By:
Subhash
K.
Jha,
IndiaFM
Friday,
November
30,
2007
Costume
dramas
and
Aishwarya
Rai
almost
go
hand
in
hand.
Audiences
are
so
used
to
gasping
at
her
magnificently
eloquent
dances
in
Devdas
and
Umrao
Jaan
that
there's
much
disappointment
over
the
rumour
that
she
does
no
twinkle-toed
twirls
in
Ashutosh
Gowariker's
Jodhaa-Akbar.
Jodhaa-Akbar
is
Aishwarya's
third
costume
drama
in
a
row
after
the
tepidly-received
Umrao
Jaan
and
The
Last
Legion.
The
question
is,
will
she
appease
her
fans'
appetite
to
see
her
singing
and
dancing
in
elaborate
costumes?
Or
would
the
stunning
diva's
glamour-quotient
take
a
backseat
to
the
film's
promised
authenticity
of
periodicity?
While
the
actress
laughs
off
the
question
with
a
wait-and-watch
shrug,
director
Ashutosh
Gowariker
is
more
expansive.
"Well…
Aishwarya
does
have
songs
and
dances
in
Jodha-Akbar.
But
they
will
befit
the
stature
of
her
character
of
the
Rajput
queen
Jodhabai.
She
won't
dance
like
Madhubala
in
Mughal-e-Azam
because
she
isn't
a
kaneez
in
this
film."
Aishwarya"s
dances
in
Jodha-Akbar
are
apparently
spiritual
rather
than
sensual.
The
Queen
Jodhabai
steps
out
of
her
regalia
on
festive
occasions
to
swirl
twirl
and
unfurl
her
majestic
grace.
As
for
Sarkar
Raj,
she
neither
sings
nor
dances
her
way
through
the
role
of
the
gritty
no-nonsense
ruthless
entrepreneur
who
crosses
swords
with
the
father-son
duo,
played
by
her
pa-in-law
and
husband.
"After
these
two
epics
come
out
one
after
another
she'll
be
seen
in
a
stunning
smouldering
Parisian
mould
in
Pink
Panther….just
like
Dhoom
2
after
Umrao
Jaan
Not
that
she
planned
it.
But
this
year
Aishwarya
and
her
hugely
supportive
in-laws
(who
are
all
for
her
career)
are
sure
she
will
further
consolidate
her
position
as
the
queen-bee
of
the
box-office," says
a
source
very
close
to
Aishwarya,
thwarting
all
renewed
rumours
of
the
actress'
pregnancy.