Bajirao Mastani

The Story, Overview and Music:

Sanjay Leela Bhansali is back with his 12 years old dream he nurtured like a baby titled as 'Bajirao Mastani', which is Bollywood's magnum opus and a reply to Tollywood's Bahubaali. Enthralling from beginning to end, the movie doesn't contain a single boring moment which is a huge plus point for its genre which can often be cumbersome and boring. And that can be large attributed to the visual aesthetics. Each and every frames are picture-perfect shots. From the very opening credits, you know that you are going to travel into a divine universe unraveling the 500 years ago's history (the 1700's). The sets and art direction are so well crafted, huge and super grand. Visual poetry on screen. Kudos to the set designers. The costumes, before describing, I would love to salute Anju Modi (costume designer) and Sanjay's vision of the past. Yes, they have rendered their imagination into a visual bonanza indeed. Ornamental is the perfect word. Every color that was picked for the costumes reflected a mood in addition to visual appeal. Applause! The cinematography is par excellence. The screenplay is multi- dimensional. It leaves you thirsty to know more. The background score is the "cherries on the cake". It is soothingly melodious in romantic scenes while explosive in war scenes. The action and the wars are new in Bollywood. First time a movie from Indian has excelled in such scenes. And the dialogues are a marvel. Very few films get you hooked up by its dialogues and Bajirao Mastani is one of them. There are many lines you will take home: the 'Guroor' one is pure cinematic and the 'Cheete ki chaal,..' is beautifully written and used cleverly. As for the music, the album has 10 tracks and SLB as the music director has done a magnificent job. The album is a beautiful blend of Marathi folk and Persian/Muslim influences. So, technically, the film is far superior than any Hindi movie I have seen in the last decade or so. The introductory portions in which they narrate the Peshwa's conquests using semi- animation/CGI were brilliantly performed. It's definitely one of the best of 2015. You are simply left mesmerized. You really are! The story of the film, I'll leave it for you to catch. I won't be a spoiler. I will just say that it is surely a love- triangle but one with a big difference.

Star Performances:

Ranveer Singh as the Peshwa Bajirao Ballad.- He is unbelievably good. Looks, body language, Maratha accent, physical strength in the war scenes. Hats off. I was skeptical about Malhari but it fits perfectly fine. His eyes spoke so many feelings. The anger, the love, the guilt, the passion, the pride, simply a WOW. I have always believed he's got a stupendous amount of untapped talent, and boy does this movie bring out the crazy range of acting skills that he possesses. He hit the right notes at all points. Mark my word, his performance shall make you a fan if you are not. This goes as his career best performance. He should win all 'Best Actor' awards for this. Deepika Padukone as the warrior princess is a marvel. She is beautiful, charming and stuns in songs like Deewani Mastani (I heart heart emoticon her in that). Her restrained half-Persian nuanced acting seemed to jump out less. Her character is one-dimensional. That's the minus point. Her biggest weakness being her poor kathak and you will feel sometimes in war scenes, she just lacked it and in romantic scenes, she went quite below par. Maybe due to parallel filming. She is undoubtedly a treat to watch but is overshadowed by Ranveer and Priyanka in acting. Nevertheless, she gives a remarkable performance but not her best. Priyanka Chopra as the Peshwin Queen Kashibai – *Breathe* Kashi was the most complex character of the film. It's an arc immensely enjoyable act at the same time heart- breaking. Kashibai might be an image of helplessness but it takes such strength for a woman to respect and protect the other woman your man fell in love with. Priyanka Chopra is terrific, her intelligently expressive eyes speaking volumes, she stood out in her Marathi intonations and prosody. Her no- nonsense Marathi rhythm was bang-on. Her each expression is layered with a thousand emotions, her dialogue delivery is pitch perfect and even in her dance her footwork is crisp and nimble. She crossed expectations in the film. She gets your eyes teary and your heart in pain. Her scenes are the highlights of the film and she owns them. In confrontation scene with Deepika where she goes "Dil? Kaisa dil?" gives you goosebumps. She knows her husband loves Mastani but she loves her husband. She can't hate him. The day she married Bajirao, she swore to support her man in his all decisions that make him happy. She knows her husband is no longer hers yet she doesn't want to lose him. The 'Guroor' scene where she calls her husband and tells him to go with his second wife is the scene of the year. In the climax, she comes to her ill husband but the latter calls her Mastani in hallucination and at that very moment you can feel her. She is devastated yet she pleases her husband by acting like Mastani. The lovers Bajirao and Mastani die but it is Kashi who is left behind all alone in pain. She takes forward the journey and raises Mastani's son as hers together with her two other sons. Priyanka's Kashi is so vivid that Deepika's Mastani pales in her comparison. In short, Priyanka Chopra has given a lifetime performance. You won't believe that the same Ranveer-Priyanka who played siblings in Dil Dhadakne Do have given such a soaring chemistry as husband-wife. Watch out for their love making scene. It's HOT. At the end Ranveer stands out, Deepika shines but Priyanka outshines. She leaves a legacy behind.

