Jodhaa Akbar (2008 Movie)

[00:00:00] Hello and welcome to Fetch the Smelling Salt, I'm Alice

[00:00:13] And I'm Kim and this is our podcast all about historical dramas from movies and TV shows

[00:00:19] to miniseries from every era and all around the world

[00:00:23] Hooray! And this is a part 2 in a series

[00:00:27] Yes, and we're calling this series Kim's Indian Obsession

[00:00:32] Kim's Indian Obsession Series Part 2 of 3

[00:00:37] This is a chronological series that started with our episode on Padma Vat which was in the 1300s

[00:00:44] It was like bang around like the year 1300

[00:00:47] Did I remember that right?

[00:00:48] Alright

[00:00:48] And then now we're in the 1550s

[00:00:54] Yeah, they're about

[00:00:55] 1550s, 1560s and then our last one is gonna be

[00:00:59] Kind of like 1857, 1856 around that time

[00:01:04] Are we gonna keep that a secret?

[00:01:07] No we're not! It's Mangal Pandey

[00:01:10] So there we go

[00:01:11] So we're talking about Jota Akbar today

[00:01:15] This is a 2008 film

[00:01:17] It's wonderful

[00:01:19] It's also long AF

[00:01:22] Oh my god, it's so long

[00:01:23] It's worth it

[00:01:25] But this is a 3 and a half hour film

[00:01:28] So you notice I haven't asked how you are

[00:01:31] I don't care, we don't have time for that

[00:01:32] No, we do have time, no, we're gonna get into it

[00:01:34] We have to get into this summary

[00:01:37] So I'm gonna start it

[00:01:38] Alright, go

[00:01:39] Oh my god

[00:01:42] So I have a cup of tea

[00:01:45] Which I am drinking

[00:01:46] Well, Alice can see this

[00:01:48] Alright, I'm drinking off all of this beautiful

[00:01:51] Isn't it lovely?

[00:01:53] This beautiful cup

[00:01:54] This beautiful mug that I have

[00:01:55] So it comes as a pair

[00:01:57] So it was given to me by my wonderful friends

[00:02:01] Anup and Pornamaiswar

[00:02:03] And it's basically the decoration on the mug

[00:02:07] It's of these Mughal miniature paintings

[00:02:10] And I love it, I love them so much

[00:02:12] So this is like my graduation present

[00:02:14] When I graduated from my PhD

[00:02:17] Because in line with my Indian obsession

[00:02:21] My PhD was on women travellers in India

[00:02:24] So there we go

[00:02:26] So that's kind of like my theme drink for this evening

[00:02:29] Wow, so you've got a theme mug

[00:02:31] I'm gonna theme mug

[00:02:32] The drink inside isn't very thematic

[00:02:35] It's just herbal tea

[00:02:36] But there we go

[00:02:38] So Joda Akbar, this is it

[00:02:40] I have one little caveat to this summary

[00:02:42] Which is because this movie is so long

[00:02:45] I ended up focusing on certain things

[00:02:47] And cutting out other things

[00:02:49] So there's a lot of political intrigue

[00:02:51] Involving dudes wanting power

[00:02:56] And I gloss over a lot of that

[00:02:58] Which I think is fine

[00:03:00] Doesn't affect the important bits of the plot at all

[00:03:04] I found

[00:03:05] So this is the story of Dalaluddin Muhammad Akbar

[00:03:09] And how the Mughals united Hindustan

[00:03:13] Once upon a 16th century

[00:03:15] There was a princess called Joda

[00:03:17] Daughter of King Barmal

[00:03:20] Who was born in the kingdom of Amir

[00:03:22] In the region of Rajputana

[00:03:25] She had a cousin called Sujumal

[00:03:28] Who loved her like a sister

[00:03:30] And Joda was betrothed to the local prince

[00:03:33] Ratan Singh of Ajabar

[00:03:36] And life was nice

[00:03:38] In the year 1555

[00:03:41] The Mughal dynasty is in trouble

[00:03:43] After the accidental death of Emperor Humayun

[00:03:48] Do you know how he dies?

[00:03:50] I was going to say food poisoning

[00:03:53] So right

[00:03:55] He hears Hayab in his castle in his palace

[00:03:58] On his turret

[00:03:59] He hears the azan, the call for prayer

[00:04:02] He goes down, he's trying to go down the stairs

[00:04:04] He trips and he falls

[00:04:05] He basically dies falling downstairs

[00:04:08] That's how he dies

[00:04:10] Falling down the stairs of his turret tower?

[00:04:12] Yeah

[00:04:13] Ooh, that's embarrassing

[00:04:15] I know, right?

[00:04:16] No wonder they didn't put it in the movie

[00:04:18] I know, they were like accidental death

[00:04:19] But yeah, that's how he dies

[00:04:21] Sorry, please carry on

[00:04:23] That's a better death than food poisoning though

[00:04:25] That is true

[00:04:26] 13-year-old Jalaluddin and his mentor, Bayram Khan

[00:04:30] Have to fight a usurper for the throne

[00:04:32] But Jalaluddin, he's 13

[00:04:34] So he's on the sidelines

[00:04:36] Well, elephants actually do a lot of the fighting

[00:04:39] But we know that those elephants

[00:04:42] were treated with extreme love and care

[00:04:45] because there is a note at the beginning of the film

[00:04:48] telling us so

[00:04:50] Yes

[00:04:50] And I really wish that more films had that, don't you?

[00:04:53] I know, I really loved it

[00:04:55] So when I started, I don't know

[00:04:56] When I was rewatching it, right?

[00:04:58] And then I took a photo of my screen

[00:05:02] And I sent it to Alice and I was like, look at that

[00:05:06] That's nice

[00:05:07] The best we get in some of our Hollywood movies

[00:05:10] is like, no animals were actively harmed

[00:05:13] in the making of this film

[00:05:14] But yeah, you know

[00:05:16] You don't know about their emotional well-being

[00:05:18] Yeah, so it actually says

[00:05:20] All the animals and birds in this film

[00:05:22] have been treated with extreme love, care and concern

[00:05:25] in the presence of veterinarian doctors

[00:05:28] and animal welfare bought in officials

[00:05:31] That's brilliant

[00:05:32] And that made me feel really good about all the horses

[00:05:34] and elephants and parrots and bunnies

[00:05:37] in the film

[00:05:38] Anyway, back to the battle

[00:05:41] When the usurper is captured and he's near death

[00:05:44] Jalaluddin is supposed to behead him

[00:05:47] but he won't

[00:05:48] so his mentor has to do it

[00:05:51] Over the next six years, Jalaluddin and his mentor

[00:05:53] tried to consolidate the Hindustan Empire

[00:05:56] by sending emissaries around

[00:05:59] to ask the kingdoms

[00:06:00] pretty much saying

[00:06:02] Join the Mughals right now please

[00:06:04] Please

[00:06:05] And anyone who says no

[00:06:07] gets attacked in slow motion

[00:06:09] by a now hot Jalaluddin

[00:06:12] who we're gonna call Jalal now

[00:06:15] And he's played by Hretik Roshan, the god

[00:06:19] beautiful man

[00:06:20] The most handsomest being

[00:06:23] Yes, he's just gorgeous

[00:06:26] He's gorgeous

[00:06:27] He has two thumbs on his right or left hand

[00:06:30] but he's so beautiful

[00:06:31] you don't even notice

[00:06:33] We're gonna have to come back to that

[00:06:34] Jalal makes it clear

[00:06:36] that from now on

[00:06:37] prisoners of war will no longer be enslaved or killed

[00:06:40] because beheading is tired

[00:06:43] He is a man emperor now

[00:06:45] and he's going to rule with compassion and mercy

[00:06:48] Great

[00:06:49] Now it's time to go to Rajputana

[00:06:51] where Jota is also grown up

[00:06:54] and she's been learning to sword fight

[00:06:56] with her brother cousin, Sujumal

[00:06:58] I'm just gonna call him brother Sujumal

[00:07:00] Yeah, cause that's how she refers to him anyway so

[00:07:02] Yeah, Sujumal really wants his uncle

[00:07:05] to make him the crown prince of Amir

[00:07:08] but he gets passed over

[00:07:10] and Sujumal is so angry about it

[00:07:13] that he rides off and spends the rest of the movie

[00:07:16] trying to find someone who will make him

[00:07:18] the prince of Amir

[00:07:20] He starts by going to Jalal's brother-in-law

[00:07:23] Sharifuddin

[00:07:25] who is married to Jalal's sister Buna

[00:07:28] But Sharifuddin is bad

[00:07:30] which you can tell by his eyebrows

[00:07:33] and although he's governor of some places

[00:07:36] he wants to invade Delhi

[00:07:38] and be the emperor of every place

[00:07:40] A rude

[00:07:41] I'm also gonna not call him Sharifuddin anymore

[00:07:45] He's just gonna be bad brother-in-law

[00:07:47] Easy

[00:07:47] Cause bad people get dumb nicknames

[00:07:50] Meanwhile, the king Baramal of Amir, Jota's dad

[00:07:54] wants to avoid war with the Mughals

[00:07:56] so he's going to ally with them

[00:07:59] The other Rajput kings hate this idea

[00:08:02] so they are cutting him off

[00:08:04] and that means Jota's engagement is off

[00:08:07] No more prince for time for you

[00:08:09] which is fine cause

[00:08:11] he looks more like prince

[00:08:13] ratty

[00:08:14] sick burn

[00:08:16] When King Baramal goes to see Emperor Jalal

[00:08:19] he finds him in the elephant arena

[00:08:22] taming an elephant

[00:08:23] As one does

[00:08:25] Now would this be a good time for me to present my

[00:08:29] elephant taming tips by Jalal or should I say that?

