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Rajput king Bharmal’s initiation of the unusual alliance of his daughter with Jalaluddin Akbar presents Akbar with a battle far greater than what he has faced on the battlefield: that of winning over the defiant Jodhaa. The educated, sword-wielding princess stands her own, demands to retain her religious preferences and consummates the relationship on her own terms.

“A lot of what Ashutosh depicted is relevant today. Times have changed and so has the context, but the set of problems remain the same for a lot of women. Jodhaa is not consulted before her engagement is fixed; once she is engaged, she takes it upon herself to love the chosen groom until he calls it off and later, despite her defiance, she has to consent to wed Akbar.

And she has no say in matters concerning her brother. She respects her boundaries and yet sticks to her core value system. She stuns Akbar by demanding to retain her religion. She is strong, assertive and maintains her individuality. It’s a nice characterisation that depicts her as educated while Akbar isn’t,” explains Dolly Singh, key accounts manager with United Spirits.

If Jodhaa was skilled in warfare like her male counterparts, she’s also graceful and feminine.

Unlike the leading women in historical films of yore, she has few lines to speak.

“She has hardly any dialogues and certainly was not leading an easy life. She gets her point across with dignity after stepping into the Mughal palace. In the film, Akbar comes across as a fair and just human being who learns to appreciate Jodhaa’s inner beauty,” says dancer Sharmila Taneja.

“Unlike the women in Ekta Kapoor’s serials, Jodhaa isn’t loud or obnoxious. She is feminine and graceful in the way she maintains her relationship with her husband and his family. This is a character I could relate to and on certain occasions reminded me of Woman of Substance. The first night scene, where she resists Akbar and expresses that she isn’t mentally prepared, has been handled beautifully. As a woman, you have the right to say no without being blunt and hurting your partner. Again, when she’s embarrassingly confronted by Ila Arun about not consummating her relationship with her husband, Jodhaa is hurt but doesn’t hasten to fulfil her relationship. Similarly, she doesn’t take it lying down when Akbar doubts her and sends her to her father’s palace,” says marketing professional Aparna Ganti.

The icing on the cake, as most couples in mixed marriages would vouch for, is the delicate balance of individual beliefs.

“I got married to a Muslim and like this character of Akbar, he let me practise my religion. I haven’t converted post wedding. We now tread a middle path. I follow what I believe from his religion and he from mine. Last year, I followed Roza during Ramzan along with him and he observed fasts for certain Hindu festivals,” says freelance writer Piyali Banerjee.

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