Ashutosh Gowariker reminds us that it was 10 years to this date that his beautiful Jodhaa Akbar hit the screens. The director shared an unreleased poster of the period film, thanking viewers for giving the film “so much love”. The film, which had reached cinema halls on February 15, 2008, was a fictionalised account of the love story between Akbar the Moghul emperor and his wife, the Rajput princess Jodhabai.

https://twitter.com/AshGowariker/status/964062549850324994

In an echo of the protests that Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmaavat recently drew, Jodhaa Akbar had also faced opposition, as fringe elements called it a ‘blatant distortion of history’. The filmmakers had stood their ground, claiming it had been made in consultation with experts, and the film finally released to grand praise.

Here’s some of the backstory behind the film, that you might not know of…

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s famous light eyes were concealed in the film. In order to convey the authenticity of her roots, she wore brown contact lenses for her role.

Off-screen, Hrithik developed something of a love story – with his elephant! The actor would travel to Karjat on days when he was not shooting, to spend time with the pachyderm and pamper her with bananas. It reached a point where she would recognize his voice and even his cologne!

Hrithik’s steeds were a tad extra special. His horse was a huge fan of the word ‘Action’, and the moment she heard it, she would bolt off into the blue even if the scene required her to stay put! Such was the effect of the word on her that the crew had to come up with substitute terms for ‘Action’!

CGI was ignored and the wondrous sequences used a mind-blowing 80 elephants, 100 horses, and 55 camels during filming.

We adored Hrithik and Ash in their royal roles and turns out when director Ashutosh Gowariker heard the story, these were the only two actors he thought of immediately.

And finally, did you know that the mood was kept so authentic, even the food shown in the film was prepared in pure ghee? The calorie-conscious stars were reportedly petrified of giving retakes which required them to eat!