Nice costumes, great cinematography and good music, lyrics and direction of the movie. Performance-wise: Ranveer Singh and Priyanka Chopra followed by Deepika Padukone. Here are the ratings. Ranveer Singh: A; Priyanka Chopra: A; Deepika Padukone: B+; Overall, a great movie to watch. Ranveer Singh did his career-best performance. That was amazing to watch him prepare for and act as Bajirao. Priyanka Chopra completely eclipsed Deepika Padukone. Bhansali should have switched roles for PC and DP. PC is at her splendid best that showcased her acting brilliance. This was quite evident when the duo danced together. Overall, PC is a much better actor than DP in this movie. Deepika Padukone did whatever she could. Overall, a great movie to watch!!!

I went to see this film while my wife was at the ballet. I don't watch many Bollywood films, and usually the lighter kind, so I was coming to this film with almost no context. Also, to me, this was a foreign language, subtitled film so I missed any subtleties of language.

I really liked it. It was a true epic, wonderfully staged with seamless CGI and a consistent mellow look and feel to it. The leads (and lots of others) were really handsome/beautiful, and excellent actors. The dancing and singing was great and the story was well told. The costumes were sumptuous - Mughal miniatures come to life.

To an Australian this was of course an exotic film, so although it was slow there was always something to be looking at and wondering about. On the con side, the Hindu / Moslem theme was hammered home rather obviously, the Brahmin priests were one-dimensionally nasty, and (apart from one boatman) everything took place in a idyllic palace bubble - punctuated by a few battles.

However I would recommend this to anyone who wants to enjoy an epic cinematic experience Indian-style.

Watched Bajirao Mastani. Must say I was disappointed. Not because the movie was bad. By any standard of cinematography and direction, it was tremendously beautiful, but then which SLB's movie isn't? Perhaps I had raised the bar for it in my mind too high?

