Source: Indiatimes
Date: February 8, 2008
By: George Ignatius
Jodhaa Akbar is one of the biggest films of 2008, releasing next week, with stars like Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai. The period film involved a lot of action and fight scenes that took a lot out of the actor as well as the stunt director Ravi Dewan. Indiatimes Movies spoke to the man behind the action to know more about how he handled Hrithik and Ash and how the two mastered the art of horse-riding and sword-fighting. “Initially we started off with just storyboards for every scene in the film and we put up storyboards for about a month. We sat with the production team and Ashutosh Gowariker too joined us” says Ravi Diwan. “I was training about 15 to 17 actors in Jodhaa Akbar for these fight sequences. I had to teach Hrithik, Ash, Sonu Sood and the main villain Nikitin Dheer both horse riding and sword-fighting. And each of these action sequences took about a month and a half to complete. Firstly I had to train them in horse riding for which we had to book the Mahalaxmi Race Course for about a month. It was a lot of effort but in the end I am sure it will be worth it.” Apart from horse-riding, Jodhaa Akbar also witnessed Hrithik and Aishwarya learning the art of sword-fighting. Ravi Dewan says, “The training for sword-fighting took place at Mehboob studios and we shot for about 45 days at a stretch. Both actors were very professional about learning sword-fighting.”
Ravi Dewan is one of the oldest action directors in business, who has been around Bollywood for a long time. But it was the first time that he was working with Hrithik Roshan. “Yes, after being around for so many years I worked with Hrithik for the first time. I have worked with the best of the lot right from Raj Kumar to all the Khans. And let me tell you that training Hrithik wasn’t too much of a labour for me. He never threw any tantrums and the same was with Aishwarya as well.” Hrithik Roshan had apparently spoken about the fact that the armour that he had to wear to play the character of the Mughal emperor Akbar was pretty heavy, after which he was in a lot of pain. “We had to show real stuff in the film. So yes, the armour and the gear that Hrithik had to wear was heavy. The whole thing weighed around 20 to 25 kilos and he had to wear it regularly. But he never showed any pain, at least not when he was around the sets. Anyways I always take care of the stars I am working with. I never try to push their limits. I was always aware of their capacity.” “Me and my assistant rehearsed every fight first. Then after preparing everything on the sets we shot the entire sequence on location. After which we sat down and edited those shots and included only those that were necessary. And we worked in tandem with the costume designer, art director and everyone else on the sets of the film. Everything on the sets was detailed”, divulged the technician.
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SOurce: Glamsham
Date: February 8, 2008
After the release of the music of JODHAA AKBAR the critics have expressed the view that the music of the film is not able to convey the spirit of the period and hence the music of the film may not become its USP. The moot point here is when was the last time that a historical film had a lilting music and it could also set the box office on fire. As it is in the Hindi film industry rarely does one venture out to make a film by choosing a character from the past and it is always a difficult proposition to arrive at a heady combination of story and music to make the film a hit. If one were to view from this perspective the music of TAJ MAHAL made by Akbar Khan also did not make a mark nor did the film for that matter. Historical films walk on a razor edge, if it is a popular character of history, people have their own notions about it and if the creative liberty is adapted then it has to face quite a lot of opposition. The example in this context is that of MANGAL PANDEY where the film had a good title song and the film was able to make money, may be the controversy around it also contributed to the same.
Two different versions of BHAGAT SINGH were made and both of them were flops but it had got nothing to do with the fact that the music was average; it was the interpretation of the story that was the stumbling block. One period film whose music still is lilting is UTSAV where Shashi Kapoor used instruments of the period in the film, music composers being Laxmikant Pyarelal, but the film was not a commercial success.
RAZIA SULTAN is another example which had a music by Khayyam that tinkles the heart but the film was not that a great success. Now coming on to UMRAO JAAN the older version had a great music, Khayyam being the director and fantastic narrative, while the new version did not have both of them in the same intensity. TAJ MAHAL of the old starring Pradeep Kumar and Bina's music was great, but the film could not stand in competition to MUGHAL-E-AAZAM, which had great story and even greater music. It always is very easy to compare historical films with the films of the past if they have been made and then comments are made about its quality.
The moot point is the listeners' preferences and choices change and the music composer, Rahman, in this case, has to take that into account while giving the music for JODHAA AKBAR. The sheer fact that UTV the producers of the film have decided to go ahead and release the film on their own by-passing the distributors is illustrative of the confidence about the product that they have in their hands. JODHAA AKBAR would not belie the expectations.