Source: Telegraph India
Date: February 25, 2008
Jodhaa-akbar faces no opposition in giridih The people of smaller towns have shown more tolerance compared to their counterparts in bigger cities as far as screening of Jodhaa-Akbar is concerned. The director of the film, Ashutosh Gowarikar, is relieved since his historical saga is not facing the rage of Kshatriya community in Giridih, where the film has been running successfully at Swaran Chitra Mandir for the past two weeks.
The film is a 16th century love story about a marriage that gave birth to unbridled love between a great Mughal emperor, Akbar, and a Rajput princess, Jodhaa. However, the story of Jodhaa-Akbar has ruffled feathers in the Rajput community, which has vehemently opposed the marriage between Jodhaa and Akbar. The anger of Rajputs has compelled the movie to be withdrawn from several cinema halls across the country, even in the state capital, dealing a hard blow to both the producers and distributors of the multi-crore movie. But in Giridih the film is slowly turning into a family entertainer. A good number of women are also making a beeline for the movie.
The cinema hall manager, Nand Kishor Gupta, is visibly happy with the turnout. Jodhaa-Akbar is not the only film in recent times that has not faced opposition in Giridih. The Madhuri Dixit-starrer Aaja Nachle had earned the wrath of people belonging to Scheduled Castes for an objectionable line in a song, but it had run to packed houses in the district. The Sardar community had condemned in unequivocal terms a scene in the Sunny Deol-starrer Jo Bole So Nihaal and it had been banned in several parts of country, but it had a successful run in Giridih and went on to become a hit in the town. However, the members of the Kshatriya community could not be contacted for their comments on this raging issue.