Ashutosh Gowariker’s ambitious biopic Jodha Akbar starring Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai is negotiating with Adlabs to co-produce the film.

Initially Applause Entertainment from the Birla Group which had co-produced Black with Sanjay Leela Bhansali was to co-produce this film with Gowariker. But things could not materialise as Applause was very guarded in its reaction as it has not collected enough money from Black. Black was made at a budget of Rs 240 million and market sources confirm that Applause had recovered close to Rs 200 million only, though it bagged many more awards.

A highly placed source from Adlabs confirmed that they were in negotiations to take over the film as a co-producer. However since the budget of the film is on the higher side, Rs 450 million, the process is taking more time. Ashutosh Gowariker is busy applying finishing touches to the script of the film.

What is Jodha Akbar?
The film is about the hitherto undealth story of Akbar – his days as a warrior and his love and marriage to a Rajput princess Jodha – a romance till then unimagined. “The film ends with the birth of Prince Salim. Till now whenever we talk about Akbar, we remember Prithviraj Kapoor’s imposing presence in Mughal-E-Azam or we know him from Akbar-Birbal stories,” says Gowariker.