Film: Bajirao Mastani
Directed by: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Starring: Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Priyanka Chopra, Milind Soman, Tanvi Azmi
Ratings: ****
What it's about: When you talk of unrequited love, it's always Romeo-Juliet, Heer-Ranjha, Laila-Majnu and now thanks to Sanjay Leela Bhansali Bajirao-Mastani will be spoken about in the same breath. The director breathes life into the 18th-century love story of the Maratha warrior Peshwa Bajirao (Ranveer Singh) and his second wife Mastani (Deepika Padukone). Mastani's tussle with his mother (Tanvi Azmi) and his first wife Kashibai (Priyanka Chopra). Like in all love tangles, there is passion, trauma, tension and heartbreak all around. In a disclaimer at the start of the film, SLB lets you know that the film is based on a book Rau and that it may not be historically correct since he has taken creative/cinematic license but still manages to make it all too believable. It's almost as if you are not watching a film but looking through time at what happened.
What's good: Sanjay Bhansali has lovingly conceived and executed a film he has been wanting to make for over a decade. It is challenging to take a chapter from history from a few decades ago and make it interesting for modern audiences, but SLB pulls it off. It may not be by-the-book history but what a feast for the senses. The grandiose spectacle draws you into the world of kings and warriors, mere seconds into the film. The battle scenes, the dialogues, the passion, even the saas-bahu skirmishes are all right on the money. There is beauty and sensuality aplenty to leave breathless. Bajirao Mastani is a treat for the heart, not the head. The visuals and the performances are brilliant. Watching Ranveer Singh as Bajirao as like eavesdropping on a man who lived in another time. His language --words and body are spot on. His triumphs and his tears seem all too real. In the 90's all actresses wanted to work with Yash Chopra, as he presented his heroines as these beautiful creatures. SLB has taken over. Deepika looks ethereal. She is pitch perfect throughout. And a brilliant supporting cast.
What's not: Too much operatic dizziness. Many a times it feels like the director is forcing sensory-gluttony on you. The songs and dance routine bring on the yawns. The 'Pinga' song is an eye sore. Kashibai's character is not consistent. Her approach towards both Bajirao and Mastani keeps fluctuating. Priyanka tries her best to make it work and manages in a few scenes but her character lacks the punch because there is little to cheer for her Kashibai. At many points in the film, it's like you are watching Mughale-E-Azam and Anarkali and Game of Thrones. The climax of the film is too long drawn and slows the film down. You wish Mastani has tied her hair on the battlefield, sure it would not have looked as beautiful but why does it always have to be about beauty?
What to do: A film for lovers. Especially those who didn't get a happy ending.
