Taj Mahal

Article Updated 20 November, 2005 04:46:59 PM IST

Taj Mahal

The two stars are for the magnificenct and authentic looking sets. Honestly speaking why would anyone want to watch a historical film in the present times? Add to this the lack of stars and a set of bad actors! You've got your answer.

We are talking about Akbar Khan's magnum opus, 'Taj Mahal'. But we have to add that the era has been recreated very well by him. The sets are lavish and look authentic. The battlefield sequences are very well shot. R.M. Rao's cinematography is brilliant. But the down side of this film is the screenplay and it's pace.

It will make you restless in many places. Even the background music and songs (Naushad, and Uttam Singh) fail to create the desired impact. No wonder 'Mughal-E-Azam' stil lingers in people's memories.

'Taj Mahal' begins with with an old Shahjahan (Kabir Bedi) being held captive by his son Aurangzeb (Arbaaz Khan). After killing his two brothers, Aurangzeb keeps his father and sister, Jahan Ara (a beautiful looking Manisha Koirala), in house-arrest. From now on, the film goes into flashback mode.

Shahjahan begins to narrate his love story with Mumtaz Mahal to Jahan Ara. It was love at first sight for the two, Prince Khurram (Shahjahan played by Zulfi Syed) and Arjumand (Mumtaz Mahal-Sonya Jehan) meet and fall in love in a jungle. But Shahjahan's manipulative step-mother, Noorjehan (an attractive but expressionless Pooja Batra), wants Shahjahan to marry her daughter, Ladli Begum (Kim Sharma) from her earlier marriage.

But Shahjahan ends up marrying Mumtaz Mahal against all the odds. While breathing her last, Mumtaz Mahal extracts a promise from her beloved to build a monument in memory of their love. Thus the Taj Mahal was created.

The sequence when Auranzeb presents Dara Shikoh's head to ShahJahan and Jehan Ara as part of their dinner sends chills down one's spine. The father-daughter reaction looks real.

Now for the other performances. Zulfi looks more like a model walking the ramp in ethnic wear than an actor. His wig looks very fake in places. Sonya Jehan looks beautiful in a couple of sequences, especially her introductory shot. Her makeup is bad in many places. Manisha Koirala is good but doesn't have much screen time. Arbaaz Ali is effective, although he looks too young to be Zulfi's father. Kim Sharma is alright, putting her pout to good use. Pooja Batra looks like she's overacting. Don't want to get judgemental about the film but we are seriously thinking of why anyone would want to watch this film!

** (Two stars)
*poor; **average; ***good; ****very good; *****excellent

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