[00:08:32] Ooh

[00:08:34] Alright, come on, let's go on, let's do it

[00:08:36] Okay, so we're watching Jalal

[00:08:39] in a really long sweaty hot scene

[00:08:42] tame an elephant

[00:08:44] in an arena

[00:08:46] and I think these would probably apply to

[00:08:50] trying to woo a lady

[00:08:51] Okay

[00:08:53] as well

[00:08:53] So everybody listen up

[00:08:55] Okay, number one

[00:08:56] try to jump on her back

[00:09:00] Two

[00:09:01] don't get hit by the trunk

[00:09:03] Three, don't get stomped

[00:09:06] Four, this is important

[00:09:07] hide in a nook

[00:09:09] then at an opportune time

[00:09:11] flip over a wall

[00:09:12] I know

[00:09:14] Yeah

[00:09:15] shout words at her in a commanding tone

[00:09:17] to hypnotize her with your authority

[00:09:20] Not sure what number we're on

[00:09:22] use a tiny spiked shield and don't drop it

[00:09:27] And finally

[00:09:28] Parkour

[00:09:29] Parkour

[00:09:30] Once you're on there

[00:09:32] she's chill immediately

[00:09:34] I mean, also look hot

[00:09:35] This goes without saying

[00:09:37] elephants don't respect not hot people

[00:09:39] No, no, totally, no

[00:09:41] Yeah

[00:09:42] That's why the elephant tried to kill the other guy

[00:09:44] because he wasn't as hot, you see

[00:09:46] She was like

[00:09:47] Uh, stomp on you

[00:09:48] Yeah

[00:09:49] I was like

[00:09:50] So after all this elephant training

[00:09:52] King Barma tells Jalal

[00:09:53] that he wants to join the empire

[00:09:56] on the condition that Jalal marry his daughter Joda

[00:10:00] But how could that be possible

[00:10:01] when Mughals are Muslim

[00:10:03] and Rajputs are Hindu?

[00:10:05] On the other hand

[00:10:07] the marriage turns out to be politically strategic

[00:10:10] for reasons that I don't remember

[00:10:15] Furthermore

[00:10:17] Jalal sees this as a divine sign

[00:10:19] that marriage is the way to unite Hindustan

[00:10:23] But everyone is mad about it

[00:10:26] and Joda is distraught

[00:10:28] Joda's mom even gives her a vial of poison

[00:10:32] so she can drink it

[00:10:33] rather than lose her honor

[00:10:35] which is not chill

[00:10:37] No

[00:10:38] I mean, this is after the mom suggested

[00:10:40] that she kind of tricks Jalal, right?

[00:10:43] She's like

[00:10:44] Oh, maybe you can send a maid in your place

[00:10:46] and she's like

[00:10:46] Yeah, nah

[00:10:48] Pretty sure he'd figured that out

[00:10:50] And her mom's like

[00:10:51] Well, here's poison then

[00:10:53] There you go

[00:10:54] Okay darling, love you, bye

[00:10:56] And bye-bye

[00:10:57] Joda writes a letter to her brother Sujamaal

[00:11:00] asking him to save her

[00:11:01] but she decides she's not gonna send it

[00:11:04] she just packs it next to her poison

[00:11:06] So everyone in the palace

[00:11:08] this huge entourage

[00:11:09] they pack up

[00:11:10] and they head off

[00:11:12] to meet Jalal and his whole entourage

[00:11:15] at this marriage campsite

[00:11:18] Yeah

[00:11:19] They just don't go to his place

[00:11:22] they meet somewhere in the middle

[00:11:23] they set up a whole bunch of tents

[00:11:25] and it's a marriage camp

[00:11:28] Woo

[00:11:28] But suddenly

[00:11:30] Joda says she wants to meet Jalal

[00:11:32] before consenting to the marriage

[00:11:34] because she has some conditions

[00:11:37] Condition one

[00:11:38] she gets to keep her faith and her traditions

[00:11:41] Condition two

[00:11:42] she gets to bring her statue of Lord Krishna

[00:11:46] and have a little temple built for him in her chamber

[00:11:50] This is pretty outrageous

[00:11:52] but Jalal likes her moxie

[00:11:54] and he proclaims to everyone at the marriage camp

[00:11:58] that he agrees to these conditions

[00:12:01] Yeah, I mean it's a big deal

[00:12:02] because in Islam you can't have idols

[00:12:06] Right?

[00:12:06] So this is like for her to

[00:12:08] not only physically bring the statue of Krishna

[00:12:11] but to kind of like half the little temple

[00:12:15] have a temple within the walls

[00:12:17] Yeah

[00:12:17] Yeah, so it's a big deal

[00:12:19] Yeah

[00:12:19] So we get our first musical number

[00:12:21] which is a beautiful number done

[00:12:23] by a group of Sufi mystics

[00:12:25] as a gift for Jalal

[00:12:27] and I really like it

[00:12:28] It's very nice

[00:12:29] We get some whirling dervishes

[00:12:31] which I'm a big fan of

[00:12:32] Yeah

[00:12:32] Then they get married

[00:12:34] They have a Hindu ceremony first

[00:12:36] and then a Muslim one

[00:12:38] In the wedding tent that night

[00:12:40] Joda doesn't want Jalal to touch her

[00:12:42] She says she consented to marrying him

[00:12:45] but her heart won't let her be close to him

[00:12:49] and he's cool about it

[00:12:51] I have a question

[00:12:53] about sleeping and jewelry

[00:12:57] because it seems like

[00:12:59] people just be falling asleep elegantly

[00:13:04] in whatever they're wearing

[00:13:05] with no sheets or anything

[00:13:07] I understand it's hot

[00:13:08] Personally, I need a sheet on top of me

[00:13:10] no matter how hot it is

[00:13:12] but that's not my issue

[00:13:14] She does not alter her dress in any way

[00:13:18] She is wearing everything

[00:13:20] from head to toe

[00:13:20] her veil

[00:13:22] all of her jewelry around her face and neck

[00:13:25] which you would think would be very heavy

[00:13:27] It is

[00:13:28] Actually, it was

[00:13:30] I was looking it up

[00:13:31] and it weighed at least 3 kg

[00:13:33] like her wedding jewelry alone

[00:13:35] and they kind of try to make it

[00:13:37] as accurate as possible

[00:13:38] So that's pretty much what

[00:13:40] the real princess would have been wearing

[00:13:42] I know, I was thinking the same thing

[00:13:44] I was like

[00:13:45] What? What is she doing?

[00:13:47] How did she fall asleep all of that?

[00:13:48] I could even sleep with my ear studs on

[00:13:52] You know what I mean?

[00:13:53] And she's like

[00:13:54] I know she's propped up a little bit

[00:13:57] but still that had to be weighing on her chest

[00:14:01] and she does this throughout the film as well

[00:14:04] I'm just like, just take off something

[00:14:06] I know

[00:14:07] Splash some water on your face

[00:14:10] I mean, a jewelry is one thing

[00:14:11] the outfit itself

[00:14:12] I mean it's beautiful

[00:14:13] but I can't imagine it's comfortable to sleep in

[00:14:16] Where are the jammies?

[00:14:18] Exactly

[00:14:19] You know the word pajamas came from India

[00:14:21] Oh

[00:14:22] Yeah

[00:14:22] So I was like

[00:14:23] where are your pajamas at?

