Gowariker epic sweeps 'Bollywood Oscars'

INDIA: Director Ashutosh Gowariker's love epic "Jodhaa Akbar" swept the "Bollywood Oscars" early Sunday, taking home awards for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor for lead man Hrithik Roshan.

The film, strongly fancied before the annual extravaganza, traces the rise of the Mughal emperor Akbar The Great, a Muslim, and his love affair with his Hindu wife, played in the film by Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.

"When I started this movie I was advised by all my friends not to make this film," Gowariker explained at the International Indian Film Academy Awards (IIFA), being held this year in the southern Chinese territory of Macau.

But he said the film's massive popularity had "reinstated my faith that we do need a Hindu-Muslim alliance" in India.

Macau, Sunday, AFP