Hrithik Roshan as a Muslim emperor in “Jodhaa Akbar.”

A Muslim and a Hindu. Let’s Dance.

They may not make ’em like they used to in Hollywood, but sometimes in India they still do. “Jodhaa Akbar,” a historical romance directed by Ashutosh Gowariker, is 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.

With so much attention focused on Islamic extremism, now seems an apt time for a movie about Akbar, the 16th-century Muslim emperor in India, whose legacy is one of enlightened rule and almost radical religious tolerance. “Jodhaa Akbar” begins before all that, when the young Akbar is still busy expanding the Mughal empire. This gives Mr. Gowariker a chance for some cinematic derring-do — in one spectacular shot the camera rushes back to avoid being trampled by two armies — and to show the seeds of what made Akbar one of history’s good guys. He fights with purpose (to consolidate Hindustan) but not without mercy.

The battles, though, are really a windup to the love story that propels the film. Forging a political alliance, Akbar marries Jodhaa, a Rajput princess (a Hindu), and then sets out to win her heart. These royals are played by Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, two rather astonishing specimens of human beauty. Neither is a great actor, but both know what’s required of a star and seem to the palace born.

Ms. Bachchan makes Jodhaa’s willfulness a sign of character, especially when she lays down the conditions for her marriage: She will remain a Hindu and would like a small temple for her Krishna statue in the Mughal fort. As Akbar, the green-eyed Mr. Roshan, a charter member of the Bollywood six-pack-abs club, has the bearing of a king, yet can seem a little blank when not in motion, fighting enemies or stripped to the waist taming wild elephants (just a hobby).

At — fair warning — three and a half hours, the film is too long. The court intrigues and counterintrigues can seem rote, and Akbar remains a bit of a cipher. Still, even the dramatically slack parts will probably hold your attention. Mr. Gowariker and his cinematographer, Kiiran Deohans, fill their frames with beautiful palaces and scenery, and the film bounces along to a memorable score by A. R. Rahman. (I’m still humming the songs.)

Mr. Gowariker’s “Lagaan” (2001), a classic root-for-the-underdog story, was one of the rare Bollywood movies to attract a non-South-Asian audience. “Jodhaa” may lack that film’s populist appeal but it shares its sense of national purpose and could just as easily have borne its subtitle: “Once Upon a Time in India.”

“Jodhaa Akbar” is not a history lesson: where, for example, are Akbar’s 199 other wives, or the painters and poets who made his court a fabled one? But in choosing to tell the tale of this emperor and a Muslim-Hindu love story, Mr. Gowariker makes a clear point. As Akbar says, “Respect for each other’s religion will enrich Hindustan.”

JODHAA AKBAR

Opened on Friday nationwide.

Directed by Ashutosh Gowariker; written (in Hindi, with English subtitles) by Haidar Ali, Mr. Gowariker and K. P. Saxena, based on a story by Mr. Ali; director of photography, Kiiran Deohans; edited by Ballu Saluja; music by A. R. Rahman, lyrics by Javed Akhtar; production designer, Nitin Chandrakant Desai; choreography by Chinni Prakash, Rekha Prakash and Raju Khan; produced by Ronnie Screwvala and Mr. Gowariker; released by UTV Motion Pictures. Running time: 3 hours 33 minutes. This film is not rated.

WITH: Hrithik Roshan (Jalaluddin Mohammad Akbar), Aishwarya Rai Bachchan (Jodhaa), Kulbhushan Kharbanda (Raja Bharmal), Suhasini Mulay (Rani Padmawati), Mrs. Punan S. Sinha (Mallika Hamida Banu) and Ila Arun (Maham Anga).

Around the same time, Haidar Ali featured in another Palekar serial, Naqab. The two actors met often and bonded. The fact that Gowariker celebrated his birthday a day before Haidar Ali celebrated his birthday on February 16, cemented the friendship.

"I liked Ashutosh's way of working even in those days," he says. "His planning was meticulous even though he was struggling then. We developed a bond even though there was an age gap of almost 20 years."

They also acted in Saeed Mirza's Salim Langde Par Mat Ro.

"Though my mother's name was Pramila, she was actually Jewish. Her name was Esther Victoria Abraham," he says. The name Pramila was given to her by (filmmaker) Baburao Pendharkar, actress Nanda's uncle." Interestingly, Pramila was the first ever Miss India.

Pramila married Syed Hassan Ali Zaidi, who is best known for his role as the sculptor in Mughal-E-Azam. His screen name was Kumar. The song Zindabad Mohabbat Zindabad was picturised on him.

When Kumar migrated to Pakistan in 1963, Pramila remained in India with their children.

Haidar Ali appears in the song Khwaja Mere Khwaja in Jodhaa-Akbar. He plays a Sufi saint.

Image: Aishwarya Rai in Jodhaa Akbar