[00:14:25] Yeah

[00:14:26] You can't

[00:14:27] I mean

[00:14:28] I don't want to go too deep into it

[00:14:30] This is a dusty place

[00:14:31] she's just been at this campsite

[00:14:34] which is very dusty

[00:14:36] She's had multiple outfit changes

[00:14:39] throughout the day

[00:14:40] and yet just whatever she happened to be last in

[00:14:44] she's just gonna

[00:14:46] tilt her head back

[00:14:47] like she's on an airplane

[00:14:48] and just fall asleep

[00:14:49] I know and then she wakes up

[00:14:51] just as beautiful

[00:14:52] because obviously she's ashwarya rai

[00:14:54] and she's a goddess

[00:14:55] but still

[00:14:55] She doesn't have like the necklace

[00:14:57] and mash into her face

[00:14:59] In the morning

[00:15:00] Jalal leaves to check out emperor stuff

[00:15:02] and Jodha gets taken to the big Mughal fortress

[00:15:05] Agra

[00:15:06] where there's a women's palace

[00:15:09] and she gets her own five bedroom apartment

[00:15:12] within the palace

[00:15:13] including her little temple to Krishna

[00:15:16] She meets her new entourage

[00:15:18] her pet parrots

[00:15:20] and her eunuch

[00:15:21] Yeah

[00:15:21] as everybody gets one

[00:15:22] Of course

[00:15:23] A little sassy one too

[00:15:24] I love it

[00:15:26] She also meets Jalal's mother

[00:15:28] who spent most of his life away

[00:15:30] and Mahamanga

[00:15:32] the woman who raised him

[00:15:34] and who now is his closest advisor

[00:15:37] And then a lot of political stuff happens at this point

[00:15:40] which can be summed up as

[00:15:42] dudes being hungry for power

[00:15:43] and causing headaches for Jalal

[00:15:46] What's important is

[00:15:48] Jalal has a shady brother-in-law

[00:15:50] and a shady adoptive brother

[00:15:53] Adam

[00:15:54] son of Mahamanga

[00:15:55] his elder mother

[00:15:56] so I'm gonna call her elder mother

[00:15:58] Both these guys have been running around

[00:16:01] trying to make themselves in charge of things

[00:16:04] and Adam has also done war crimes

[00:16:07] Yes

[00:16:08] On the bright side

[00:16:09] Jalal has been getting to know Joda

[00:16:11] by hanging out with her in her wee temple

[00:16:13] and watching her while she plays with Bunnies

[00:16:16] And she sees him doing

[00:16:18] shirtless sword practice all alone

[00:16:21] apart from his eight friends

[00:16:24] His abs

[00:16:25] Oh my god

[00:16:26] At that point

[00:16:26] the notes that I made was

[00:16:28] I want to be the sweat trickling down his back

[00:16:32] My notes just say

[00:16:34] back sweat

[00:16:37] All right

[00:16:38] So it's a festival day

[00:16:40] The Day of the Pier

[00:16:41] which I tried to look up

[00:16:42] I couldn't really find anything

[00:16:43] so I don't know

[00:16:44] It's a day of some guy

[00:16:46] Up here

[00:16:47] The Day of the Up Here

[00:16:49] So to show his love

[00:16:51] Jalal has ordered a Rajput feast

[00:16:53] to celebrate his bride

[00:16:55] and sent her some really heavy looking jewelry

[00:16:59] Is it sleeping jewelry?

[00:17:01] Of course it is

[00:17:02] because all jewelry is sleeping jewelry

[00:17:05] If you're rich apparently

[00:17:07] in medieval India

[00:17:09] Joda decides

[00:17:10] her gift in return

[00:17:12] will be cooking the feast herself

[00:17:14] with her entourage

[00:17:16] which is very funny to me

[00:17:17] because as if she knows how to cook

[00:17:19] Yeah exactly

[00:17:21] She's like

[00:17:21] Oh I'm not like the other princesses

[00:17:23] Sure

[00:17:24] I grew up in a big palace

[00:17:25] and I had a bunch of cooks and servants

[00:17:26] but uh

[00:17:28] no I know how to cook

[00:17:29] Yeah

[00:17:30] I'm just a regular old wife

[00:17:32] Exactly

[00:17:33] But elder mother comes

[00:17:35] to piss in her corn flakes

[00:17:37] telling her to stop acting like a real wife

[00:17:40] because this marriage is strictly political

[00:17:42] and not even consummated

[00:17:47] That's really embarrassing that she knows that

[00:17:49] Joda cooks the food anyway

[00:17:51] and when elder mother tries to embarrass her

[00:17:54] by making her taste all the dishes

[00:17:56] as a poison check

[00:17:57] Jalal really sweetly insists on eating his food

[00:18:01] from all the same dishes that she tasted

[00:18:03] Yeah that was really sweet

[00:18:06] And that pretty much kicks off

[00:18:08] a montage of love

[00:18:10] Montage

[00:18:12] Getting to know you

[00:18:13] montage

[00:18:15] But amidst all this love

[00:18:17] sinister stuff is afoot

[00:18:19] Joda's servant finds Joda's poison

[00:18:22] and letter to her brother

[00:18:24] and shows them to elder mother

[00:18:27] though elder mother sends the brother the letter

[00:18:30] and even though his pal tells him it's a trap

[00:18:33] he decides he has to go

[00:18:35] Elder mother then shows Jalal

[00:18:37] Joda's vile of poison

[00:18:39] and tells him that she must be an assassin

[00:18:42] and she's still in love with Prince Ratan

[00:18:46] and that's why she refuses to touch Jalal's butt

[00:18:50] Oh his beautiful back

[00:18:52] Mmm

[00:18:54] Oh Lord then here comes Joda's brother Sujamal

[00:18:58] ready to whisk her away in the night

[00:19:00] and Joda tells him there's no need

[00:19:01] she's happy

[00:19:02] she never sent him a letter

[00:19:04] and while they're chatting

[00:19:05] Jalal spots them from a tower

[00:19:08] and brother Sujamal is arrested

[00:19:11] and like a dope

[00:19:12] Sujamal thinks that Joda sent the letter

[00:19:15] as a trap to betray him

[00:19:17] and Jalal thinks

[00:19:19] she was meeting with her secret lover Prince Ratan

[00:19:23] and he won't let her explain

[00:19:24] so she sent back to her family in a myrrh as a traitor

[00:19:29] It's like what the hell

[00:19:30] just speak to the woman man

[00:19:32] So unfair

[00:19:33] while she's gone Jalal's real mom steps up

[00:19:36] and she drops some truth bombs

[00:19:39] first that guy was Joda's freaking brother

[00:19:43] awkward

[00:19:44] and two elder mother orchestrated all this

[00:19:48] to ruin Jalal's marriage

[00:19:49] and she knows this because Joda's made

[00:19:52] grassed on elder mother

[00:19:54] Do you have this term in England?

[00:19:56] What grass?

[00:19:57] Yeah

[00:19:57] Yeah

[00:19:58] Yeah yeah

[00:19:58] Well I love it

[00:19:59] Well I don't know

[00:20:00] I mean to be honest

[00:20:02] you're talking to a non-English person

[00:20:03] so I know the term

[00:20:05] I'm not sure if English people know the term

[00:20:06] but yeah

[00:20:08] I learned it here in Scotland

[00:20:09] at you know basically means to be a tattletale

[00:20:12] but she's a good grass

[00:20:14] Yeah she's a good grass

[00:20:15] She's not a bad grass

[00:20:16] She's not like a narc

[00:20:18] but she grasses on elder mother in a good way

[00:20:21] she she lets everybody know the truth

[00:20:23] Yeah

[00:20:25] So Jalal takes a big entourage to him

[00:20:28] her to get Joda back

[00:20:29] and he finds her in a fun little like

[00:20:32] find the bride under the veil game

[00:20:35] so that means he gets to stay in her bed chamber

[00:20:38] for winning the game

[00:20:40] but that does not matter

[00:20:41] because Joda is not having it

[00:20:43] and she pulls a curtain between them

[00:20:45] and says that she's not going back with him

[00:20:48] the next morning

[00:20:50] he finds her practicing sword fighting

[00:20:53] and he says if she can beat him

[00:20:56] she can stay with her family

[00:20:58] after an extremely charming sword fight

[00:21:01] cute

[00:21:01] Jalal wins

[00:21:03] but Joda still says she won't go back

[00:21:05] he says he won't make her

[00:21:07] instead he's going to win her heart

[00:21:10] and Jalal takes to heart

[00:21:11] an insightful critique from Joda

[00:21:13] which is

[00:21:14] there is a difference between conquering and ruling

[00:21:18] so

[00:21:19] he stalks around the Bazaar and Agra

[00:21:21] trying to figure out what people want

[00:21:24] and he learns that locals don't like Mughal rule

[00:21:27] because they're foreigners

[00:21:29] and they're filling their coffers

[00:21:31] with this super unfair pilgrim tax

[00:21:34] Jalal goes back to his court

[00:21:36] and proclaims

[00:21:37] this is my country

[00:21:39] and I will not allow it to be plundered

[00:21:41] and he's coming into his own

[00:21:43] and he's starting by abolishing the pilgrim tax

[00:21:47] and everyone is so stoked about him

[00:21:49] doing this one thing

[00:21:51] that they have a massive party

[00:21:54] and do a big song and dance number

[00:21:56] to tell Jalal what a cool emperor he is

[00:22:00] and Joda shows up on an elephant

[00:22:03] and he gets the title Aukbar

[00:22:05] and he gets presents

[00:22:06] he gets his literal weight in presents

[00:22:10] I know

[00:22:10] there's a scale

[00:22:12] he's sitting on one side

[00:22:14] they put presents on the other side

[00:22:16] I want to do that for my next birthday party man

[00:22:19] absolutely

[00:22:19] just sit me on that scale

[00:22:21] load up the other side with gold

[00:22:24] and swords

[00:22:25] and in addition to that

[00:22:27] he gets a horse

[00:22:28] a new horse

[00:22:29] and Jalal takes his horse

[00:22:30] for a ride around through the crowd

[00:22:33] but what's this?

