Bajirao Mastani – Movie Review

Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Bajiroa Mastani is the story of 18th century’s Maratha Peshwa (Prime Minister) Bajirao Ballad A.K.A Peshwa Bajirao I, and her second wife Mastani, princess of Bundelkhand, with Muslim mother.

Bajirao, the elder son of Bhat Family (Maharashtrian Brahmin) fallen in love with the Mastani (Muslim); Bhat family was totally in the denial of this relationship which is obvious. But the Love is blind and brave too. Their rise of Love and fallen of lives is the story of Bajirao Mastani Movie.

The story is focused on the Bajirao’s in-house politics and struggle rather than his war strategy and life span.

Astonishing acting of Ranveer Singh, Priyanka Chopra, Deepika Padukone, Milind Soman, Mahesh Manjrekar, Tanvi Azmi and Raza Murad made the story stronger than it is.

Pros:

1. Bajiroa – Ranveer Singh adopted the character so well that it feels real with his fluent dialogue delivery with all that getup.
2. Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Direction: Devdas, Ram Leela and now Bajirao Mastani, SLB have the furious way to direct a movie, which is generally away from orthodox directions.
3. Colors and sets used: Same as Ram Leela, the color in this movie are rich. The Aaina Mahal, (similar to Mughal-E-Azam) leaves you speechless.
4. War scenes, now Bollywood can match the quality of Hollywood war scenes. I literally enjoyed it.
5. Kasi Bai: Kasibai, the 1st wife and love of Bajiroa, is the unsung hero of this movie. The perfect casted character with a justified script. Played by Priyanka Chopra.
6. Radhabai: Mother of Bajirao. Tanvi Azmi has surprised everyone with her mesmerizing acting.

Cons:

1. Bajirao and Mastani’s love is not justified. There should be more minute on how it happened. The whole story is focused on their love struggle.
2. The End, the last 5 minutes, Bajiroa’s hallucination scene is something hard to digest and looks bit dramatic thus lacks conviction.
3. Fewer war scenes. Bajirao as a Peshwa of Chhatrapati Sahu had fought and won many huge glorious battles. To name few – the Battle of Delhi with Moghals, Battle of Bhopal with Nazam, etc. The movie would have been EPIC if both wars were covered.

Must watch movie, not because of the stardom but because Maratha Emperor is the bright part of Indian history which nobody taught us well.

My Take