Jodha Akbar - A Tale of Natkiya RupanterS | NR at it's Worst - III

Hi Friends,

Welcome to the third installment of this series > "NR at it's worst" written in the praise(!?!) of Jodha Akbar show. NR means "Natkiya Rupanter" alias "Dramatization".

Previous:
JA - NR at it's Worst - I
JA - NR at it's Worst - II

Statutory Warning(Haha..not to be taken seriously:-P) > This post is NOT the usual calm post which i write normally. Truck loads of (hopefully constructive) criticism and complains have been made in this, as viewers do have a right to make their concerns known.

This post has been written with an objective to sum up the recent happenings in the show Jodha Akbar airing on Zee TV. The show was supposed to be a magnum opus, started by the Czarina of Indian Television, Ekta Kapoor. Zee mentioned about > employing historians and researchers for this show which really appeared in the starting. Not many of us were aware of the history of Jodha Akbar, which we began to unearth as we read more and more while watching it. Though, of late, the show has no connection with history. It has hit rock bottom, the TRP's are continuously plummeting and consequently it is out of the list of Top 10 shows. I have stopped watching the show long back, for it is miles away from history and now out on an agenda to tarnish the images of the revered historical characters.

Though, i catched up with some written updates and parts of the show online. I can not believe what is happening in this show. The show is making it's own history, in fact turning history on it's head. Well let me start with myself. To be precise, i was astonished to see the protests against this show, and there started my tryst with the story of Akbar and his Hindu Wife. History always fascinated me but the credit for my quest to know more about this historical couple, "strangely" goes to the protests against the show in 2013. That was the time, i began reading in depth about them. We all have read about Akbar in school books but how many of us decided to read about him in depth before? Due to the protests before launch, the makers even agreed to put up a 30 second disclaimer. It really looked like that the Production House is trying hard to get the show on air. The show started well. Of course, there was dramatization, but within the "acceptable confines". I have a lot of tolerance for the creative liberty taken, and many times gave a slack, but lately the show became totally fictional, and i ran out of patience when it began tampering even with the well known historical events as well.

The viewers were promised a love story of a Mughal Emperor and a Rajput princess. According to the channel, it was supposed to be a story where this lady turns her husband into a better person, or as i put it, she(her love) was supposed to be a catalyst in the transformation of Akbar. Before i elaborate further, i quote the description of this show, below, as given on the website of Zee. Click here to read on Zee's website..

"
Jodha Akbar is a sixteenth century love story about a political marriage of convenience saga between a Mughal emperor, Akbar, and a Rajput princess, Jodha. But much more then that it's the marriage of contrasts.

Jalal-ud-din Mohommad (Akbar) who had inherited his father, Humayan's Mughal Empire at the age of 13, after his father's death, had been brought up almost like a trained assassin by Bairam Khan, his father's supreme commander. Hard-nosed, rough, tough and heartless... and priding himself on the each of those facets of his personality, the only thing Akbar had learnt was to expand his empire - at the cost of others lives - at the cost of emotions - at the cost of love - the word he was never familiar with.

 

Whilst Jodha, the daughter of Raja Bharmal, the Rajput King of Amer (one of the most affluent Rajput Kingdom's of its time) valued each of those emotions - valued the life of even the birds and bees of her kingdom - she only hated the Mughal's whom she felt were intruding upon her land, and wanted to oust them from Rajputana, along with their Emperor Jalal-ud-din, whom she hated with her heart.

