BizAsia Movie Review: ‘Bajirao Mastani’
Branded from the start as Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s magnum opus, ‘Bajirao Mastani’ finally saw release today with a completely different cast to what the filmmaker had envisaged in the primary stage. With Ranveer Singh taking on the role of Peshwa Bajirao, Priyanka Chopra playing his wife Kashi and Deepika Padukone in the role of Mastani, the film definitely promised to be something that would be amazing on screen, heart-wrenching in plot and beautifully told. However, does it live upto the huge expectations that were attached to it from the very beginning or has Bhansali been a little too ambitious?
When his father, the first��Peshwa of Chhattrapati Shahu, passes away, Bajirao (Singh) steps into the role of Peshwa. During his battles to win over various parts of India, Bajirao comes across Mastani (Padukone), daughter of��Chhatrasal of the establishment of Bundelkhand. She seeks his help in a battle in her home town and Bajirao agrees. During the fight, Mastani saves Bajirao’s life but eventually seriously injures herself and Bajirao makes sure he rescues her. Unknown to Mastani, Bajirao has a wife, Kashi (Chopra), at home in Pune, but she accepts his dagger when he offers to her – which, in Bundelkhand, usually means that she is married to Bajirao. Bajirao returns home but Mastani follows him not long after, creating a difficult situation for Bajirao’s family who are not aware of her. What follows is a series of events where Bajirao accepts Mastani as his wife but still doesn’t share this with his first wife Kashi. She eventually finds out when she is pregnant with his child as is Mastani. Will Bajirao’s family ever accept Mastani?
Right from the first promos, trailers, songs and feelers of the film, it’s been evident that itbwould be Bhansali’s incredible vision which would be the backbone of how the audiences relate to each character and each part of what is essentially a story about love, tragedy and sacrifice. It’s very rare that a story like ‘Bajirao Mastani’ comes along which has so many layers to the story and so many feelings attached to each character. Bhansali’s primary battle would have been to fit in such an intricate story in the space of two-three hours but he achieves it on a huge scale. The story comes across just as emotional as it does tragic and it also covers the political aspect very well, never being too much for the crux of the plot. It is expected of Bhansali with every film that he makes each scene visually appealing and ‘Bajirao Mastani’ is simply beautiful on the screen. Right from the battlefield scenes to the numerous declarations of love, from the impeccable costumes to the background score, Bhansali seems to have paid equal attention to each and every bit of the film to achieve a truly spectacular scale. It can be said, on the other hand, that there are some parts where the performances and scenes play second fiddle to the extravagance and this is a letdown both for Bhansali and for the audiences who are not always looking for the larger-than-life treatment.
Bhansali had initially wanted to cast Salman Khan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in the film when he first wanted to make it but, over a decade later, the new actors he has chosen couldn’t have been better for the respective roles. It would be right to say that the role of Bajirao is definitely the role of a lifetime for Singh. He excels as the married Hindu warrior who falls in love with a Muslim girl and it is difficult to see how any other actor of the past generations or the current generation could fit as perfectly in this part. Singh is known for his energetic and overly enthusiastic persona off-screen but, as Bajirao, he shows a side which is sombre – something that works in his favour in the most part. Singh had prepared for this role immensely and it’s sad that in some scenes, Bhansali seems to be unable to bring out his true potential as an actor. His dialogue delivery is sometimes a little weak but, again, this is probably due to Bhansali’s need and want for grandeur on every scale. However, going back a few months, this is the same actor who played a suave, sexy and modern Kabir in ‘Dil Dhadakne Do’ (2015) and it’s truly commendable that he has now wowed with such a different character with this film.
Padukone as Mastani can be described in the same way. This is her third release this year and she seems to be growing with each film. She shows Mastani’s vulnerability, her infatuation, her regret and her yearning with so much ease that she makes the love story between her and Bajirao something the audience identifies with no matter how complicated it actually is. She also delivers the quite poetic and intense dialogues with extreme authenticity. She stands her own in her scenes with Chopra which are, at times, excruciating to watch because of their “relationship” in the film.��Chopra, as Kashi, isn’t really seen on the screen too much but she plays her role very well. She has said that she found the role hard to play but she displays her character’s kindness, her love for her husband and the hurt in her heart with true strength. Again, after ‘Dil Dhadakne Do’ and also her American TV show ‘Quantico’, Chopra shows of her versatility with Kashi’s traditional values and look. She is subtle in her approach and this is definitely her character’s allure. Both Chopra and Singh shine in one scene in particular where they meet after a length of time when Bajirao enters their bedroom post the birth of their son.
The music of the film is indeed a winner – with the album being probably the best of the year. Siddharth-Garima, among all the lyricists, are the soul of the entire album, which has been composed by Bhansali himself with assistance from��Shreyas Puranik. On the screen, the songs that particularly stand out are Deewani Mastani, Malhari, Pinga and Mohe Rang Do Laal. Padukone definitely steals the show with her song appearances, her natural beauty fitting in perfectly with the evergreen feel in the picturisations.
‘Bajirao Mastani’ is most certainly a film which is a cinema watch. However, be sure to take into account that Bhansali has left no stone unturned in ensuring that his stamp is all over it. His films are usually a tad bit elongated in length, often giving time to scenes and situations which perhaps aren’t always necessary to include to help the overall narrative. However, the performances of all three of the main actors and the ensemble cast – including Tanvi Azmi, Milind Soman, Aditya Pancholi and also Mahesh Manjrekar – are enough to keep the film watchable if the grandeur isn’t enough to keep your attention for the entirety. There are definitely moments and visuals in the film which will stay with you, as with any Bhansali directorial, but it can be argued that the emotional connect is found and lost on many occasions throughout.
BizAsia Showbiz Rating: 4/5
