Bajirao Mastani Review: He paints pictures on celluloid, history on film and magic on cinemascope. Leaving footprints on the tinsel sands of an industry that weaves stories for eternity. This enigma called Sanjay Leela Bhansali lives only so that he can capture one more shot, and make one more film. With a stellar cast he unfolds another epic love story, ‘Bajirao Mastani’, which has been a 12-year long dream starring Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra as main leads. Let’s see how it works on Audience.
Story
Bajirao Bhallal Bhatt, who is also known as Peshwa Bajirao (Ranveer Singh) is an ambitious warrior, who fought over 40 battles and is reputed to have never lost one. He is acknowledged as one of the greatest warriors in Indian history. His only ambition is to rule the entire country after dethroning the Mughals from Delhi. Among all these Bajirao is also stuck in battle between his family and mother (Tanvi Azmi), who is against inter caste marriages as Bajirao himself is in love with Mastani (Deepika Padukone), who is a muslim woman, the daughter of Chhatrasal Sahu of Bundelkhand. Bajirao is already legally wedded to Kashibhai (Priyanka Chopra). Along with his battle for his country, will Bajirao also win the battle of love, forms the rest of the story.
Writing Department
As the movie is based on the historical romance of the Maratha leader Peshwa Bajirao who fought 40 battles, and won each one of them, with the Mughals and Muslim rulers of India to create a unified Hindu state or Bharatvarsha (country of Bharat), its story is adapted from historical notes. Dialogues written for the film are nice. They give you goosebumps at times. Screenplay by Prakash Kapadia in the first half is slow on pace and it seems to be hurried in second half. This movie is made with finest writing.
Cast and Performance
Ranveer Singh as Peshwa Bajirao gives his career best performance for this movie. He glorifies in each and every scene with his knack of acting. His Marathi accent is fabulous. Deepika Padukone who proved her acting skills with her earlier movies does it again. It is her finest performance till date. She fits for her role well. Priyanka Chopra as Kashibhai, who get less screen presence compared to Deepika Padukone shines in her role. It is definitely one of her finest performance. Tanvi Azmi as Bajirao’s mother, Mahesh Manjrekar as Chhatrasal Shahu, Vaibhav Tatwawdi as Bajirao’s brother Chimaji and Milind Soman as Bajirao’s friend and advisor gave brilliant performances for their respective roles.
Technical Departments
Music by Sanjay Leela Bhansali is good. But music he composed for this movie is not his best compared to his previous movies. Background music by Sanchit Balhara is perfect. Cinematography by Sudeep Chatterjee is top notch. Visuals are as stunning as they can be. Editing is perfect and neat. Art and Costumes departments are at their best. Each and every detailing is taken care of. Sanjay Leela Bhansali has chosen a perfect crew to render his thoughts on screen. Production values by Bhansali Films are excellent.
Highlights
Ranveer Singh
Deepika Padukone
Priyanka Chopra
Sets & Sudeep Chatterjee’s Cinematography
Bhansali’s Direction
Minus
Slow paced first half
Verdict
It seems confusing whether it is a romance or historic film, swerving between Bajirao wanting to be the famous warrior and the eternal lover. First half of the film runs on a very slow pace. It picks up speed in the second half. In fact it seems a little rushed in the second half. Sanjay Leela Bhansali is definitely a great director who goes with the requirement of the story he chose. His conviction is par excellence. Bajirao Mastani is a must watch film to experience excellent performance by lead actors, top notch visuals, sets and most importantly the love story of Bajirao and Mastani.
