Jodha Akbar 66-68: Changing equations ?? - Page 6

My dear Donjas,

Thank you very much for liking this one, and also for such well-considered comments.

I too felt, and I had mentioned in passing in the post, that one reason Jalal was so subdued in his interaction with Bharmal was his keenness to maintain and develop his policy towards the Rajputs. Perhaps he swallowed some harsh words in the interest of building the Hindustan of his dreams.

As for the imbalance in the power equation between Jalal and Jodha, it exists in theory more than in practice, and this not only for the reason you have mentioned, about Jalal's obsession with Jodha.

The fact is that the early Jodha would not have lost all in her life if her relationship with Jalal had never gained traction, nor would she have had no hope for the future. She would have been perfectly happy (provided of course that she could continue as a Shahi Begum) doing her daily poojas, luxuriating in the affection of Hamida Banu and the friendship of Salima Begum, and playing happily with little Rahim. She would not have been devastated if Jalal had turned away from her completely.

Not at the beginning, that is. By the time of the Benazir track, this changes, as she is beginning to fall for him.

As for Jodha's folly in inviting Maham to the bawarchikhana to tease and taunt her, I agree with you about the CVs, but I normally never take that route when analysing characters. I prefer to treat them as real human beings, with their good qualities and their failings. One can either do that or take the blame the CVs route!

Shyamala

Originally posted by: Donjas

Thank you for another fascinating analysis. Your interpretation of the characters of Jodha and Jalal was particularly enlightening. My views-

1 Your interpretation of the loss that Jodha feels about the breakup of her relationship with Jalal seems logical. Jalal and Jodha had been civil to eath other for some time, and the offshoots of a budding relationship were definitely there.

In my view, the loss hurts on a different level, because of the power equation of Jalal and Jodha. For Jalal there are options, if not Jodha then someone else( but of course, here Jalal is so obsessed with Jodha that there cannot be someone else, he tried it in the Benazir track and failed).

Anyway for Jodha, there is no one else. If the relationship with Jalal breaks down completely, then every other relationship in her life becomes meaningless too. There is nothing to live for anymore, no hope for the future.

2 As for the Maham accusation scene, it is the writers who write the script who are to blame, not the character Jodha. There is definite lack in consistency which could be attributed to the mass walkout.

Ekta once again showed her stupidity, to placate one man she axed nearly a 100 critical people in the Jodha Akbar production team. And for what, she had to eject Sant Ram anyway a few months later when Paridhi threatened to quit.

3 Regarding Jalal's attitude towards Raja Bharmal, I did not think it was too out of place considering the history of Akbar. We have reports from Christian missionaries of the time, that the Sovereign went out of his view to enforce the practices and traditions of the communities, particularly Hindus. To the dismay of the Jesuit fathers, anyone found hurting the sentiments could face stiff punishment. Remember the ban on killing cows, you could lose your life if you did not follow it.

All this suggests that Akbar was deeply invested in his dealings with Hindus, particularly Rajputs. The tie with Amer was particularly critical because it was the lynch pin if this policy. So, to see Akbar contrite and apologetic after the obvious miscarriage of justice that he did, would not have been out of place. He may even have had the stomach to hear a few harsh words from relatives in that early phase of life.