[00:22:35] an assassin lurking nearby

[00:22:38] not hiding very well at all

[00:22:39] I know it's like oh hey

[00:22:41] like Kira Mai looking very dodgy

[00:22:45] here's my bow and arrow

[00:22:46] oh I'm covering my face

[00:22:48] and tippy towing

[00:22:50] like a scoundrel

[00:22:51] he's basically the hamburger over here

[00:22:54] and the assassin does manage to shoot Jalal

[00:22:57] in the shoulder slash heart region

[00:23:00] but does not kill him

[00:23:02] and then he gets caught

[00:23:03] almost immediately

[00:23:05] and takes a suicide pill

[00:23:07] not good at his job

[00:23:10] so Jalal is alive

[00:23:13] and he's brought to his bed

[00:23:14] to have his wound treated

[00:23:16] but the arrow was laced with poison

[00:23:19] they're not sure how that's gonna go

[00:23:21] and Jalal prays to Krishna at her temple

[00:23:24] until Jalal wakes up

[00:23:26] and it looks like he'll live

[00:23:28] then she helps nurse him

[00:23:30] until he's feeling loads better

[00:23:32] yay

[00:23:33] Jalal takes Jalal to a place in the palace

[00:23:35] where the sunset is particularly dazzling

[00:23:38] and he asks do you love me

[00:23:40] and she says yes I do

[00:23:43] and you and he says

[00:23:45] I love you deeply

[00:23:49] and finally at two hours and 58 minutes

[00:23:53] into this movie

[00:23:55] they kiss for the first time

[00:23:58] and then I think

[00:24:00] they consummate their marriage

[00:24:02] very tastefully

[00:24:04] it's implied

[00:24:06] so who sent the assassin you ask

[00:24:09] it was bad brother-in-law

[00:24:12] and brother Sujumal is working for him now

[00:24:16] and Jalal knows that bad brother-in-law

[00:24:19] sent the assassin

[00:24:20] and bad brother-in-law knows he knows

[00:24:23] so they're all going to have a big battle about it

[00:24:27] on the battlefield

[00:24:29] which I think there's only one in this region

[00:24:32] they all go there for all of their fights

[00:24:35] and I think it's the same one from Padmavat

[00:24:37] it might also be

[00:24:39] where they had the marriage camp

[00:24:40] but I can't confirm that

[00:24:41] there you go

[00:24:42] yeah

[00:24:43] just one flat piece of land

[00:24:44] everyone goes there for everything

[00:24:46] here's the flattest part

[00:24:48] it's sandy but it's not too dusty

[00:24:51] you can run on it easily

[00:24:53] there's a nice mountain view

[00:24:57] when both sides show up

[00:24:59] they set up camp

[00:25:00] and brother Sujumal figures out that

[00:25:02] brother-in-law is going to kill him too eventually

[00:25:06] so he runs away to join Jamal's side

[00:25:10] and warn him about another assassin

[00:25:13] that's coming

[00:25:14] but as he's riding off

[00:25:16] oh brother he gets shot with a bunch of arrows

[00:25:19] and he lives just long enough

[00:25:21] to warn everyone about the assassin

[00:25:23] and see Joda arrive

[00:25:26] and learn that she never betrayed him

[00:25:28] then he dies

[00:25:30] Jalal and bad brother-in-law decide to have a fight

[00:25:33] just between the two of them

[00:25:35] over control of the country

[00:25:37] and it's wild that that's how that works

[00:25:39] are you ready for another medieval Indian hot ass fight

[00:25:43] and by hot and very warm

[00:25:46] because they're in the desert

[00:25:48] and they're wearing a lot of armor

[00:25:50] again

[00:25:50] well I hope you're ready

[00:25:51] because it is long

[00:25:53] this is a long battle

[00:25:54] but Jalal wins

[00:25:56] and then he forgives bad brother-in-law

[00:26:00] he issues him a fine

[00:26:02] and then he commands him to be loyal from now on

[00:26:06] I'm sure that worked out for him

[00:26:07] yeah I know right

[00:26:08] you couldn't at least like put him on house arrest

[00:26:11] well I have notes about that

[00:26:13] we'll go we'll get back to that

[00:26:14] okay yeah

[00:26:15] back home at court

[00:26:16] Jalal announces his respect for all religions

[00:26:19] and he brings Joda up

[00:26:21] to tell everyone how much he loves her

[00:26:24] the end

[00:26:26] amazing

[00:26:27] I think you did an amazing job

[00:26:29] it was a hella long movie

[00:26:31] and it was a great summary

[00:26:34] thank you

[00:26:37] now we need we need the sound of just like elephants stomping

[00:26:41] yeah

[00:26:41] stomping on people's heads

[00:26:43] boom splat

[00:26:44] boom splat

[00:26:46] so I love elephants right

[00:26:47] especially Indian elephants

[00:26:49] so you notice a difference right

[00:26:50] Indian and African elephants

[00:26:51] African elephants that are one of the big bigger

[00:26:53] ears

[00:26:54] I was gonna say the only difference I know is about ear size

[00:26:57] and that Indian elephants have

[00:26:58] have more dainty demure ears

[00:27:00] yeah I mean they're also like

[00:27:01] the ear size

[00:27:02] the size of the elephant

[00:27:03] and the shape of the head

[00:27:04] as well

[00:27:06] so you know these are clearly like Indian elephants

[00:27:08] they're super cool

[00:27:09] all right

[00:27:10] now I've got some notes

[00:27:11] notes notes notes

[00:27:12] so this movie

[00:27:13] won some cool awards

[00:27:14] won the audience award for best foreign language film at the

[00:27:18] Sao Paulo International Film Festival

[00:27:21] two awards at the Golden Min Bar International Film Festival

[00:27:25] two awards for best choreography

[00:27:27] at the National Film Awards

[00:27:30] one for best costume design

[00:27:32] as well

[00:27:33] I mean which you know

[00:27:34] deserve the costumes were amazing

[00:27:36] I'm gonna go into that a little bit

[00:27:38] oh god yeah

[00:27:39] yeah um just lots and then 10 international Indian film academy awards

