Too long to be true

Ashutosh Gowariker's long-awaited 'Jodhaa Akbar' went under the knife, again, because the movie is just too long. At present, the new version has two songs edited out, one of which was a qawwali sung by AR Rehman, the music director for the movie.

According to a source, every scene in the movie is important, and Gowariker did not want the flow to suffer. Therefore, the lavishly shot songs had to go. "It was a very good idea to have a qawwali, as it was a traditional aspect in the lives of kings. It was difficult for Ashutosh, but he also asked for Rehman's take on the decision, and chopped the songs off only when Rehman agreed," the source adds. The songs will be added in the DVD of the movie. Apparently, Aishwarya Rai wanted to use it in one of her upcoming movies, but Gowariker may not agree.

Gowariker has a reputation for making long movies. 'Lagaan' was almost four hours long, and 'Swades' was three and a half hours long. In more recent times, there is a lot of criticism for the way a movie is presented, and the director did not want any of that. According to the source, the final cut, so far, is three and a half hours. The movie is slated for a January 25 release, and the promos are already on air.

Anju Gupta(SAMPURN)