And the victim of the fallout is Ashutosh Gowariker's Jodhaa Akbar
It was supposed to be the biggest film of the year. Unfortunately, it is turning out to be the biggest joke. Ashutosh Gowariker's ambitious project Jodhaa Akbar, a labour of love, now looks like an orphan, with neither Aishwarya nor Hrithik showing any interest in it whatsoever.
While the music rights of the film were in a limbo for a great while (Big Music dumped the rights after listening to the tracks we heard), the intensifying cold war between the stars has put a big question mark over the film's destiny. Not to mention the many hiccups that kept pushing the release date back from Diwali 2007 to now Feb 2008.
By some strange co-incidence Hrithik Roshan has developed some knee problem for which he has had to go in for physiotherapy for six months in Singapore. Tongues are wagging about whether this 'injury' has anything to do with his reluctance to be a part of the film's promotional campaign. The latest buzz is that the actor came back to Mumbai before leaving for Australia on a two-month holiday. Let's see if he drops in for the music launch on January 8, 2008.
But Hrithik has his reasons for staying away from the film. It is common knowledge that Aishwarya was not really 'cooperation personified' during the shoot of Jodhaa Akbar. Hrithik, say sources, felt that Ash somehow lost interest in the project because of her wedding. It rankled all involved, when Ash suddenly signed Pink Panther and gave away dates for her international film.
Hrithik is known to be a perfectionist. He is someone who would never take up any film until he met his current commitments. In fact, the star was also offered Pink Panther, but turned it down.
Ash, on her part, would invite all her guests to N D studio in Karjat, where Jodhaa Akbar was being shot. Unit hands and other sources reported how the actress would spend time with her invitees, despite instructions from director Ashutosh Gowariker about not encouraging hangers on. "One day Hrithik had to wait for hours because Ash took time in her make-up room. She was chatting with her family friends," says a source from the unit.
Hrithik and Ash worked for the first time in Dhoom 2, a blockbuster. Probably Ash's only hit after Devdas. But the kissing scene between Hrithik and Ash in Dhoom 2 didn't go down well with the Bachchans. Abhishek and Amitabh were extremely upset with the scene, and requested Adiitya Chopra to pull it off. But somehow Hrithik called Abhishek and explained how important it was for the film. Later Abhishek calmed down and the scene was not edited out.
But Ash and Hrithik's relationship went steadily downhill thereafter. Ash didn't bother to invite Hrithik for her wedding, even though she was shooting with him for Jodhaa Akbar. According to a source, "Ash would discuss her wedding plans and even Abhishek would drop in for lunch and they would show the draft of wedding card to Hrithik. But finally, the Roshans were kept out from the grand wedding. It's was something which didn't go well with Hrithik. After all, Hrithik was Abhishek's childhood friend."
Hrithik kept quiet for a long time because he wanted Ashutosh to finish the film. But now it seems he is not interested in promoting the film with Ash. A friend and confidant of Hrithik tells us, "Hrithik is very passionate about his work. He would not allow the film to suffer for any reason. This is his first foray into period drama and he has delivered two hits back-to-back. Jodhaa Akbar is very important to him. He knows Ash is no more interested in films and she has nothing to lose. She is married to the person she loves and now she is concentrating on international projects. But Hrithik is very excited about Jodhaa Akbar and he wants to give his best. He is taking rest for his injury and will start promoting the film post-music release."
Let's hope so too, because considering the amount of hard work that has gone into the film, it would be a shame if it was killed even before the release.
buzz18.com
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