[00:27:44] seven star screen awards

[00:27:45] lots lots lots

[00:27:46] yeah lots of awards

[00:27:47] and also you know how at the start right

[00:27:50] you know when it opens right

[00:27:52] that weird scene

[00:27:52] that weird fighting scene

[00:27:54] there's a bit of like a narration going on

[00:27:58] where the narrator condenses

[00:28:00] like the history of the Mughal empire up to that point

[00:28:04] right from what I remember it was like

[00:28:06] a lot of people tried to conquer Hindustan

[00:28:10] and they were bad

[00:28:10] but then the Mughals came

[00:28:12] and they were good

[00:28:13] yeah kind of

[00:28:15] yeah so it's kind of like

[00:28:16] depending on which side of history we'll

[00:28:18] kind of go into a little bit of that

[00:28:20] what was interesting

[00:28:20] was the person who was doing the narration

[00:28:23] is none other than Amitabh Bachchan

[00:28:26] so anybody who knows Indian cinema

[00:28:28] you would know that he is a stalwart

[00:28:31] of Indian cinema

[00:28:32] is Amitabh Bachchan

[00:28:34] who also happens to be

[00:28:36] the father-in-law of Ashwarya Rai

[00:28:39] no way

[00:28:40] yeah yeah he's like

[00:28:41] he's a big dude

[00:28:42] like a big shot dude

[00:28:43] okay

[00:28:44] so he did the narration

[00:28:46] so his it's very interesting actually

[00:28:49] the way in which he talks about the Mughal empire

[00:28:53] they actually kind of misrepresented

[00:28:55] so he says

[00:28:56] and the Mughals had come to Indian 1450

[00:29:00] but in actual fact

[00:29:02] the Mughal empire started in 1526 with Baba

[00:29:06] so he was the first Mughal conqueror

[00:29:08] of India

[00:29:09] that's like one generation

[00:29:10] like close 75 years

[00:29:13] so the whole film right

[00:29:14] I think you're not supposed to take it as a historical fact

[00:29:18] you know and that was like what they were trying to address

[00:29:23] right at the start

[00:29:24] there's also like a little post script

[00:29:27] that I didn't mention

[00:29:28] in which the narrator comes back

[00:29:30] and says that

[00:29:31] the love story of these two people

[00:29:33] was kind of erased from history

[00:29:35] but they made history

[00:29:37] because they had this interfaith love

[00:29:39] yes

[00:29:40] kind of that's

[00:29:40] that's what was implied by it

[00:29:42] but what was also implied there

[00:29:45] is that we really don't know anything

[00:29:47] about their marriage

[00:29:49] yeah so we know

[00:29:51] some things

[00:29:52] so right at the start

[00:29:53] there's a few scenes

[00:29:55] like we've just you know

[00:29:56] words right

[00:29:57] where they kind of talk about

[00:29:58] Joda's name

[00:29:59] which I'll go into it

[00:30:00] well in a bit

[00:30:01] and then it says

[00:30:01] this is just one version of the historical events

[00:30:04] there could be other versions

[00:30:05] and viewpoints to it

[00:30:07] it's more like covering all bases

[00:30:09] if you think about it as a movie

[00:30:11] you know a love story

[00:30:12] a beautiful

[00:30:13] beautiful

[00:30:14] cinematic experience

[00:30:17] and this idea of a love story

[00:30:19] with elements of history

[00:30:22] you know I think it's something that's very enjoyable

[00:30:24] but if you're kind of gonna

[00:30:25] examine it for historical fact

[00:30:27] there's going to be a lot of

[00:30:28] things you're not going to be happy with

[00:30:30] so like I said

[00:30:30] right at the start already

[00:30:32] right there's the

[00:30:33] getting the dates wrong by 75 years

[00:30:35] so the Mughals

[00:30:36] were you know ruling India from 1526

[00:30:40] to 1857

[00:30:41] they started off with

[00:30:42] with Baba

[00:30:44] so yeah they were you know

[00:30:45] foreign conquerors

[00:30:46] Muslim conquerors

[00:30:48] what we would call

[00:30:49] so Baba came from what is today

[00:30:51] Uzbekistan

[00:30:52] and so after Baba

[00:30:54] there was Humayun

[00:30:56] so he was there with his son

[00:30:57] and then after Humayun

[00:31:00] then we have Jalal

[00:31:01] so Humayun falls down some stairs

[00:31:03] who were Humayun falls down from stairs

[00:31:05] and then yeah

[00:31:06] we're gonna enjoy it

[00:31:06] let me get our 13 year old Jalal

[00:31:08] exactly

[00:31:09] then becomes

[00:31:10] hot 19 year old Jalal

[00:31:12] yes

[00:31:13] so the Mughals are very interesting

[00:31:14] actually

[00:31:15] so Baba actually comes from

[00:31:18] on his mother's side

[00:31:20] he has ancestry from Jengis Khan

[00:31:23] and from his father's side

[00:31:24] he's you know

[00:31:25] he's basically the great

[00:31:27] great grandson of Timur the Great

[00:31:29] so like big like conquerors there

[00:31:33] like old lineage there

[00:31:34] yeah exactly

[00:31:36] you know

[00:31:36] so you got Timur the Great

[00:31:37] you got Jengis Khan

[00:31:39] Baba came from the Fogana Valley

[00:31:41] oh by the way I just want to say

[00:31:42] if you're listeners

[00:31:44] if you want to find out more

[00:31:45] about the Mughal Empire

[00:31:48] highly recommend listening

[00:31:50] to the episode of

[00:31:53] Your Dead To Me

[00:31:55] which I love

[00:31:56] I absolutely love

[00:31:58] there is a specific episode

[00:31:59] on the Mughal Empire itself

[00:32:01] so go listen to that

[00:32:02] you know it's a lot more in it

[00:32:04] but us in summary

[00:32:05] so we have Baba then Humayun

[00:32:07] and after Humayun

[00:32:08] we have Riyalal

[00:32:10] who by the way

[00:32:11] was already called Akbar

[00:32:13] from birth

[00:32:15] so that whole bit

[00:32:16] where he was given the term Akbar

[00:32:19] that's not true

[00:32:20] okay so I thought

[00:32:21] and the movie made it seem like

[00:32:22] it was a title

[00:32:24] that everyone got together

[00:32:25] and decided to bestow on him

[00:32:26] because he had earned it

[00:32:28] but I also know that it's

[00:32:29] a fairly popular name

[00:32:32] now

[00:32:33] it means the great by the way

[00:32:34] so the British in the

[00:32:36] so you'll see a lot of references

[00:32:38] to Akbar the great

[00:32:40] which really pisses me off

[00:32:42] it's basically like

[00:32:43] people saying pin number

[00:32:45] right because pin also means

[00:32:46] you know personal identification number

[00:32:48] so Akbar the great becomes

[00:32:50] the great the great

[00:32:51] so Akbar already means the great

[00:32:53] yeah

[00:32:53] so his

[00:32:54] his name was already

[00:32:56] you know

[00:32:57] Akbar was already part of his name

[00:32:59] just saying

[00:33:01] but so there was a really

[00:33:02] interesting

[00:33:03] you know addition there

[00:33:04] but that said

[00:33:07] historians do praise him

[00:33:10] as being a very very

[00:33:11] very significant Mughal emperor

[00:33:14] for a few reasons

[00:33:15] one

[00:33:16] you have

[00:33:17] Barbara coming in

[00:33:18] Humayun after him right

[00:33:19] and then Akbar

[00:33:21] really was the first Mughal empire

[00:33:22] to actually be born in Hindustan

[00:33:24] so he was you know

[00:33:25] so that bit was correct

[00:33:28] and so in the movie

[00:33:29] you know he talks about

[00:33:30] I'm actually born here

[00:33:32] this is my country

[00:33:33] I'm not just a conqueror

[00:33:35] right and I'm also

[00:33:37] I have been born in Rajputana

[00:33:39] basically it's just general area

[00:33:40] where the Rajputs

[00:33:42] all the various Rajput plans

[00:33:44] are from

[00:33:44] so that so that is that is true

[00:33:47] so there's whole thing where

[00:33:49] when Humayun you know

[00:33:50] all these wars

[00:33:50] I'm not going to go into it

[00:33:52] when Humayun his wife was on the run

[00:33:54] he was taking refuge

[00:33:55] in Rajputana

[00:33:57] that was where Jalal

[00:33:58] who was born

[00:33:59] and he was great

[00:34:01] in the sense of

[00:34:03] okay so his court

[00:34:04] was famous for being

[00:34:06] very like liberal

[00:34:07] in terms of like you know

[00:34:08] unifying different faiths

[00:34:10] it attracted a lot holy men

[00:34:11] of many faiths

[00:34:12] poets architects

[00:34:14] you know

[00:34:14] was like a place of learning

[00:34:16] and he

[00:34:18] you know what I read

[00:34:19] was that

[00:34:20] he kind of

[00:34:22] brought about

[00:34:22] a

[00:34:23] syncretic creed

[00:34:25] like it was a conversion

[00:34:26] of Islam

[00:34:27] that kind of like

[00:34:29] you know had elements

[00:34:30] of Islam

[00:34:30] Hinduism's

[00:34:31] or Resturantism

[00:34:32] and Christianity

[00:34:34] so this whole thing about him

[00:34:36] abolishing the tax

[00:34:37] that was true

[00:34:39] that that was true

[00:34:40] and there was a big deal

[00:34:40] because this whole thing about

