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Ash, Hrithik have a royal feel to them

by: Mandvi Sharma
- indiatimes.com

Ashutosh Gowariker is unfazed by all the controversies surrounding his forthcoming film, Jodhaa Akbar. As far as he is concerned, Hrithik and Ash are playing Jodhaa and Akbar because “they have a royal feel about them. They don’t have to act royal, they are naturally like that. They were my first choices to play an emperor and a queen.”

While Ashu has been impressed with Hrithik since Kaho Naa... Pyar Hai, Ash came in later. “She has always been slotted as a beauty, but I felt she also has talent. She has essayed some of her roles well and some badly. But then, all of us have bad days,” he says.

Ashu’s own streak of success came after a couple of flops. “I would call it a fascinating journey,” he says. But if he faced flops initially, he also came closest to an Oscar for an Indian director. “Lagaan’s nomination for the Oscars was a great feeling. Especially abroad, it is like a reference point. In India, we don’t have that culture. But yes, the Oscars will always be a special moment. Also the fact that you’re chosen to show your movie, which has been tagged as the best from the country is a great feeling. It is like being a part of the Olympics. It is great to be acknowledged as one of the decent moviemakers of the country but what I never forget is that if there are high tides then there are low tides as well,” he smiles.

For a filmmaker who has the reputation of being a perfectionist, Ashu counts Jodhaa Akbar as one of his most difficult films. “The best example of a romantic epic is Mughal-e-Azam, my film depicts an era before them. And while Mohan of Swades and Bhuvan of Lagaan were fictional characters, Jodhaa and Akbar are part of Indian history. So, before I can start my movie, I had to understand that era. My Jodhaa Akbar is a story without a sensational touch to it. I have tried to bring to the screen something that is true and real. And it has taken a lot of time... almost three years,” he says.

But for a director who started as an actor, does he want to return to acting? “I would love to act, provided there is someone out there who is ready to cast me in his or her movie,” he laughs.

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