Here's my gripe with the movie: 1. Editing: very shoddy. Scenes just jumped around with little to no transition. There seem to be two stories told in the movie, the triangle love story and the battles. There was no fluidity in the editing between the two. 2. Bajirao and Mastani: in terms of acting, everyone did a good job. However, I felt like I have seen Deepika as Mastani in other movies as well. She was really good but I wanted to see a phenomenal performance (high expectations). Ranvir's acting is probably his career best but it still falls short in a few scenes. Some of it looks forced and tedious. Coming to the characters of these two, it's hard to like a movie and connect with it when you don't feel empathy for the leading characters. The two love struck characters are clearly shown in grey. It is difficult to feel sorrow for the ailing couple when you know that their affair has caused pain to a loving wife. This made me most uncomfortable. When the narrator proclaimed their love as eternal, it didn't resonate with me as their love was infidelity on Bajirao's part. 3. Unnecessary songs: SLB has a knack for incorporating beautiful, visually stimulating songs into his movies. This one is no exception. However, there are a couple of songs like Pinga and Bajirao and boys' celebratory song which stuck out like a sore thumb in terms of placement in the movie. 4. Rushed ending: don't want to get into details and spoil the ending but it looked like SLB was tired of 12 years of thinking and making the movie and he just ended it. 5. Striking similarity to Devdas and a little bit of Jodhaa Akbar: this one may just be me, partly because Devdas is one of my favorite movies of all time and also because I have watched it more than a dozen times. BM has so many similar themes as Devdas. Take the premise of two women longing for love of their man (I agree this is a pretty common theme), the ethereal dialogues, the widowed mother who seems to be a thorn in B and M's love saga, the choreographed duet song-dance spectacle with Mastani and Kashibai, the eventual fall into intoxication of Bajirao (there's even a scene with him in water very much like Devdas towards the end), war strategy inspired by Jodhaa Akbar, the mirror hall song reminds me of maar dala and kaahe ched, etc.

Having said all the above, I still think it is a good movie, just not SLB's best.

Watch it for Priyanka's brilliant acting as the forgotten Kashibai in a small but significant role. She delivers her lines in full flow, tugs at your heartstrings and makes you feel her pain. Watch it for a beautiful coming together of spectacular costumes and set design, grand music and choreography, larger than life dialogues and theme. Watch it for the movie it is, just don't believe the hype or you're bound to be disappointed. 3/5.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Mangum-Opus 'Bajirao Mastani' finally arrives. Been in the news for more than a decade, this period piece, fortunately, is worth the wait. Its A Well-Made, Well-Acted Motion-Picture, that holds your attention at most times.

'Bajirao Mastani' narrates the story of the Maratha warrior Peshwa Bajirao I of the Maratha Empire (Ranveer Singh) and his second wife Mastani (Deepika Padukone).

'Bajirao Mastani' is epically mounted & Bhansali has Directed the film with enviable ambition. The scale of the film is something to watch! The visual appeal is tremendous. But, what makes 'Bajirao Mastani' further more memorable, is its human-conflict between its primary characters. The relationship of Bajirao & Mastani is sharp, and even the relationship between Bajirao & his first wife Kashibai (Priyanka Chopra), is compelling. Watching the warrior torn between love, politics & religion, often grabs your attention. I was involved in Bajirao's quest to give his women the respect they deserve, despite the evil-heads who intended to ruin it.

Having said that, 'Bajirao Mastani' isn't without its share of blemishes. While the first-hour is arresting, the second-hour takes a dip & the pace drops. Also, the film overstays its welcome by a good 20-minutes, that certainly needed some trimming. A crisper & sharper second-hour would've only enhanced the overall impact!

The Screenplay is fierce, but undeniably romantic & emotionally charged. The characters are nicely written out & so are their interactions. But, the second-hour needed a stronger punch. Bhansali's Direction is Grand. Its pure ambition, on celluloid. And the accomplished Filmmaker has handled the film with precision. Cinematography is Magnificent. Editing is mostly good, but it needed to be sharper. Art & Costume Design are flawlessly done. Action-Sequences are fabulously executed. Bhansali's Score is enchanting.

Performance-Wise: Ranveer Singh is extraordinary Bajirao. The terrific actor sinks his teeth into the part & delvers a phenomenal performance. Right from his flawless Marathi diction, to his correctly done body-language, Ranveer scores a home-run. Deepika Padukone is wonderful as Mastani, portraying her part with complete honesty & understanding. Priyanka Chopra shines as Kashibai. She's in great form here. Tanvi Azmi as Radhabai, Bajirao's widowed mother, is electrifying. Its a pleasure to watch the veteran cast in a role that offers her scope to show her brilliance!

On the whole, 'Bajirao Mastani' is definitely worth a watch.