[00:34:42] the Mughal Empire

[00:34:43] what was interesting about them

[00:34:44] was that

[00:34:44] you know they were actually

[00:34:46] a Muslim minority

[00:34:48] ruling

[00:34:49] is what is what was

[00:34:50] essentially a Hindu majority

[00:34:53] at the height

[00:34:54] of the Mughal Empire

[00:34:56] around like you know

[00:34:57] 1600s or so right

[00:34:59] it essentially had

[00:35:02] pretty much the whole of South Asia

[00:35:04] so beyond India right

[00:35:05] we're talking

[00:35:06] what is now modern day Afghanistan

[00:35:08] Pakistan

[00:35:09] parts of Nepal as well

[00:35:11] so it was this massive

[00:35:13] massive empire

[00:35:15] wow

[00:35:15] yeah

[00:35:16] and what I listened to in the podcast

[00:35:18] I said around 1600s

[00:35:19] it had about 100 to 145 million people

[00:35:24] that's like massive

[00:35:26] it does not seem like from this film

[00:35:28] that they could manage that

[00:35:29] they seem like bureaucratically

[00:35:32] pretty inept

[00:35:33] yeah

[00:35:33] yeah it's crazy right

[00:35:34] because you know again

[00:35:35] a lot of you know

[00:35:36] India wasn't unified

[00:35:37] I mean India as we know

[00:35:38] it had did not exist

[00:35:39] right

[00:35:40] it was a series of you know

[00:35:41] different kingdoms

[00:35:43] different clans

[00:35:44] or everyone's fighting all the time

[00:35:45] you know

[00:35:46] again actual historians of India

[00:35:48] can comment about this

[00:35:49] I'm not gonna go into it

[00:35:51] it's a lot

[00:35:51] yeah

[00:35:52] but yeah so this whole

[00:35:54] Jalau

[00:35:55] being known as Akbar

[00:35:56] again like I mentioned

[00:35:57] he was you know

[00:35:58] that was already part of his name

[00:35:59] he was I think Abdul Fath Jalul

[00:36:02] Jaluddin Muhammad Akbar

[00:36:04] that was his full name

[00:36:06] he was then succeeded by his son

[00:36:10] so his son was Prince Salim

[00:36:13] and this is the son that he had

[00:36:14] with his wife

[00:36:15] whom we know is Jodha

[00:36:17] which I will come back to it

[00:36:19] and Prince Salim later on

[00:36:22] gave himself a new name

[00:36:24] called Jahangir

[00:36:25] which is what historians would know him as

[00:36:26] it's kind of

[00:36:27] it basically means like

[00:36:29] Caesar

[00:36:30] as in C

[00:36:31] as in not Caesar

[00:36:32] as in C A E S A R

[00:36:34] like to seize something instead

[00:36:37] you know Caesar

[00:36:38] like the Caesar

[00:36:39] like the Caesar of your stuff

[00:36:40] yeah the Caesar of the world

[00:36:42] so that's that's kind of what he named himself

[00:36:44] so Jahangir

[00:36:45] and after Jahangir

[00:36:47] there was Shah Jahan

[00:36:49] whom

[00:36:50] is

[00:36:51] we know people would know

[00:36:52] as the person who built the Taj Mahal

[00:36:57] yeah so Akbar is the grandfather

[00:37:00] of Shah Jahan

[00:37:02] who built Taj Mahal

[00:37:03] so when you talk about

[00:37:04] we know when they're talking about Agra

[00:37:06] at that time

[00:37:07] there was no Taj Mahal then

[00:37:08] at that you know

[00:37:09] in the movie

[00:37:10] so

[00:37:11] so that's kind of where

[00:37:12] where we are at

[00:37:13] in this whole Mughal empire thing

[00:37:17] so now I want to have a quick word

[00:37:19] about Jodha

[00:37:20] so right at the start already

[00:37:22] right the movie says a few things

[00:37:23] and I'm going to read this out

[00:37:24] historians agree

[00:37:26] that the 16th century marriage of alliance

[00:37:28] between the Mughal emperor Akbar

[00:37:29] and the daughter of king Bahmal

[00:37:31] of Amir in Jaipur

[00:37:33] was a recorded chapter in history

[00:37:36] there is speculations till today

[00:37:38] that her name was not Jodha

[00:37:41] some historians say her name was

[00:37:43] Harqa Bai others call her

[00:37:45] Hira Kunwar

[00:37:46] and yet others say

[00:37:47] Jiharani

[00:37:49] Mahan Mati

[00:37:50] and Shahibai

[00:37:51] but over centuries her name reached the common man

[00:37:54] as Jodha Akbar

[00:37:55] so this whole thing about her name was interesting

[00:37:58] because

[00:38:00] so I told you Akbar had a son right

[00:38:01] Jahangir

[00:38:02] right with whom she had with Jodha

[00:38:05] Jahangir was married to someone called Jodha

[00:38:08] so there was this whole thing where

[00:38:09] did they get the names wrong

[00:38:11] you know

[00:38:11] the name that's commonly used to represent Jodha

[00:38:16] was actually Mariam Uzamani

[00:38:20] Mariam as in Mary

[00:38:23] and now apparently the name Jodha Bai

[00:38:28] was first used in James Todd's

[00:38:32] annals and antiquities of Rajasthan

[00:38:34] so if you kind of go back to our episode on

[00:38:36] Padmavad

[00:38:37] right

[00:38:38] you realize that this name

[00:38:40] this James Todd

[00:38:41] and you know this annals and antiquities of Rajasthan

[00:38:44] that was written by him has come up then

[00:38:47] so he apparently started calling her Jodha Bai

[00:38:51] and this name appears to be given an error

[00:38:54] and my notes there saying

[00:38:55] white man messing things up again

[00:38:58] white man can't keep women's names straight

[00:39:00] I know

[00:39:01] so her birth name is apparently unknown

[00:39:04] so there are many

[00:39:05] names that she's been referred to

[00:39:07] some I've you know I've said already

[00:39:09] including Harkan Champavati

[00:39:12] Her Kunwari Shahbhai Shahi Begum

[00:39:16] she was bestowed an honorific Muslim name

[00:39:19] called Wali Nimad Begum

[00:39:21] which means blessings of God by Akbar

[00:39:24] I mean so he gave her this name

[00:39:25] two years into their marriage

[00:39:27] and then she was given that title of Mariam Uzamani

[00:39:31] kind of meaning like Mary Compassion of the Age

[00:39:34] by Akbar on the occasion of the birth of their son

[00:39:38] Jahangir with Prince Aleem

[00:39:40] really I didn't get a new name

[00:39:42] I know

[00:39:42] they had a baby

[00:39:43] you should have given two new names

[00:39:46] yeah yeah

[00:39:46] one fancier than the next

[00:39:48] exactly

[00:39:50] so

[00:39:51] gotta tell Keith that

[00:39:52] Princess

[00:39:53] pretty Stina

[00:39:55] beautiful awesome pants

[00:39:57] yes

[00:39:58] and in the movie

[00:40:00] you kind of hear him referring to her

[00:40:03] as other titles

[00:40:05] called Malika e Muzama

[00:40:07] and the Exalted Empress

[00:40:09] on Malika e in Hindustan

[00:40:11] which is the Empress of Hindustan

[00:40:12] so she kind of he kind of refers to her as that

[00:40:14] and there was this whole thing where

[00:40:16] because she was named Mariam

[00:40:18] right there were some people who were basically saying

[00:40:20] oh is she Christian

[00:40:22] you know because of Mary

[00:40:24] and all of that

[00:40:25] but they forget that actually

[00:40:27] Mary as a Mary mother of Jesus

[00:40:30] also appears in the Quran

[00:40:33] yeah

[00:40:33] and she is highly respected

[00:40:36] as a woman like you know in the Quran

[00:40:38] so you know so giving someone like the name Mariam

[00:40:41] it's a sign of respect too

[00:40:44] so there's Joda

[00:40:45] the other thing was that

[00:40:46] you know the movie presents this whole love story

[00:40:49] as kind of like a monogamous thing

[00:40:51] right but in reality

[00:40:54] no don't

[00:40:55] yeah sorry to buzz your bubble

[00:40:57] oh

[00:40:59] this is

[00:41:00] this is also what happened in Padmafai

[00:41:02] I know

[00:41:03] so Akbar had many wives

[00:41:06] his first wife was actually his cousin

[00:41:09] Rukhaya Sultan Begum

[00:41:11] she was his first wife

[00:41:12] and one of the chief consorts

[00:41:14] so so Joda wasn't even his first wife

[00:41:16] no no he was he was actually married

[00:41:19] so he was betrothed to his first wife

[00:41:21] and he was like nine

[00:41:22] and then married at 14

[00:41:23] but they remain childless

[00:41:25] and from stuff that I've read

[00:41:27] like she had a pretty exalted position as well

[00:41:30] because she already

[00:41:32] she was she was of Mughal stock

[00:41:34] you know

[00:41:35] so the whole thing about Joda was that

[00:41:37] she's Rajput

[00:41:38] you know she's coming in

[00:41:39] yeah

[00:41:39] I mean she's a princess and all

[00:41:41] right Akbar was Jalal's first wife

[00:41:44] you know was Mughal like him

[00:41:46] and I think I read that he had at least

[00:41:49] four wives and a hell a lot of concubines

[00:41:52] some say several thousand concubines

[00:41:54] I'm not sure how true that is

[00:41:56] come on

[00:41:57] I know right

[00:41:59] but like

[00:41:59] I'm gonna stick with the movie's version of history

[00:42:01] exactly

[00:42:03] but it did say that Joda

