Bajirao Mastani

Grand sets, emotional dilemma of characters, dramatic conversations, spectacular dance choreography, depiction of tragedy etc. are the major components of a Bhansali film and may be because of the possibility of including all these things in a cinema made him do his latest venture Bajirao Mastani. While Bhansali managed to squeeze out the best from his actors, the swift pace of the proceedings and the slight over drama at some areas drags the movie slightly backwards.

It is the love story of Maratha Warrior Bajirao Ballal and his second wife Mastani. The warrior who wanted to hunt down the Mughal emperor, at one point helps Mastani’s kingdom by offering help of his army. The relationship thus begins and the movie basically talks about the difficulties that came in between them because of cultural and religious differences.

Sanjay Leela Bhasali has tried his best to break certain clichés in terms of making a period drama. The theatrical feel which we see even in the most private moments of individuals in such films was sort of broken here. Bhansali balances the dramatic charm of his characters and their realness. It is not a war movie like Baahubali, Bajirao Mastani is a love story primarily and the director has done zero compromise in presenting his world with enough grandeur. The first half of the film takes ample time to establish the conflict in the minds of the characters. The second half of Bajirao Mastani has excess amount of trauma and the pacing of the screenplay could have been better in those portions.

It is indeed the performers who steal the show here. Ranveer Singh transforms amazingly and fits in to the shoes of a warrior leader and I must say that he is transforming in to a terrific actor. Performance in that climax scene was really special. Deepika Padukone has that grace and charm in her rendering of Mastani. The warrior chemistry between Bajirao and Mastani works greatly. Priyanka Chopra also excels as the emotionally suffocated Kashibai. Tanvi Azmi, Adithya Pancholi, Milind Soman and Vaibhav Tatwawdi also did impressive portrayal of characters assigned to them.

The lover of tragedy, Bhansali has included every signature style of his in Bajirao Mastani. The songs were composed nicely and choreographed brilliantly. The dramatization of the script towards the end and the pacing issue I mentioned in the beginning are the major drawbacks of this visually stunning spectacle. The dialogs were really interesting. The visual effects were used smartly. Sudeep Chatterjee has utilized the magnitude of the sets to visualize the story beautifully. Edits could have been better in those war sequences.

On the whole Bajirao Mastani isn’t a costumes show. It has performances that you will remember and visuals that will make you engage with the story. If you like Bhansali’s depiction of tragedies, don’t miss this one.