Aishwarya Rai adorned with opulent jewelry in JP Dutta's Umrao JaanAshutosh Gowarikar is meticulous when it comes to making his films. With Jodha-Akbar, a film for which he dons the cap of producer, director and writer, Ashutosh has raised the bar for himself to an extent where the film may well end up exceeding the opulence of Mugal-e-azam.
Written, produced and directed by Gowarikar, Jodha-Akbar is a period romance starring Hrithik Roshan as Emperor Akbar and Aishwarya Rai as Jodhabai. The film is being shot using authentic gold and diamond jewelry that is exquisite and delectable even by standards reserved for the royalty.
The jewelry, designed by a team of 80 handpicked stylists and crafted by Tanishq, is being stored in a special executive room secured by 50 guards. The stars have to personally go to the executive room to wear their ornaments before a shoot and return them after it.
Reportedly even the pagdi (turban) that will adorn Hrithik Roshan as Emperor Akbar will be custom made for him.
The Mumbai Mirror quoted a source as saying, "Yes, there are several people who are specially taking care of the jewelry. Besides, all the actors are also taking personal interest in the jewelry."
"They have used emeralds, rubies and pearls, all specially designed for the film. They are all very expensive. For instance, a simple Rakhi on actor Sonu Sood's wrist costs around Rs eight lakh."
Jodha-Akbar is big budget movie about the romance between Mughal king Akbar and his Rajput wife Jodhabai. The film confines itself to the period before Akbar reached the age of 27 and their son Salim was born. As such, the film is essentially a young love story. In a manner of speaking and only as far as the story is concerned, the film maybe considered a prequel to the epic Mughal-e-Azam.
In his quest for historical accuracy Ashutosh has read Akbarnama, a biographical account of Akbar written by Abul Fazl, one of the Navaratans of Akbar’s royal court and Ain-e-Akbari translation of Abul Fazal's Persian text. He has also consulted historians such as Irfan Habib of Aligarh Muslim University.
AR Rehman will provide the musical score for the film and Javed Akhtar will pen its lyrics.
Gowarikar directed the critically acclaimed blockbuster Lagaan (2001) that was nominated for an Academy Award in the category of Best Foreign Language Film. His more recent film Swadesh (2004) starring Shah Rukh Khan was commercially less successful but found favor amongst overseas Indians.
Tanishq is a leading jewelry brand in India. Started in 1995, it is the jewelry business group of Titan Industries Ltd - promoted by the TATA group, India’s most respected and widely diversified business conglomerate.
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