[00:42:05] I'm just gonna call her Joda right

[00:42:07] she was supposedly his favorite

[00:42:12] there's little miniatures of him with her

[00:42:14] you can see that

[00:42:15] and she was beautiful

[00:42:17] she was very smart

[00:42:20] and he consulted with her on a lot of things

[00:42:22] and she was instrumental

[00:42:26] in this whole like ethos of bringing together

[00:42:28] Hindus and Muslims as well

[00:42:31] again there's not much written about her per se

[00:42:35] coming to Shari foodin

[00:42:36] which is the bad brother-in-law

[00:42:38] remember I said I'll come back to that

[00:42:40] so apparently

[00:42:42] he didn't get let off that easily

[00:42:46] what I've read was that the sentence

[00:42:48] placed on him was that

[00:42:49] he was to be placed under the foot of an elephant

[00:42:53] and then the elephant would just

[00:42:54] not crushed

[00:42:55] not crushed

[00:42:55] no just placed on the foot

[00:42:57] and then the elephant would decide what to do

[00:42:59] so the elephant could have said

[00:43:01] I'm in a crushy mood today

[00:43:03] I'm gonna stomp this guy

[00:43:05] but I guess not

[00:43:06] so you know he did kind of like

[00:43:08] wanna scare the living daylights out of him

[00:43:12] yeah

[00:43:12] and this whole thing about Jalal and elephants

[00:43:16] really apparently was true

[00:43:18] he's called chronicler Abdul Fazal

[00:43:20] actually apparently devoted an entire chapter

[00:43:24] to Jalal's like you know

[00:43:25] obsession with like

[00:43:27] what it's called

[00:43:28] Pekkyderm based extreme sports

[00:43:30] and apparently there was even a record of the emperor

[00:43:33] leaping aboard a raging elephant in 1561

[00:43:37] so Jalal be jumping on elephants

[00:43:40] is there some kind of image of him like

[00:43:42] flipping over the back of an elephant

[00:43:44] because I would love to see that

[00:43:45] also I would like to cross-reference

[00:43:48] that chapter you're talking about

[00:43:50] and my list

[00:43:52] of tricks for how to train an elephant

[00:43:55] slash woo a woman

[00:43:56] yep

[00:43:57] so that's so there you go

[00:43:59] I was like okay I guess this is what you do on your board

[00:44:01] huh

[00:44:03] so weird

[00:44:04] I just kind of want to talk a little

[00:44:06] little bit about the setting

[00:44:09] and stuff

[00:44:10] that's my last thing

[00:44:11] there wasn't much material

[00:44:13] that's the problem right

[00:44:14] when they're trying to like

[00:44:15] do something of that time

[00:44:17] so the kind of like designers

[00:44:19] and everybody involved

[00:44:20] had to kind of rely on paintings

[00:44:23] and text

[00:44:24] and the actual forts in Rajasthan

[00:44:28] were inspiration for their set design

[00:44:30] and what I read was that a set designer

[00:44:33] produced an actual duplicate of the Agra fort

[00:44:36] and the set was 1600 feet long

[00:44:40] 600 feet wide

[00:44:41] 68 feet tall

[00:44:42] and the total cost of the set

[00:44:45] was expected to be over 120 million

[00:44:48] the fort was as high as a seven-story building

[00:44:50] and comprised of concrete fiber

[00:44:52] and best of sheets

[00:44:53] scaffolding and pipes

[00:44:54] crazy huh

[00:44:55] that's crazy

[00:44:57] they built a whole

[00:44:58] they built a whole styrofoam fort

[00:45:00] yeah

[00:45:01] I mean

[00:45:02] when I was watching that

[00:45:03] as soon as I started watching

[00:45:04] I was like messaging my friends in Mysore

[00:45:07] and I was like

[00:45:08] oh I need to go back to India so bad

[00:45:12] and the next trip has to be Rajasthan

[00:45:14] so I

[00:45:16] oh I have to go to Rajasthan

[00:45:18] yeah there are a lot of things I would like to see in Rajasthan

[00:45:21] probably top of that list is the battlefield

[00:45:24] yes

[00:45:25] yes

[00:45:27] and then you and I can have hand-to-hand combat

[00:45:31] yep

[00:45:32] and we have to wear all like a heavy costume and stuff

[00:45:35] yeah

[00:45:35] of course

[00:45:36] I want mine to have so many apps

[00:45:38] yeah

[00:45:38] like 64 apps

[00:45:39] all the apps

[00:45:41] so the costume designer

[00:45:42] Neeta Lula

[00:45:44] she apparently spent a year and a half

[00:45:46] researching the garment's people war

[00:45:48] in the google empire

[00:45:49] she traveled to Jaipur

[00:45:50] to learn about the fabrics of the period

[00:45:53] and you can kind of see it's so cool right

[00:45:55] if you look at how you know the division

[00:45:57] between kind of like the colors that were used for the Rajputs

[00:46:01] so it was like yellows and orange and reds

[00:46:04] you know

[00:46:05] and then the Mughals was like

[00:46:06] golds and browns and beiges

[00:46:08] and so you kind of you know that's how it was kind of divided

[00:46:11] it's subtle but you can see

[00:46:13] in just between the women who are kind of wearing

[00:46:16] very kind of similar silhouettes and that kind of thing

[00:46:19] and the veils and the long skirts and everything

[00:46:22] but you can see a division the stylistic differences

[00:46:27] it's subtle but it's

[00:46:29] it really comes through

[00:46:30] and it's absolutely gorgeous

[00:46:32] there are so many costume details that I really appreciated

[00:46:35] even not knowing the history of the dress of that period

[00:46:39] although I do have a comment about hats

[00:46:43] can we talk a little bit about hats please

[00:46:45] okay so I liked so much of the headwear

[00:46:50] I loved the veils

[00:46:51] I love the detail of how they held the veils away from their faces

[00:46:56] when they spoke and when they stood as kind of like cutting

[00:47:01] this really elegant beautiful profile

[00:47:06] also just seemed convenient because again

[00:47:08] they seemed heavy and would just kind of like hang in your face

[00:47:12] but of all of the headwear that I've seen

[00:47:15] in period dramas from all around the world

[00:47:18] I think the Rajput and Mughal crowns that the men wear

[00:47:26] are probably my least favorite

[00:47:29] I think they're like the ugliest hats I've ever seen

[00:47:34] I'm sorry but I hated them so much

[00:47:36] they look like some kind of

[00:47:39] like demented hollalof made out of satin

[00:47:43] that's kind of like a cross between like a bun and a beetle

[00:47:48] oh yeah

[00:47:48] it's all like segmented

[00:47:51] but it goes way too far back their head

[00:47:53] it makes their head look all weird and alien

[00:47:55] so it's kind of like star trekky in a grotesque way

[00:48:00] and I just hated their hats so much

[00:48:02] and I don't know why it really affected me

[00:48:04] well you know the bit where he like Jalal

[00:48:06] like takes his head off and he puts it like

[00:48:08] take gear off and or crown or whatever

[00:48:10] he's wearing and then he puts it on this

[00:48:13] tray that are made conveniently places next to him

[00:48:16] I was like there we go

[00:48:18] yeah I'm sure you love doing that

[00:48:20] yeah and they do try to add some nice bling to it

[00:48:24] to make them look nicer

[00:48:25] but you just can't dress that kind of thing up

[00:48:28] I don't know who came up with that design

[00:48:30] but I hope it went out of fashion quickly

[00:48:32] but it was a really interesting contrast to

[00:48:35] some of my favorite hats of all time

[00:48:38] I mean I always love a Sufi hat those long

[00:48:41] yeah that was a long tall like kind of cylindrical hats

[00:48:44] those are gorgeous but also

[00:48:47] Jalal has this team of like shakes

[00:48:50] this team of of religious and

[00:48:53] oh yeah I didn't like their hats

[00:48:54] men I love their hats

[00:48:56] see you'd have different hat tastes my god

[00:48:59] their hats look like little perfect mushroom caps

[00:49:06] they're so round

[00:49:08] so they look like little adorable baby mushrooms

[00:49:14] mixed with old-learning grumpy men

[00:49:18] and that is beautiful to me

[00:49:20] yeah yeah cool cool cool yeah

[00:49:22] this is just a lot there's a real stratification of

[00:49:26] like emotions around hats for me in this film

[00:49:30] I mean you know we we devote our time to hat

[00:49:32] I never thought that I would

[00:49:34] feel this range of feelings about hats outside of a Korean period

[00:49:39] oh yeah they have good hats

[00:49:41] yeah yeah

[00:49:42] so just a few notes about jewelry

[00:49:45] so you could see there was also like

[00:49:47] also like a difference between Mughal jewelry and Rajput jewelry

[00:49:51] so I'm praying the designers were talking about how like

[00:49:54] the main difference is that the Mughal jewelry was finer in craftsmanship

[00:49:58] and the Rajput jewelry was more rustic

[00:50:01] and apparently there was a note that Akbar's favorite gem was the emerald

