Menter in our slice of the world Michelangelo, Ariosto and Machiavelli blossomedthe French and the Spanish divided the Bel Paese between them and the Protestant Reformation shook the foundations of the Church, in the East the Mughals, descendants of Tamerlane and Genghis Khan, Muslims, set out to conquer India. Among them Jalaluddin stands out: raised to become an unscrupulous and cruel regent, he will instead embrace the path of diplomacy and tolerance. Also thanks to a foreign wife, Jodhaa.
Jodhaa is a worldly princess, daughter of the Maharaja of Amer: she knows the arts, martial disciplines, is intelligent and devout. When it is offered to Jalaluddin to sanction the alliance between Hindus and conquerors, he sacrifices himself to preserve the unity and peace of his people. But she has the courage to dictate her conditions: to maintain the Hindu religion and have a statue of a deity in the apartments dedicated to her. Jalaluddin, to the bewilderment of his ministers of religion, accepts.
On the wedding night, when he senses Jodhaa’s reluctance, he doesn’t insist. He will wait until their hearts are ready. The two begin to know each other from afar, but when the irresistible song of the princess rises in the royal palace, Jalaluddin is seized by enchantment. He will find himself spying on the foreign bride’s girlish moves more and more often while she will learn to appreciate the respect that the powerful groom gives her.
Danda Santini, director of “iO Donna” (photo by Carlo Furgeri Gilbert).
Mutual curiosity becomes fascination, fascination is already almost love. It will be Jodhaa who suggests to Jalaluddin to listen to the voices of the people and leads him to declare that all religions have the same rights. The citizens honor him with the title of Akbar, the Great, and a true and profound love begins between the two.
The result will be a prosperous and peaceful kingdom and a masterpiece, Amber Keepthe royal residence, where imaginative elements in Hindu style are inserted into the rigor of Islamic architecture, all symmetries and geometric or floral motifs. The elephant-god Ganesh, who removes life’s obstacles, stands out on an entrance arch, elephant-shaped capitals can be seen and among the play of mirrors and inlaid slabs the “magic flower” is hidden, a marble panel where two butterflies in flight, a fish’s tail, a hooded cobra, a lion’s tail, a scorpion’s back are naively hidden. Although figures – human or animal – were prohibited in Islamic art.
Akbar and Jodhaa, beyond their love story, have created a piece of history together (illustration by Cinzia Zenocchini).
It is worth taking up again, the beautiful story of Akbar and Jodhaa as it was told to readers on a journey of I Woman. Suspended between history and legend, Jodhaa Akbar (2008) by Indian director Ashutosh Gowariker has become one of the most successful blockbusters in BollywoodIndia’s thriving film industry. Thanks to a historical reconstruction full of dream details – jewels, clothes, buildings -, large crowd scenes, melodramatic moments and a soundtrack that touches the heart.
In the last shot, the voiceover comments that Akbar and Jodhaa, beyond their love story, have created a piece of history together, in silence. Simply – we add – respecting the history and culture of others.