Little did Akbar know at the time of his marriage to Jodha, the fiery Rajput princess, in order to expand his empire into Rajputana, the land of the Valiant Rajputs, he would in turn be embarking upon a new journey - the journey of true love - he would discover the heart which he never felt he had - and it would throb for its rightful lover - Jodha.
"


Well, after reading this, lets come to terms with the reality. The issue is NOT how many of us agree or disagree with the tag line, but the fact that the channel has itself forgotten what it promised to the viewers. The show which was supposed to highlight the Love story of Jodha Akbar(JA), is now thriving on the the romance(!!!) of their son Salim with a commoner girl called Anarkali(a character whose identity is not even "established" in history). Soon, we may see Nur Jahan also, after the departure of Anarkali. The show has reduced Man Bai(alias Manbhavati Bai/Shah Begum) and Manmati(Jagat Gosain/Jodh Bai/Biqlis Makani) to virtually non-existent characters and promoting Anarkali as the main lead. In between all this, the actors playing Jodha and Akbar have been reduced to side characters in a show which is meant for them, which runs in their name, which was to be about THEIR Love, not that of Salim Anarkali(SA) or anyone else, for that matter.

I think this single paragraph(above) is enough to make one think where the show is heading. The story of Jodha and Akbar has been reduced to an irreparable mess, thanks to a lackadaisical script.! I won't be surprised if the show takes another leap(as it keeps taking now a days) to start the story of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz also. :-P

From the written updates of the episodes, it's clear that Jodha and Akbar's love story has run its course. The creatives have run out of ideas. The administration is running by itself, as Jodha and Akbar of this show have nothing to do except running after Salim. The Emperor whose name commands authority in history has been reduced to a mere caricature, who cries and begs for the life of his son from a petty tribal chieftain. The otherwise practical and shrewd Shehenshah is shown begging pleading with a tribal chief, screaming, and behaving in the most insensible manner, thereby belittling and insulting himself. A sense of sheer disdain has taken over the hardcore viewers of this show. 

One of my friends put it well > "Since the production house is only capable of showing the love story of a lead pair(which seems to have been already achieved as per the creatives), unlimited plots against Jodha and presence of new girls in Akbar's life in the form of Benazir and Atifa(also achieved), they ran out of ideas and introduced Salim where they can show another love angle(their comfort zone) of Salim and his lady/ies again and again. They aren't capable of showing the political growth of Akbar and Jodha. "

Remember that MUZ was a smart businesswomen carrying out International Trade in 16th Century and the Empress of Mughal Sultanate with great powers, and Akbar was a strong willed-Emperor, who had brought forth reforms which later formed the basis of British edifice in India. But the lament is that > Here we have a helpless MUZ who gets bettered by Ruqayya(her character has been made really pathetic, why can't the writers come up with a simple 'ethical grey shaded' character) in every game, and a non-violence activist in place of the Emperor with a holier-than-thou approach, so much so that, he has to beg, cry and shiver in front of a tribal chief. Even his friend Raja Bhagwan Das was shown with an 'attitude' of a king but not Akbar. Such a presentation is beyond belief. We all have seen how the administration runs. Same way, kings are not saints. In fact, they can not be saints. They need to rule with a certain degree of strong hand.

After seeing the characterization of Salim, i think even Mahachuchak Begum and her teenage husband Haider Qasim was much better. Forget Mahachuchak! Even Khyber was not so "irritating"... Salim reserved so much respect for the elders in his family, especially for his mother, but here he is shown completely opposite of that.!
Post : > Relations of Salim with HIS Relatives & Mother

I think the show has broken all possible records set previously by any other Production House by taking leaps after leaps in this show. Let me sum up in brief. The blunder started with the death of twins - Hasan and Husain. Historically, the death happened in late 1564. See this post, for the details on twins. > The Twins of Akbar and Mariam-Uz-Zamani

After this death, Akbar and Jodha went on pilgrimages together, Akbar even took Jodha with him on a war immediately after the death of the twins. But the makers wrongly presented the subsequent events in the show.

So many tracks could have been shown. See here. > Missed Historical Tracks in Jodha Akbar

Let me tell in brief that right now the show should be running around 1585. According to this timeline, Salim is 15-16 years now, and many important events have been missed. :

1. Salim is nearly 15-16 years old.

2. Aram Bano Begum was born on 22 December 1584, the daughter of Akbar and MUZ, but she is shown wrongly as a "grown up" girl.

