Jodha Akbar finds a taker

Ashutosh Gowarikar has reason to celebrate . his much-awaited Jodha Akbar starring Hrithik Roshan as Akbar and Aishwarya Rai as Jodha, has found itself a producer. The film, made on a budget of Rs 37 crore, will now be produced and distributed worldwide by UTV.

.We have had a good working relationship, since our Swades days and have been in touch ever since. We knew Ashutosh wanted to make Jodha Akbar. We met a couple of weeks ago and when we got chatting about the film, we realised that we were moving in the right direction,. says Ronnie Screwvala, MD, UTV.

Meanwhile, Gowarikar says, .I started working on the film way back in 2001. While making Swades, my actor friend Hyder Ali, who acted in Nukkad, came up with this idea. That is when I thought of making this film after Swades. I had to work on a bigger set-up, research its historical aspects and wanted to be sure about all the facts. It was not a case of doing one more film with Ronnie. Morever, it is not just another historical, but an epic love story which has been never attempted in the past. In fact, this is the first time I will be attempting a love story. I needed a huge set-up to handle its marketing and international release..

The film has already faced many difficulties, hasn't it? .Every film is as difficult or as easy to make as any other film,. says Gowarikar. .I have been researching this subject for the last three to four years. But I do agree that there is more detailing and paperwork to be done for this film, compared to any other contemporary film. The team has been chosen accordingly. Nitin Desai is my art director, Kiran Deohan is the director of photography, Neeta Lulla is doing the costumes, A R Rahman is the music director and Javedsaab is doing the lyrics..

Speaking about the locations where they plan to shoot the film, Ashutosh says, .We are planning to shoot at several locations in Rajasthan, like Amir Palace, Nahar fort and spots at Bikaner too. A major chunk of the shooting will take place in ND Studio in Karjat where we will be building a set which will be a replica of the Agra Fort. We plan to start shooting in October and will wrap up by February..