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Jodhaa Akbar

Was Jodhabai Akbar's daughter-in-law?
06th Feb 2008 22.00 IST
By Aparajita Ghosh

Claims made by some historians suggest that Jodhaa bai was not Akbar’s wife but his daughter-in-law.

With just over a week remaining for Ashutosh Gowarikar’s film Jodhaa Akbar to hit the theatres, questions are being raised over historical factuality of the film’s characters.

Just a casual reference to the NCERT history book for class XI reveals that Jodhaa bai was married to Akbar’s son Jahangir.

"To strengthen his position, Udai Singh married his daughter, Jagat Gosain or Jodha Bai as she came to be called, to Akbar's eldest son Salim (Jahangir)," the book says.

According to historian Mohammad Amin, in Akbar Naama written by Abul Fazal there is a mention of Akbar marrying a Rajput princess of Amer who was named Maryam Zamani. But nowhere in Akbar Naama is she referred to as Jodhaabai.

NR Farooqi, Head of Allahabad University's history department, voices a similar opinion: "Jodha was not Akbar's wife but Jahangir's and she was Shahjahan's mother.”

Historians believe that the myth of Jodhaa being Akbar’s wife was created by K Asif’s classic Mughal-E-Azam in which actress Durga Khote played Jodhaabai.

Speaking in his defense, director Ashutosh Gowarikar says all the historians he has read refer to Akbar’s Rajput wife by different names – like Harkha bai, Manmati, Shahi bai. Gowarikar concedes that there is confusion over the name, but the person did exist. That is why, he says, he took permission from the royal family of Jaipur to use the name Jodha for the character of Akbar’s wife.

‘Jodha Akbar’ is slated to release on February 15. The film stars Aishwarya Rai as Jodhaa and Hrithik Roshan as emperor Akbar.

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