. I never want to hurt anyone’s feeling because my intention while making a film is to entertain. My film shows the pride and honour of Rajputs with utmost perfection. I respect not only the Rajputs but each and every community and religion in our country. I would earnestly request the people of Rajasthan, for whom the film is made, to please let it be released in Rajasthan.”

Ask Ashutosh how he plans to resolve the matter and he replies: “Through the media, I want people to know what kind of research I have done and on what basis I have made the film. I have not made the film carelessly. I have made the film after research.”

While a much-hyped film like Jodhaa Akbar doesn’t need promotional gimmicks, the controversy has raised curiosity about the film. So does Ashutosh felt his film will benefit from the controversies? “No, I don’t think so,” says Ashutosh. “In fact, it sends out a wrong signal for the film, especially because I believe in myself and I like to go into details. I went into details during Lagaan, I studied for Swades, which was very contemporary. When a controversy comes up, it defaces all the hard work that was put in because it creates a doubt in the minds of the audience about whether the film-maker is doing it right or not.”

Considering all the heartburn, has Ashutosh sworn off historical films with their high potential for igniting controversy? The director brushes off the idea. “It is very necessary that such films are made and they are well researched. There might be a misunderstanding about history because there are so many books. History is interpretative because every 50 years a new historian comes up who does his own interpretation and comes out with a book. We should definitely try to capture our history on screen.”

Ending on a positive note, Ashutosh says: “If some misunderstanding does happen, it can be solved.”