Posted:
Just finished watching the first episode and felt like doing a review curtailing things I liked and disliked for the episode. Why not, it will create some more activity in the forum as well.
So, I have been impatiently waiting for Jodha Akbar reason simply being that I absolutely loved the movie Jodha Akbar, it was my favorite romantic movie. DDLJ, get behind Jodha Akbar.
But, the movie was too short for me. When I heard I was going to get a daily dose of Jodha Akbar, I became excited like a little kid on Halloween with buckets full of candy jumping up and down. But unfortunately Jodha Akbar the show is not going to be exactly like the movie, which I was a little upset about because I fell in love with the movie because of Akbar's kindness. He was unlike what we would have imagined, unlike the ruthless Mughal I had envisioned. And he was unlike the Mills & Boons hero we seem to be getting these days with Gul Khan's tv shows and practically every other tv show where as a rule the guy has to be a jackass and the heroine has to be a sweet sanskari gal. Well that all's fine, but eventually the jackass meets sweet (and normally boring) gal becomes very well boring.
So, when I watched the promo of Jodha Akbar I was a bit sad that Akbar wasn't like Hrithik's Akbar. But still ofcourse I did not let that deter me from watching Jodha Akbar, afterall it was my favorite movie.
Now, getting to episode number uno.
A few things bothered me.
Firstly, I did not like the way it started with the shadows of dead Jodha and Akbar standing around (what was that??) giving a speech about how people outside were reciting the tale of their love saga. I don't know what about that bothered me but I simply did not like such a beginning. Maybe it was too somber to start like that or creepy to think ghosts were walking around.
Then, the special effects during the first 7 or so minutes of the air time was quite upsetting. Ofcourse, I understand that this is a Indian tv show and they are not known for special effects but Devon Ke Dev has slightly better special effects, so I expected more from Ekta Kapoor. But that's fine because it was only bad during the first few minutes when Akbar was young. After that, not many special effects were needed so the direction seemed much more natural.
Also I like Akbar, Rajat Tokas. I think he was a good selection but I think his voice is too soft. When I envision a ruthless ruler in my head, I do not imagine him with a soft voice. But there is nothing he can do about that since he was born with it, so I should not hold that against him. I will adapt ofcourse. Can't comment about his acting since he didn't get much screen time today, but I am sure he is good. He has been around the block for the while now so I am sure he's good.
Jodha, she was quite good for the first episode. Ofcourse, she will get much better as episodes go by and she is given the opportunity to improve in her acting and the opportunity to act in some ground shaking scenes. I did like Jodha's persona, very calm yet lively. I didn't however like how they tried to demonstrate that she was a caring girl with her running around the castle and everyone running behind her. It just seemed silly. That was a fault in the script writing though.
Jodha's sister...very annoying.
Anyways, the rest was very good. I just hope this does not turn into a historical version of the Mills & Boons jackass meets the sweet girl. Here's to hoping for a strong heroine and a worthy match for the ruthless king to be.
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Review over. I can be very critical, so apologies if anyone did not like my critic. Comment if you wish. Let me know about what you disliked and what you liked.
Anupamaa
