Hrithik Roshan readies to play emperor Akbar
04th Sept 2006 21.00 IST
By Nikhil Kumar
From a superhero in Krrish to a sly thief in Dhoom 2 , Hrithik Roshan now takes yet another stride to play a royal role in Ashutosh Gowarikar's next film.
After months of speculation in the media circles, Gowarikar's ambitious project Jodha Akbar is ready to roll. The film is a historical with Hrithik playing emperor Akbar and Aishwarya Rai playing his lover Jodha Bai
It was speculated that Ashutosh Gowarikar had fallout with production house UTV, which was slated to produce the film. But it now appears that UTV – headed by Ronnie Screwvala – is firmly backing the project.
The film has a lavish budget of Rs. 39 crore.
Hrithik and Gowarikar have been meeting over the past few weeks to discuss the nitty-gritty of Hrithik's character in the film. It's learnt that Hrithik will have to undergo training in elephant riding for the film.
Emperor Akbar used to ride elephants. He seldom rode horses.
Gowarikar has also clarified that 'Jodha Akbar' is not a war movie but a love story.
Hrithik and Aishwarya will read the Mughal history and also the story of Akbar's life before shooting for the film. The two might also undergo a diction training to get their dialogues right.
Gowarikar has done thorough research on the movie's subject. He is also taking the assistance of the learned scholar Haider Ali.
'Jodha Akbar' is slated to go on the floors in September. This will be the second film to pair Hrithik and Aishwarya after Yash Raj's 'Dhoom 2', which is currently in the making.
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