[00:50:08] so in the Akbar Nama

[00:50:09] so that was basically the autobiography of Akbar

[00:50:12] they were actually prints the blueprints of emerald mines

[00:50:16] he had his own emerald mines

[00:50:18] and whenever you see him he wears emeralds

[00:50:21] and so you know there's a lot of references to the kind of jewelry

[00:50:24] the Mughals were wearing

[00:50:26] but not so much what Joda would be wearing

[00:50:29] and what the Rajputs would be wearing as well

[00:50:32] but what they did know was that in the 16th century Rajput women

[00:50:36] used to wear 12 pieces of jewelry

[00:50:39] you mentioned 12 pieces of jewelry

[00:50:41] I was like counting I was like how many pieces of jewelry do I wear

[00:50:44] how many pieces of jewelry do you wear just like going out

[00:50:47] I don't know oh gosh

[00:50:48] I know like right now I am just wearing a wedding band

[00:50:51] and that's my standard these days

[00:50:54] so okay I had just come back right from like a drink stinky right

[00:50:58] okay so I didn't wear all my earrings

[00:51:00] so I have like seven ear holes

[00:51:02] so I only wore six of them

[00:51:04] so that's six

[00:51:05] I even I had a necklace that's seven

[00:51:09] I had a really small bangle that's eight

[00:51:11] and I had two rings nine ten

[00:51:15] but all of that weighed nothing

[00:51:18] nothing

[00:51:20] so apparently 200 craftsmen

[00:51:23] worked for 600 days

[00:51:26] and molded 400 kilograms of gold

[00:51:30] and precious semi and semi stones to recreate the jewelry

[00:51:33] for this film

[00:51:34] so they didn't just go into like the

[00:51:37] Bollywood historical stockpile

[00:51:39] no they made the jewelry for the film

[00:51:42] that's commitment

[00:51:43] I know right

[00:51:44] and then there was nothing that I could find

[00:51:46] which talked about how much everything cost or whatever

[00:51:50] but it was nuts

[00:51:51] there was an article I was reading

[00:51:53] called Ash and Hrithik Bo 300 kilograms of gold in Yodakba

[00:51:58] so isn't that bananas

[00:52:01] yeah and all the craftsmanship like that went into it

[00:52:05] I don't even know what they were gonna

[00:52:06] what are you gonna do with the jewelry after that

[00:52:09] you know auction it maybe

[00:52:11] yeah possibly right

[00:52:13] sleeping it just

[00:52:14] why not

[00:52:15] yeah

[00:52:16] so this is

[00:52:16] to do a publicity stunt where they

[00:52:18] try to take a nap in all that jewelry

[00:52:20] yeah so probably they made 13 ensembles

[00:52:24] for Ashway Aray who was playing Joda

[00:52:26] and eight for Hrithik Roshan

[00:52:28] and they used like you know

[00:52:30] gold and gems like emeralds pearls

[00:52:32] rubies jades like that's a lot

[00:52:34] that's a hell a lot

[00:52:36] and there's a little thing that I read that

[00:52:38] apparently the women used to wear these like

[00:52:42] these rings that had like a mirror on them

[00:52:45] so they could see themselves in it

[00:52:46] I was like ha

[00:52:48] that's useful

[00:52:49] that's kind of handy

[00:52:50] I know

[00:52:50] so it was like a large thumb ring

[00:52:53] so that we could see the mirror

[00:52:55] and then so they basically had to find a

[00:52:57] special craftsman

[00:52:59] who could set the mirror in the mold

[00:53:02] so like all the work that they did

[00:53:04] to find the people who could do the craftsmanship for

[00:53:08] just the jewelry alone

[00:53:09] I don't even remember a thumb mirror ring

[00:53:12] yeah I know

[00:53:13] now I just want to like rewatch the movie

[00:53:15] and just like fast forward

[00:53:16] and just like pause

[00:53:16] and really appreciate every bit of jewelry

[00:53:20] you know because it's the least we could do

[00:53:22] yeah so I just found that absolutely fascinating

[00:53:26] and that's all I got

[00:53:29] can I just say that I appreciate so much

[00:53:32] the underlying message of this film

[00:53:35] for women who are dating

[00:53:37] which is that you should not settle

[00:53:41] for bullshit behavior

[00:53:42] no no

[00:53:43] because you should definitely keep in mind

[00:53:47] anyone out there who is dating

[00:53:49] that the person you marry

[00:53:52] is not going to get better than they are

[00:53:55] yes

[00:53:56] you once you marry a person

[00:54:00] there's something in them that says

[00:54:02] that's fine now

[00:54:04] I don't have to change anything about myself

[00:54:07] I can be cemented in

[00:54:09] I definitely don't have to improve

[00:54:11] if anything I'm going to go downhill from here

[00:54:13] and so for her to say

[00:54:16] no I have a standard

[00:54:18] for the kind of human being

[00:54:19] that I expect you to be

[00:54:21] and I understand our situation

[00:54:23] is that we are married here

[00:54:26] but that is not going to mean

[00:54:29] everything that you think it means

[00:54:31] until you meet that standard

[00:54:33] I know she's like

[00:54:34] I don't give no fucks that you're the emperor

[00:54:37] and she's like

[00:54:38] all right I have these things

[00:54:39] and you haven't met them

[00:54:40] and I don't care

[00:54:42] what bet you made

[00:54:44] it's just like he declared right

[00:54:45] he's like oh if I win you a

[00:54:46] disort fight

[00:54:48] you have to go home with me

[00:54:49] she didn't agree to that

[00:54:51] she didn't she didn't agree to that

[00:54:52] you know even though he won

[00:54:54] and she's like nah

[00:54:55] not going back

[00:54:56] yeah

[00:54:57] didn't agree to it

[00:54:58] boom

[00:54:58] yeah you you set the terms

[00:55:01] the other person in the relationship

[00:55:04] does not get to dictate to you

[00:55:06] what your terms and boundaries are

[00:55:09] and nobody else gets to

[00:55:12] tell you what you put up with

[00:55:14] yeah

[00:55:15] what you should put up with

[00:55:17] yes

[00:55:17] sidebar to a slightly more serious note

[00:55:20] I just want to say that this

[00:55:21] the message of this movie

[00:55:23] is important today

[00:55:25] in the current climate of India

[00:55:27] this whole kind of like

[00:55:28] message of religious tolerance

[00:55:30] and whatnot

[00:55:31] especially with what's going on

[00:55:33] with the

[00:55:35] you know the ruling party

[00:55:36] again I'm not going to make comments on it

[00:55:39] people more well versed than me

[00:55:41] can speak on this

[00:55:42] but I think

[00:55:44] that this movie was

[00:55:46] you know it's like a lovely fantasy

[00:55:49] right of

[00:55:50] in hindu star and of in India

[00:55:52] where people of various religions

[00:55:55] creeds cultures

[00:55:56] can live together

[00:55:58] unfortunately that is not the reality

[00:56:00] and I do want to acknowledge that

[00:56:02] you do come away at the end

[00:56:05] and this is

[00:56:06] the thing about historical dramas

[00:56:08] quite often is that

[00:56:09] it's a film

[00:56:10] it has to wrap up

[00:56:12] and has to have a satisfying ending

[00:56:14] and so for him to say

[00:56:15] hey

[00:56:16] I believe in religious tolerance

[00:56:18] I love my hindu wife

[00:56:20] you do kind of come away with this fuzzy feeling of like

[00:56:23] and then from the 1560s onwards

[00:56:26] there was religious harmony

[00:56:28] yeah

[00:56:29] Indian subcontinent

[00:56:31] yeah exactly

[00:56:33] you know

[00:56:33] and then except

[00:56:34] you watch it

[00:56:35] and you think about what's happening now

[00:56:37] and you're like

[00:56:39] if only

[00:56:40] if only a love story could

[00:56:42] if only

[00:56:43] all at all

[00:56:43] mm-hmm

[00:56:44] right

[00:56:45] shall we talk about awards

[00:56:48] yeah mine's like really obvious

[00:56:51] probably anyone could guess it

[00:56:53] but I'm giving best elephant

[00:56:56] in a period drama

[00:56:58] to that elephant

[00:57:00] yeah

[00:57:00] that got tamed

[00:57:02] by Jalaluddin

[00:57:04] I call her Fifi

[00:57:06] aww Fifi

[00:57:07] I don't I

[00:57:08] I would really love our Indian listeners

[00:57:11] to write in and tell me like what is

[00:57:14] a very like stereotypical

[00:57:16] cutesy name for a pet

[00:57:18] yeah

[00:57:19] because that's what I want to call the elephant

[00:57:21] but for now I'm calling her Fifi

[00:57:22] okay that's cute

[00:57:24] I like it

[00:57:25] I like Fifi

[00:57:26] she's cute

[00:57:27] so mine goes to the most

[00:57:31] random action

[00:57:33] in a sword fight

[00:57:35] and then

[00:57:37] that goes to Jalaluddin

[00:57:39] when he you know he's doing this like play-ish

[00:57:42] sword fight with Joda

[00:57:44] and then suddenly he like grabs this basket of flowers

[00:57:47] and like throws it in slow motion in her face

[00:57:51] I need to remember that

[00:57:53] the next time I'm in a sword fight

[00:57:54] I'll be like

[00:57:55] and she has exactly the reaction you would expect

[00:57:57] yeah

[00:57:58] I mean she's not charmed by it

[00:58:00] she's like what the fuuuck

[00:58:01] what the fuck is this

[00:58:02] yeah

[00:58:02] got flowers in my mouth now

[00:58:04] with the

[00:58:04] I know

[00:58:05] pfft

[00:58:05] I thought we were having a sword fight

[00:58:07] yeah

[00:58:08] so I'll be like

[00:58:09] next time I'm in a sword fight

[00:58:11] I'll be looking for that random basket of flowers

[00:58:14] you never know

[00:58:14] it's gonna come in my face

[00:58:15] element of surprise

[00:58:17] the florist is gonna be furious

[00:58:19] I know

[00:58:19] it's like

[00:58:20] all right awesome

[00:58:22] yay

[00:58:24] we made it

[00:58:24] thank you for listening

[00:58:26] I'm gonna go rewatch the part just where

[00:58:30] they've got a big

[00:58:31] not real elephant foot

[00:58:33] stopping on dude's heads

[00:58:35] and they explode into jelly

[00:58:37] yeah

[00:58:38] wonderful

[00:58:39] and then I'm gonna go find all my jewelry

[00:58:41] and just pile it on top of my face

[00:58:45] and go to sleep

[00:58:45] I think you should

[00:58:46] yeah I need you to wait

[00:58:47] see how much all that weighs

[00:58:49] yeah

[00:58:49] yeah

[00:58:50] brilliant

[00:58:50] all right

[00:58:52] thanks for listening

[00:58:53] yes

[00:58:54] and please send us ideas for more period dramas

[00:58:57] from this region

[00:58:58] because we love period dramas from India

[00:59:02] and everywhere around South Asia

[00:59:04] and you can do that by hitting us up on our Instagram

[00:59:08] at fetch smelling salts

[00:59:10] or at our email

[00:59:13] fetchsmelling salts at gmail.com

[00:59:15] and if you want to chuck some coins our way

[00:59:19] you can go to buy me a coffee dot com slash fetch smelling salts

[00:59:25] so Helen can get paid

[00:59:27] yay

[00:59:27] we gotta pay Helen

[00:59:29] I know she has to listen to us

[00:59:31] bless her

[00:59:32] all right good night

[00:59:33] good night

[00:59:34] bye

[00:59:42] it's all finished

[00:59:44] what