3. By this time, Akbar had finished conducting the religious debates in his capital Fatehpur Sikri, and moved his court to Lahore. By the way, on a funnier note, the creatives/writers have forgotten to even show us Fatehpur Sikri, a landmark event in the history of Akbar. The Fatehpur Sikri was mentioned at the end of Benazir track but NEVER mentioned after that. Right now, Akbar's court should be in Lahore, but even that is missing.

4. His famous Navratans make a 'guest appearance' in a few episodes and then they also go missing from the Mughal Darbar, that too in order to discuss ONLY and ONLY Salim.!!

5. Tauhid-e-Illahi(called Din-e-Illahi also) was introduced in 1582-83, but according to timeline it has not been shown to us. {Despite conveying to the writers/CV's endlessly to show it.}

6. Well, i can go on and on with the lament, but.............

Coming back to the show, the part where Maan Bai, Jagat Gosain and Anarkali were introduced as friends got me wondering if I'm actually watching a supposed royal, 16th century story of Jodha Akbar and family or a spoof made of the show by a person with a "not so good" sense of humor with a grudge against the show. The show is climbing new heights of ridiculousness.

The story of Jodha and Akbar is magical and, loved by huge masses. I would have liked the show to be centered around them till the end with Salim's story being a "part" of it rather than being the exclusive limelight/focus of the story.

Another point worth mentioning is about an episode where Salim gives an "ultimatum" to Akbar about not allowing him to marry Bela, a tribal princess. Well friends, for those who are aware of the strict degree of mannerism maintained by Akbar must be cursing themselves for watching that non-sensical scene. Had it been ""REAL AKBAR"", Salim would have been given some REAL medicine by Akbar......Well all this was a deliberately created nuisance of the CV's. The tribals in Rajputana live in the Mewar region and they were the allies of Akbar's most famous rival Maharana Pratap, not of Akbar. Infact, they were his rivals. But, in the show, the tribal chief was showed as living under protection of Akbar. Nothing can be farther from the truth. The clothing of the tribals was straight out of some ancient history documentary, and i was getting ready to watch a "Jhinga La La Hu Hu type" marriage ceremony of Akbar. Thankfully, the marriage did not happen.

Com'on! Even tribals had better clothes, it is evident from the paintings in Udaipur, for those who have visited the palace there. So, all that was another piece of "creativity" courtesy - NR. {Tribals lived in Mewar hills in territory of Maharana Pratap(Link1 Link2) NOT in Amer in Raja Bhagwan Das's territory!}

One thing i want to know, how come Anarkali stays out of her home every night to meet Salim.?. Weren't girls supposed to stay in home those days ? How is this possible ? Well, our writers have a track record of creating such scenes, as we saw in the Sujamal-Jodha track.

None of this interests me anymore. The Creatives have messed up the storyline beyond repair, and the new actors have to bear the brunt of a hopeless plot and direction. These newbies are trying to establish themselves in a new project with a 'supposedly' mega PH. They are in no way responsible for a mess which has been created in this show, as they have to act according to what is required of them. A major credit for making this show a success goes the lead pair Rajat and Paridhi, who are adored by a large range of masses across India and abroad. Kudos to the actors for a dhamakedaar performance.! Really wish for a better project for these guys.!

Maharana Pratap show of Sony also does dramatization, but it is sensible, not overly dramatic and blends in with both the situation and history. The characterization of Akbar shown there commands a "class". The court proceedings of Akbar is a treat to watch. Each and every character, induces an interest. But, Jodha Akbar's Agra is a looney house where NO decorum is followed, and anyone can walk into the Diwan-e-Khas/Diwan-e-Aam while the assembly is in session.

If the CV's HAD TO GO for a Big Leap, they could still have retained the charm and quality of the show and retained the importance of JA. The SA story could have been narrated from the JA perspective. This way the focus would have stayed on the leads and the leap could have been effected too (for whatever reason it was needed). 

