A R Rahman, the music composer for the film, has revealed that Aishwarya Rai, who plays Jodha Bai in the film, was to make her singing debut with Jodhaa Akbar. Originally Gowariker wanted Rai to sing the song as he believed her voice suited the tune very well. Rahman confirms by saying, “Ashutosh strongly felt that Aishwarya could record the song in her own voice, as a bonus.”

However, Ash was extremely busy and did not find time to rehearse when Rahman was available. Eventually, when Ash was ready, Rahman was busy recording something else. The co-ordination for mutually suitable dates didn’t happen. So Bela Shende went ahead and recorded the song. “Man Mohana is a devotional song picturised on Aishwarya’s character, Jodhaa. The lyrics and the composition are inspired by the bhajans and poetry of Meera, the renowned poetess from Akbar’s era,” adds Rahman.

Ash, unlike many of her colleagues in the film industry, has not yet lent her voice as part of a song in any film.

The story of Jodhaa Akbar, based in the 16th century is not just a biopic of Akbar the Great, but narrates the story of what led him to become the greatest emperor of the Mughal era. Rai plays Jodhaa Bai and Hrithik Roshan in the lead character of Jalaluddin Mohammad Akbar in the movie.

Produced at a cost of more than Rs 40 crore, Jodhaa Akbar is perhaps the first big-budget film of this year. Apart from its cost, many factors have made expectations from the film sky high. Right from the many controversies surrounding it, to the fact that the film would directly be compared, to the earlier epic on the life of Akbar—Mughal-e-Azam—is the most important challenge that the film will face. Adding to the pressure is the fact this is Rai’s first film post her wedding into the Bachchan family and Roshan’s next after Dhoom 2.