Rajput group goes Gandhian to stop 'Jodhaa Akbar'

Jaipur, Feb 3 (IANS) Adopting a Gandhian means of protest, workers of a Rajput organisation Sunday presented roses to cinema hall owners and appealed against the screening of Ashutosh Gowariker's film 'Jodhaa Akbar'.

Lokendra Singh Kalvi, president of the Rajput Karni Sena, told IANS: 'The Karni Sena does not want the movie to be screened in the state.' The film is to be released Feb 15.

The organisation has also written a letter to the Jaipur district collector demanding a ban on the release of the movie on the grounds that there are factual inaccuracies in it.

'Jodhaa Akbar' is about the romance of Mughal emperor Jalaluddin Akbar and Rajput princess Jodhabai.

The Rajput organisation says that Gowariker is presenting Jodhabai as Mughal emperor Jalaluddin Akbar's wife, which is factually incorrect.

According to the Karni Sena, Jodhabai was not the daughter of Raja Bharmal of Amber as shown in the film. The princess was the daughter of Motaraja Udai Singh of Marwar and she was married to Akbar's son Salim alias Jehangir. And Mughal king Shahjahan was her son, they say.

Several other organisations like Nagrik Morcha have also joined hands with the Karni Sena.

Narendra Singh Rajawat, head of the Rajput Sabha, said such distortion of historical facts had hurt the feelings of the Rajput community.

'You cannot make your own history and Ashutosh Gowariker is making his own history. He is projecting Jodhabai, who is Akbar's daughter-in-law, as his beloved and making a love story out of that. He is totally distorting historical facts,' said Rajawat said.

He urged the court to restrain Gowariker from showing Jodhabai as the daughter of Raja Bharmal of Amber. He said the name of Raja Bharmal's daughter was Harkabai alias Heera Kunwar.

Many parts of the film, which features Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai in the lead roles, were shot in and around Jaipur. And the director has consulted several eminent Mughal historians for his movie.