Rahmans very personal number

The response to Jodhaa Akbar from critics may be mixed. But there is one extraordinary sequence in the film that has won the hearts of critics and audiences alike.

That sequence is when emperor Akbar ( Hrithik Roshan ) goes into a trance while listening to the qawwali "Khwaja Mere Khwaja". Quietly, the emperor rises from his seat, walks into the whirling dervishes and begins to whirl with one hand pointed to the sky and the other pointed to the earth.

Now, we all know how good a dancer Hrithik is. But before shooting this sequence, even he was clueless. Though the whirling doesn't require any complicated steps, Hrithik had to do it with genuine feeling so as not to make the dance look superficial.

And the conviction with which Hrithik conveyed the spiritual ecstasy of Akbar in that dance has won hearts.

None other than superstar Amitabh Bachchan had lavish praise for this particular sequence in the film.

In fact, Big B has reportedly stated that such an outstanding moment has not been captured in cinema since Stanley Kubrick's film 'A Space Odyssey'.

And almost every movie critic has complimented this very sequence.

For the song's composer, A R Rahman , "Khwaja Mere Khwaja" is a very personal and spiritual number. Rahman originally composed the song three years ago only for himself. It was much later when Ashutosh Gowarikar approached him to compose for 'Jodhaa Akbar' did Rahman decide to use the song in the film.