Skip to main content

Bajirao Mastani



I don’t really review movies on this blog but I decide to give a chance to this one for a reason. Read on …
***

Not considering Bahubali as a Bollywood product, this one comes out as a fine Epic / Period film from Bollywood after a long time.

Story-line, its a love story, aggressively nuanced, laced with emotions & high drama, beautifully wrapped around the complexities of family relationships, society and above all, religion. Not an easy subject to deal with, respecting the sensibilities of family, social norms, religious beliefs and values.

Well, what I particularly liked about the story-line is a very strong sense of morality & commitment shown in the character of Bajirao (played by Ranveer Singh) - Yes, even if it is a triangular love story where happily married Bajirao falls in love with another girl - Mastani (played by Dipika Padukone). There is absolutely no sense of “cheating” in the character of Bajirao.

When Bollywood dishes out substandard stories showcasing “messed-up” relationships, film after film, built on lowest levels of trust & morals, devoid of content and only Masala, this one comes out to be a breeze of fresh air.

One single dialogue captures the essence:
मैंने मस्तानी से मोहब्बत की है , अय्याशी नहीं

Just to clear the point here, I am not justifying the extra-marital relationship of Bajirao - not even remotely. I am only dealing with the subject of how he handles and treats the issue, with simply being honest & truthful about it. That, is a big take away from the strong character of Bajirao.

Men who cheat with complete disregard to the womanhood, running around like rabbits and messing up relationships, Bajirao shows them the character of a Man:

One, he never initiated this extra-marital relationship, even though as a warrior, he might have been impressed with Mastani's extra-ordinary courage, patriotism and fighting skills.

Two, he makes abundantly clear to Mastani the future of their relationship and that he can never provide her the place of his Wife, well before he commits himself into it.

Three, he is totally open and honest about it, that includes his wife Kashibai (played by Priyanka Chopra), Mother, Society, Religious heads of his estate etc.

***

Next up, when the lines between Utsav and Mehfil have blurred in the society, it was nice to see Bajirao stand up and not let Mastani dance for the entertainment of men-folk at the Mehfil, while everyone had enjoyed her dance performance the other day on another occasion. Upon being questioned, he clarifies: "वो उत्सव था , ये महफ़िल है"; meaning that was a festive joyous celebration (Utsav) while this an entertainment of the gathered men-folk (Mehfil).

Clearly defining the difference between the two - Utsav & Mehfil, was another strong yet symbolic message.


***
I am not a qualified & experienced film critic so it would not be fair on my part to comment on the technical aspects of film-making of Bajirao Mastani, but I guess a good director is recognized when he gets the actor into the role & character. Just about all the actors have done very well in this department.
One person who needs special mention here, who has actually evolved as an actor and "Arrived" is Ranveer Singh - his Maratha style dialogue delivery - very nuanced, not over done at all, perfect diction, eye movements, facial expressions - he lives like a real Bajirao all through the movie.


Ranveer, the Boy turns into a Man in Bajirao Mastani.

***
Apart from the basic plot, story-line and a line up of celebrity star-cast, Music literally defines the Bollywood movie. Music of Bajirao Mastani does an excellent justice to it. Maratha folk and real Indian instruments such as Dholak, Shehnai, Ghungroo, Tabla, Dhols, Harmonium, Santoor etc. build the foundation of almost all the numbers. It was nice to hear real instruments and not just artificial sounds from synthesizers and mixers.
First thing that hits you is a very strong orchestral Indian music, without playing around with the synthetic digital mixing, quite unlike the norm these days.
Secondly, it's not typical Bollywood "dhin-chak". Maratha folk based semi-classical compositions with Qawwali interludes at times, help build the aura around the grandeur and spirit of the period and geography of the story-line. Job very well done indeed!

My favorites are: Malhari (for the sheer raw energy and pace of this high-octane victory number - Ranveer does a fabulous job) & Mohe Rang Do Lal.

I leave you with this Malhari song - Enjoy!







Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Nero’s Guests, the age of inequality: A Review

The reason why I have taken up to write a review of Nero’s Guests is because it needs to be widely circulated, written and talked about, as much as possible; so that everyone gets to see it, those who still do not get the time to watch it, may further need to be motivated to do so, and only then it will reach out to the wider audience and be able to make a real impact. The mainstream media today is totally degenerated and corrupted as it does not cover anything that is not “breaking news” or that is not considered “glamorous” enough to catch eye balls. For this obvious reason, Nero’s Guests has been completely ignored by the mainstream media (both print & electronic) and is not given its due space & visibility. The subject itself is not new to any of us and it has become a part of our daily lives - mere statistics. It is about the severe agrarian crisis that the country is faced with, as a result of which farmers are still committing suicide and as many as 200,000 farmers h
2 comments
Read more

Down Memory Lane: Satpura National Park

Memory … is the diary that we all carry about with us ~ Oscar Wilde This one is a sequel to the earlier post: Story of Satpura , where we introduced and talked about the person, Shri K. S. Saxena (Retd IFS), who was at the centre of creation of what we know today as Satpura Biosphere Reserve.  We pick up where we had left with the concluding remark: “And he looks forward to visiting Satpura National Park sometime …” Satpura National Park After three successive COVID-19 lockdowns and all the trauma, it was only in October’21 that we could conclude the most awaited trip down memory lane to Satpura National Park, exactly forty years after it was inaugurated. Calling it mere ‘nostalgic trip’ for Shri. K.S. Saxena (ex-IFS) on his 86th Birthday would be nothing short of an insult to his passion and love for the jungles of Satpura.  Sharing here few pictures of the trip from our personal archives, please feel free to ‘click to enlarge’ pictures for better views.  The planning for the trip was
1 comment
Read more

Ideological Subversion

And then, there are the communists, Blacker hearts still. They feed on the pus of all this corruption, Like maggots in a corpse! And like maggots have left a swell, They will eventually swarm like flies, And spread their rotten philosophy, Across the country and across the world, Those then, Are our enemies! ~ Inspector Chester Campbell / The Peaky Blinders Post independence, India had the option to chose & follow a particular path to build its own destiny as a Sovereign Nation State in the new world order, after almost 1000 years of foreign rule. This opportunity was actually the result of those Freedom Fighters who laid their precious lives to liberate India from foreign rule. Unfortunately, they did not live to witness the national tricolour being hoisted on 15th August 1947. The real heroes of our freedom struggle are the ones who contributed immensely during the 90 years, starting with 1857 through 1947. They were the real sons of the soil, most of whom martyred as nameless &
1 comment
Read more