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As I always say before I write a movie review, “Beware, I am not a movie critic” but I just admire Anu Aunty too much to not pen one down. I might be a little late to offer my opinion but here goes…

As you all know, ‘Bajirao Mastani’ is Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s dream project and it took him 15 years and multiple castings to turn it into a reality. We would have probably seen Rani Mukherjee as ‘Kashibai’…don’t get me wrong, Priyanka Chopra was divine in the portrayal and I will get to that shortly.

As with his past projects, you can expect nothing less than grandeur in this movie but you already know of this thanks to perfectly edited teasers and trailers. So, let’s get into the nitty-gritties of the movie. First of all, let’s make one thing very clear; Chopra does not play a supporting-role in the story. I don’t understand why people have been saying, she has fewer scenes. Her role of a devoted wife lifts the screen and her one line: “Aap Humse Humari Zindagi Maang Lete Hum Aap Ko Khushi Khushi De Dete, Par Aapne Toh Humse Humara Guroor Cheen Liya…” describes her woeful tale in one go. Her confrontation scene with Padukone’s character ‘Mastani’ is brutal as well as poetic and allows us to understand that a butchered wife is just a wife after all be it in any era. Her performance is cinematically convincing and still very much human.

I think everyone will agree with the fact that throughout the movie, Deepika Padukone is simply and positively glowing! Hats off to Gabriel Georgiou who managed to give that ethereal glow aiding her character’s portrayal. Padukone herself is hypnotic and I know for a fact that her couplets/verses will be popular amongst the fans for a very long time. My particular favourite is the one where she submits to her secondary fate to Bajirao: “Ishq, Jo Tufani Duniya Se Bagawat Karjaye Woh Ishq, Bharay Darbar Mein Jo Duniya Se Lad Jaae Woh Ishq, Jo Mehboob Ko Dekhe Toh Khuda Ko Bhul Jaae Woh Ishq…”. Her stunts are no doubt fascinating but in my opinion, her role does not offer much to her other than playing a Muslim girl in love with a Hindu Prince. Apart from her fight sequence in the first half, the remainders of her scenes only show one emotion, one motive. I know, I know that’s what the role was but more could be done with the same emotion except narrating couplets and punch lines. But I must confess, some of them will go down in Bollywood history including:

Mastani: “Patni to Radha bhi nahi thi, lekin Krishna ke saath log yaad use hi karte hain.”
Mastani’s Mother: “Wo bhagwan the!”
Mastani: “Aur ishq ibadat. Ibadat ke liye ijazat nahi li jaati.”

Mastani to Kashibi when she visits Mastani Mahal: “Aapne yaha aa ke Bundelkhand ki is najayaz beti ko sindoor jitna jayaz bana diya.”

Ranveer Singh plays “Peshwa Bajirao I” and yes he has managed to do justice to the role. His dramatic dialogue delivery is more convincing in comparison to his warrior scenes. His intensity is exquisite when it comes to portraying the defenceless man torn between his wife and his love. His most remembered scene will be the one with his mother “Radhabai” played by Tanvi Azmi. How he leaves his thrown for Mastani is no doubt nothing short of brilliance. Just like in Ram Leela, his portrayal of intoxication is award-winning!

Now let’s get to the movie first of all, I would like to point out that the tagline of the movie is misleading. I was hoping to see a love story of Peshwa Bajirao but instead I only came across his marital and domestic problems. If we remove the tagline and do not pay much heed to the actual history then the movie is elegiac and a theatrical masterpiece.

The movie evidently does depict Bajirao’s struggles but sheds very little on his relationship with Mastani. I mean the iconic dialogue of Bajirao: “Baajirao Ne Mastani Se Mohabbat Ki Hai Aiyashi Nahi…” is perhaps the only romantic notion in the movie apart from a few hugs amongst the lead pair.

My favourite scene in the entire movie however is delivered by Padukone only where she defends how the colours red and green are not limited to Hinduism and Islam respectively. Personal Note to Mr. Bhansali, thank you for writing this scene; no one could have done it better. However, I am not happy with your decision of the poster; Chopra’s character deserved equal standing. This film equally belongs to her as it does to Singh and Padukone.

Shades of Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Devdas and Ram Leela appear frequently throughout the length of the movie, especially the music. And references to Mughal-e-Azam are lyrically weaved into the story. However there is nothing more to the story other than an unnecessary overload of costumes, bedrooms and boudoirs. The movie misses a plot and the screenplay seems to be incomplete at various points. The climax is a bit-too-stretched without any logic and you find yourself not fully satisfied. All in all – the movie offers glory and elegance of 1700s but lacks substance and proves to be over-ambitious.

P.S – In spite of everything else the movie has managed to do exactly what Veer Zaara did! The two names will forever be remembered together by all Bollywood fans and just not by historians or scholars.