 Ashutosh Gowarikar’s second coming after ‘Lagaan’ was an ambitious project ‘Swades’ brilliantly produced by UTV. In spite of getting rave reviews and igniting debate about lack of electricity in rural areas and the homecoming of an expatriate Indian, ‘Swades’ failed to find too many takers amongst the ticket paying public. So, when Ashutosh decided to make an epic like ‘Jodha-Akbar’ with a dream pair of Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai about the life of Emperor Akbar, his wife Jodha and the secular credentials of Medieval India, there weren’t too many buyers for this period drama.
After trying his luck with several producers, Gowarikar has finally found support with UTV yet again. Yes, UTV is going to be producing Jodha-Akbar. Mounted at an expensive budget of Rs 39 crore, ‘Jodha-Akbar’ is going to be shot at a colossal level. UTV Chief Ronnie Screwala is clear that no corners will be cut in making of the film. Ash-Hrithik will be back once again after ‘Dhoom 2’ and director Gowarikar is of the opinion that the novelty value wouldn’t suffer due to that. Here’s hoping that UTV will continue making sensible and different-kind-of-cinema-trend that they started with “Rang De Basanti’ early this year.
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