Ashutosh Gowariker’s epic drama, Jodhaa Akbar that released in 2008 made nearly 80 crores INR and was declared a super hit at the box office. It made everyone swoon over Hrithik’s perfect, David-esque body in addition to reinforcing our long standing notions about the Mughals- their association with luxury, extravagance, their unsurpassed authority, opulence, jewels, jewels … and some more jewels.

While it’s evident that substantial amounts of research have gone into the script, not all of it is accurate. In fact, there is more to be learnt about Akbar and the Mughals than the movie conveys. The most obvious thing which would be pointless to dwell on is the historicity of ‘Jodha’ herself- something that the movie discusses briefly at the beginning as well. Here’s my list of five things that Jodhaa Akbar did not teach you:

1. Casting a handsome, fair actor with green eyes who would also double as eye candy for the viewers worked very well for the movie but did Akbar really look anything like that?

If sources from the time are to be believed (and yes, I believe in them more than I believe in the casting directors and make-up artists of Bollywood) then Akbar had a wheatish complexion, in fact one that was rather dark than fair. He had black eyes and long hair that he did not cut. He is recorded in some sources as having a slight limp on his left leg (in spite of never having been injured. Polio? Who knows!) He also had a rather noticeable mole on the left side of his nose that physiognomy experts of the time believed was a sign of prosperity and great fortune (or maybe they were just scared to tell the Emperor otherwise.)

2. The Mughal couture in the film is reflected in Akbar’s outfits. He is almost always shown dressed in heavily embroidered silk jackets. While not non-existent at the time, this was also not something that he wore everyday. Both, the written sources and the paintings of the time attest to the fact that he was more simply dressed in tunics. Often, he wore red or yellow turbans. The turban ornament (sarpech) that he wears all through the movie is heavily jewelled in the style that is witnessed only later- and reached its peak under Shah Jahan. Under Akbar, the turban ornament or jigha was simpler, with an actual plume like the Safavid tuban.

3. The movie and the sources both tell us that Akbar was illiterate. As Hrithik says, “jung aur teero-talwar ne humein qitab aur qalam tak pohonchne hi nahi diya” (Broadly means that he was so occupied with warfare that he never had the time to receive education)

What the movie does not tell us is that although he was unable to read and write he was very learned. He loved being read to, surrounded himself with learned people and was very knowledgeable on all matters. He was shrewd and erudite and it was hard to know through interactions with him that he was not literate. (Both his attire and love for knowledge seen in painting)

4. The film correctly shows Akbar’s liberal stance and his opposition to the domination of the ulama at his court. Historically, Akbar not only sidelined the ulama but also engaged in religious discussions with representatives of all religious groups. In addition, he expounded his own religion called the Din-i-Ilahi, which stressed on the worship of the sun, and on virtues of piety, kindness and abstinence. (Seen in this painting)

5. Jodha prepares a special vegetarian meal for Akbar which she and her ladies-in-waiting bring before Akbar and his coterie.

Two things: The royal ladies were most definitely not prancing around in the palace kitchens, and queens were not cooking up meals. Nor were they coming out to serve these meals before all the men in the court. (The clear separation of the ladies of the harem from the male realm can be seen in the painting)

Secondly, the meal itself which is vegetarian in this instance was not a one off case. Akbar actually had many vegetarian meals, and not because he was blown away by Jodha’s vegetarian cooking. He is said to have expressed his displeasure regarding the slaughter of animals, and Jahangir wrote that Akbar ate meat for only three months of the year, and ate ‘Sufi’ food for the remaining nine months. On many days of many months, animal slaughter was forbidden to the people of his empire.

In a section of the Akbar Nama, Abu’l Fazl lists the wise sayings of the Emperor, one of them being: “Blood contains the principle of life. To avoid eating thereof is to honour life.”- The sayings of his majesty (Ain-i-Akbari)

This information has been compiled through a reading of the Akbar Nama, the Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri, and the Commentary of the Jesuit Father Monserrate who visited the court of Akbar.



For more, read: Colonel Jarrett, H.S. (1948) Ain-i- Ākbari Vol. III of Fazl, Abu’l, translated from Persian, Calcutta; Hoyland, J.S. (1922) The Commentary of Father Monserrate, S.J. on his Journey to the Court of Akbar, London; Rogers, Alexander and Beveridge, Henry (ed.) (1909) Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri, translated from Persian, London.