Sharani

While discussing how much I liked the Korean TV mini-series Dae Jang Geum with some of my friends, they answered with a recommendation to watch Jodhaa Akbar – a Hindi film about the Muslim Emperor Akbar and his marriage to a Hindu princess during his reign in India in the 16th century.

The film opened in Feb. 2008 and is directed by Ashutosh Gowariker, the director of Lagaan, a Bollywood musical which received an Academy Award nomination. Gowariker created this latest film on a grand scale. He spent several years researching it, then a couple of years in pre-production before finally filming. There are musical scenes with 1,000 dancers and 100 horses, 55 camels and more than 80 elephants were used in the production of the movie. It took 4-5 hours to dress the extras in costume.

I was especially interested to see the film because my meditation teacher Sri Chinmoy wrote a book about Emperor Akbar and many times I have watched and acted in short play productions based on stories from Akbar’s life. The book entitled, The Moghul Emperors, is available full-text online at SriChinmoyLibrary.com.

Granted, even though Gowariker did extensive research for this historical period piece, he admits that 70 percent of the film is all imagination. The love story portrayed between Emperor Akbar and Jodhaa, one of his Hindu wives feels mostly cliche. However, the scale of the movie and the visual splendour more than compensate. As a spiritual seeker, I particularly liked the themes of the movie that emphasized religious tolerance.

This YouTube clip shows my favorite scene of the film when Akbar watches Sufi dervishes dance and joins them. The music in the film is fantastic. This song performed by the Sufis in the film is about the saint Kwaje.* A. R. Rahman, the composer of the scores in the movie has sold hundreds of millions recordings making him one of the top selling composers in the world. Richard Corliss wrote about him in Time Magazine, “Rahman doesn’t even write what’s thought of as world music. He writes a world of music — so broad and deep, so instantly likable and lastingly satisfying, it is the whole world.”

Be sure not to miss this Bollywood epic that the New York Times called, “Filmmaking on the grand scale of Cecil B. DeMille, with romance, stirring battles, a cast of thousands and enough elephants and gold to sink the Titanic.”

*Lyrics and unofficial translation:
Khwajaji, khwaja (O saint khwaja)
Khwajaji, khwaja, khwaja ji (O saint khwaja) ; (O saint khwaja)
Ya gharib nawaz (The one who cherishes/soothes the poor)
Ya moinuddin, ya khwaja ji (O moinuddin chisti), (O khwaja saint)
Khwaja mere khwaja (O saint khwaja)
Dil mein sama ja (Reside in my heart)
Shaho ka shah tu (You are the king of kings)
Ali ka dulara (Ali’s beloved)

Khwaja mere khwaja dil mein sama ja (O saint khwaja); (Reside in my heart)
Beqaso ki taqdeer, tune hai sawari (The destiny of the ones in despair, you have changed for the better)
Khwaja mere khwaja (O saint khwaja)

Tere darbar mein khwaja (At your door, o khwaja)
Door toh hai dekha (Ive seen it from far)
Sar jhuka te hai auliya (Your confidents/protectors/confessors bow down to you)
Tu hai Hindalwali khwaja (You are the hindalwali Khwaja)
Rutba hai pyara (Your status is glorious/great)
Chahne se tujhko khwaja ji mustafa ko paya (By wishing/worshipping you Khwaja, I have found muhammed [the chosen one])
Khwaja mere khwaja (O saint khwaja)

Dil mein sama ja (Reside in my heart)
Shaho ka shah tu (You are the king of kings)
Ali ka dulara (Ali’s beloved)
Mere peer ka sadka (The alms of my old age)
Hai mere peer ka sadka (It is the charity of my old age)
Tera daaman hai thama (That I have come in your refuge)
Khawajaji
Tali har bala humari (All my problems/crisis have been averted)
Chaya hai khumar tera (Your trance is all over me)
Jitna bhi rashk kare beshak (No matter how much one may envy(rashk) be jealous)

When do you ever like a DVD set of a TV mini-series so much that you can unequivocally say that it is the best drama you have ever seen – despite me being only a third of the way through watching it and despite it being an English subtitle experience of a Korean program, a culture I must admit I know next to nothing about?

Such is the case with Dae Jang Geum/Jewel in the Palace, a historical drama depicting Korean court life in the early 1500’s. It originally aired as 54 one hour episodes on television in South Korea in 2003-2004. Telling the story of a young orphan girl who becomes an apprentice cook in the King’s palace, she eventually becomes the first recorded female royal physician to a King.

The drama is in part based on actual history. The Annals of Joseon Dynasty, a history of the kings who ruled in Korea for 400 years, tells of a female royal doctor. The drama extrapolated from this historical truth is a remarkable combination of palace intrigue and corruption, extraordinary scenes of remarkable cooking/cuisine, heroism, morality and love.

This YouTube video (one of the few YouTube selections using shots of the English subtitled version) features the protagonist, Jae Geum with her mentor Lady Han, one of the Court Ladies for the Royal Kitchen.

Although the above YouTube video sets the vignettes to a Celine Dion song, the actual soundtrack to the show is also haunting. I find myself hearing the music inside my head long after watching an episode. Here is the original soundtrack being performed by an orchestra.

I borrowed the first volume of the three volume set (18 one hour episodes) through inter-library loan because not many libraries in the U.S. own it. Since the lending period was short and my pals and I are totally hooked on it, vol. 2 is already on its way as a purchase from Amazon.

I highly recommend Dae Jang Geum. Already exported to 60 countries and taking country after country by storm after its airing, you truly must find out for yourself just how captivating this epic story is.

Dae Jang Geum Themepark in South Korea.

Korea Times article about the international popularity of this drama.

Internet Movie Database comments about worldwide cultural impact of the drama.

Plot Summary of the 54 episodes in English.