Jodha-Akbar

Given that Hollywood is influencing Bollywood in a big way these days, I was expecting to see a more contemporary version of the costume dramas of Sohrab Modi and K Asif - something more like Troy or Gladiator. Instead, Jodha-Akbar is pretty much stuck in the old theatrical style of the days gone by. If it was meant to be a homage, it just doesn't work. The war sequence in the beginning was pretty awful, and the film only began to regain my interest at the Sufi song midway through the first half. I thought that was quite stylishly shot and choreographed. The film picks up from there till the interval, largely because of Hritik who lifts the film with a compelling performance. It raises your expectations for what is to follow after the interval. Sadly, the film doesn't deliver on them and reverts back to being a shoddy imitation of 19th century Parsi theatre.