Indian Movies Thread IV

[dhu]

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Jodha wasn’t Akbar’s
(Pioneer)

Sir—This refers to the report, “Rajput body to protest screening of ‘Jodha Akbar’ (January 22). It is documented in history that Mughal emperor Akbar had more than 100 wives, including a Christian woman called Mary (who was renamed Mariam). He had an additional 5,000 women in his harem according to Anwar Shaikh, a noted British scholar of Islam. But films and TV serials in India show only ‘Jodhabai’ —- it is disputed if anyone by that name was actually Akbar’s wife -— and not the other wives and concubines of the emperor, as this will show him in poor light.

Mr Ashutosh Gowarikar, producer and director of Jodha Akbar, claims that his film is based on “extensive research”. Can he throw light on the wives and concubines of Akbar with the help of his ‘research scholars’?

I am grateful to Rajputs because they fought to protect Hindu honour for centuries, not only from Muslim invaders for about 700 years, but also from the men of Alexander of Macedonia in the fourth century BC. The Rajput Sabha may, in fact, sue the producer of Jodha Akbar since their appeal has fallen on deaf ears.

One may recall that the royal family of Mysore had sued Mr Sanjay Khan, producer of The Sword of Tipu Sultan, for distorting history. As a result, the producer had to insert a disclaimer in the serial’s credits that it was a work of fiction.

SC Panda
Bhubaneswar <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->