Ace director, Ashutosh Gowariker gave us one of the cult classics, Jodhaa Akbar. Released in 2008, the film depicts the tale of Muslim Mughal Emperor, Akbar and his Hindu Princess, Jodhaa Bai, and their political marriage. Enriched with picturesque landscapes and soulful tracks, Jodhaa Akbar became the fourth highest-grossing Hindi film of 2008.
Hailed as one of the best period dramas ever made in Indian cinema, Jodhaa Akbar had many astonishing facts. Over 80 elephants, 100 horses and 55 camels were used in the film. Not just this, it is the first film where Aishwarya Rai was credited as Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. Amid the many astonishing facts, did you know that Aishwarya Rai nearly wore 200 kgs of gold for Jodhaa Akbar?
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Yes, the efforts taken to portray Aishwarya in a regal persona were huge. As per multiple reports, the jewellery made for Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai was a blend of Mughal and Rajasthani designs. It took almost two years to create the gorgeous ornaments with 400 kgs of gold and other precious stones.
The wedding set worn by Aishwarya Rai in the film weighed more than three and a half kilos. All the jewellery used in the film was specifically handcrafted, just like it was during the Mughal period. The most challenging part for the craftsmen was creating the jewellery for Aishwarya’s character, 'Jodhaa Bai', as there were not many pictorial references to her.
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Many old paintings from that era were taken into reference to get an idea of 'Jodhaa Bai'. During the entire movie, Aishwarya Rai reportedly wore nearly 200 kilos of real gold jewellery. The mammoth task was crafted by 70 artisans who curated exclusive jewellery pieces for her with gold, pearls and various other precious stones. Not just this, a team of 50 guards were employed to safeguard the valuable assets.
Aishwarya Rai looked like a royal queen in every frame of the film. With minimal makeup, the entire focus was given to her traditional attire and her jewellery. In the film, Aishwarya Rai has worn all kinds of jewellery, ranging from polki necklaces, maang teeka, chandbalis, jhumkis, paasa, Rajasthani borla, nath, ghunghroos, haathphool, rings, kamarbandh, stack of big gold kadas to glass bangles. The actress once stated that wearing jewellery was the hardest part during the course of the shooting of Jodhaa Akbar.
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Another interesting anecdote from the film was shared by the film's costume designer, Neeta Lulla, who also won the National Award for Best Costume Design in Jodhaa Akbar. In a chat with Bollywood Hungama, Neeta Lulla stated that Aishwarya was dressed as a bride on the set of Jodhaa Akbar when she discussed her wedding outfit to be worn on her wedding with Abhishek Bachchan.
In the same interaction, Neeta stated that Aishwarya wanted everything in her wedding outfit to be rooted in her culture. Recalling the same, Neeta shared:
“When we were discussing her wedding outfit, she was dressed in her Jodhaa wedding outfit. I remember her saying ‘I’m not dressing like this for my wedding. I want to dress in a kanjeevaram so you have to figure what has to be done for that. Speak to my mother and you guys do your recce as to where you want to get it woven and what you want to do.’”
Since Aishwarya is a South Indian, Neeta got a golden-coloured saree woven for her with a basic 5-inch sleeve zardozi blouse to match it. The diva accessorised her look with precious gold and diamond jewellery. Her jewellery consisted of a heavy kundan and emerald necklace, two kundan haars, matching jhumkas, matha patti and bajubandh. Aishwarya covered her entire hair with white gajra and gorgeous gold hair accessories.
While Jodhaa Akbar broke all box office records in 2008, it was Aishwarya Rai who did complete justice to her character by beautifully essaying the nuances of the royal princess, Jodhaa Bai.
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