Secondly, if the CVs go for a leap, they must have the courage to go through with it completely, including aging their popular (former) leads - Akbar and Jodha. It is absolutely silly to make the parents look the same as they did on their wedding day even after they have celebrated their silver wedding anniversary. I don't mind if they show Salim-Anarkali. After all, we have tolerated Atifa / Khyber and what not, in the past. But some quality, some dignity, some maturity isn't too much to ask for. Or is it? The amount of screen space and the importance given to the new characters is making it very hard to carry on with the show. The issue is also that, many tracks in the life of Jodha Akbar have been missed to take this leap. Missed Tracks

Most likely, SA has been introduced to keep pace with a rival show started recently, as the makers ran out of ideas/research material(?). But I would say the destruction had started even before the leap with the Atifa/Khyber track, the Chittor war, deaths of Hasan Hussain...Nothing clicked for JA after Atifa and Khyber entered the show and especially after Maham died. The CVs couldn't drag Maham's role forever. And they couldn't get another villain to replace her successfully. Mahachuchak Begum didn't get anyone's vote. Adham and Atga Khan were dead. The CVs didn't know what to do with Sharif-ud-din beyond showing him as a luster. They tried hard with Ruqayya Begum and they got everyone to hate her and want to see her punished. But a successful villain needs strong positive characters to act as counterfoil and needs to be shown to meet his/her nemesis. Neither of these factors was included by the CVs in the script. 

Looking beyond villains, the CVs needed to develop the relationship between Jodha and Akbar further into a strong bond, which they couldn't. The makers of this show are well capable and know how to handle mature relationships among married people, as this was not the first show they made. But, what the CVs had showed, it looked liked they have absolutely no clue what to do with the hero and heroine once they had confessed their love and had become parents too. Result --> pathetic blame games and Misunderstandings.

Sticking to history required a massive budget both for research and for authentic sets / war scenes etc. Hence the makers refused to move out of the harem or show anything which required a new set or extra money to be spent. Research(which was evident earlier) was replaced by fantasy which was quite easy since they already had a disclaimer. 

A new love story means that they don't need expensive sets, historical research or major villains. The father (Akbar) can be turned into the villain and the mother can be made a typical daily show lead caught up between the husband and son. And the show can go on, riding on the success of the initial product. Rajat and Paridhi are still continuing and that too in silence, they must be aware how the fans feel by the changed storyline. There were reports(i don't know how much true) that Rajat complained about the less, lesser and least screen space given to him now-days. Perhaps, the CVs have become arrogant, flushed with the success of the show. And can issue any statement and dish out anything in the name of JA. The makers are accountable for the show to the audience.

Since the death of Hussein the quality of JA was deteriorating but at least Jodha Akbar were the focus and main leads. One feels cheated by the makers of JA that they decided to focus on SA rather than JA. I read few posts regarding new actors, but the problem is not the actors but the characters they play. It was JA and THEIR journey not SA. Yes, showing Salim was inevitable but they could have showed so many tracks of Jodha Akbar's life before Salim than show Salim growing up and his important parts of life from JA's POV. Why the rush to show SA.? They could have ended it before ruining JA's story. If they had gracefully ended JA and then showed SA as new show, I am pretty sure many viewers would have given chance including hardcore JA viewers.

It's really disheartening to see how CVs have turned a very successful show from gold to garbage. There was a time when many i know, used to spend hours watching JA, even the repeats, waiting for promos, discussing each and everything about JA and the actors, reading all brilliant analysis on the episodes everyday. There was a time when weekends were hated by many, as was was no Jodha Akbar those days.

Now, all that is a thing of past. JA has changed and moved on, so has life.......All the Best to the actors who made this show a success, for their future.....

The article has been posted under the Jodha Akbar section of history_geek's Blog.