Hrithik to Romance Ash in Sheesh Mahal

It seems that Hrithik Roshan is all set to romance Aishwarya once again (after controversial Dhoom 2) for Ashutosh Gwarikar's magnum opus Jodha Akbar. But this time the couple will be seen romancing in a Sheesh Mahal. The actor, who is enjoying vacation with his wife and kid in Italy, will be back by the end of this week and resume the shoot. Hrithik plays the role of Mughal emperor Akbar, while Ash dons the character of Rajput princess Jodhabai.

Fifty eight years ago director K Asif created Sheesh Mahal (Palace of Glasses) for his film Mughal-E-Azam. Nearly after five decades, award winning art director Nitin has spent 12 to 18 hours in a day in constructing Sheesh Mahal for Ashutosh Gwarikar's Jodha Akbar. The set which he is creating is a part of Agra Fort which has been erected at Nitin Desai Studio in Karjat. "I have used 2,212221 glasses and mirrors to re-create the magic of Sheesh Mahal. I consider art director M K Syed from Mughal E Azam my mentor and since my childhood it was my dream to work in a film which will give me an opportunity to re-create the magic of Mughal architecture," says Nitin Desai.

Sheesh Mahal will play an important part in the film. It will be used for song and few romantic sequences between Hrithik and Ash. Incidentally, Nitin is planning to make a glass floor for the palace. "It's difficult but not impossible," he says.

Hundreds of workers are working on re-creating Sheesh Mahal, while Nitin had to study extensively about the light and function of prism. "I did my research before creating the rough draft of the palace. I remember that when Syed has created Sheesh Mahal for Mughal E Azam, director K Asif had to face a lot of problem while shooting. Due to mirrors all across the set, the reflection of camera would fall on each mirror. "I don't want Ashutosh to go through that problem," he laughs.

Incidentally, K Asif had constructed Sheesh Mahal to picturise Madhubala's dance number Pyar kiya to darnaa kyaa. The bangle artists of Firozabad recreated the famed Sheesh Mahal, which had cost Rs 7 lakhs which was an unheard amount in 1956. But the director was confused about the lighting and it seems that he had to consult Sir David Lean, who told them that it was absolutely impossible to film the sequence as the director had in mind. The producer of the film had a mild cardiac arrest when K Asif thought of rising down the set and creating another one. Finally, K Asif took a chance and shot the song in both black and white and colour format. The black and white one was impressive, but when the producer saw the colour version, he apparently told, "Hang the movie; just give me this song and I will collect a crore of rupees just with it." And he was not wrong.