4 out of 5
Historical characters & their journeys are ideal stories to be told, but translating them on a celluloid is a task which only few storytellers have the mastery of. It requires great vision, taut screenplay & methodical acting to transport the viewers to the bygone era.
Bajirao Mastani - a dream which Sanjay Leela Bhansali has been living for over a decade finally sees itself coming alive on the screen. Throughout his filmography, SLB has always paid minute attention to colorful sets & costumes, but has faltered here & there in terms of story & screenplay.
But this time he has paid special attention to the screenplay & dialogues, which lives with the viewers after the end credits while the production design plays the perfect supporting role.
The story is adapted from a Marathi novel by the name 'Rao', which chronicles the journey of the great Maratha warrior 'Bajirao' who is a Peshwa (Prime Minister) of the Maratha kingdom. The film focuses mainly on his personal life with his first wife 'Kashibai' & how he falls in love with a half-Muslim princess 'Mastani', marries her & tries his whole life for her to be accepted in the family - forms the story.
Summarizing a story in five lines is easier, and making it into an entertaining film while being true to the period, is where Sanjay Leela Bhansali & the writer Prakash Kapadia should be hailed for their herculean effort.
Initially you are spell bound by the production design of the movie, but later on as the characters are introduced, the trials & tribulation of each character; carries the story ahead beautifully.
Ranveer Singh as Bajirao completely owns the character. His body language & especially his Marathi accent while delivering Hindi dialogues are small touches which eventually work in a big way. He has again & again proven , he is a brilliant actor if he is in hands of a good director.
Failures like Kill Dill proves his over exuberance can be acidic if not handled properly.
But delivering performances as diverse as Dil Dhadakne Do & Bajirao Mastani in a single year, just scares you with the potential this actor carries, & hopefully we have greater performances to witness in the future.
Deepika as Mastani looks mesmerizing, but her character's graph is too monotonous, and so is her performance.
Priyanka Chopra as Kashibai relegated to a supporting role, makes you sit up, notice & applaud her act. She is not equipped with the best of the lines, but the pain, love & the galore of emotions, are all conveyed through her eyes.
You empathize with Kashibai and this is solely Priyanka Chopra's achievement that she connects deeply with the audience.
Sanjay Leela Bhansali is a skillful painter, who paints a beautiful picture on a huge canvas layered with characters, poetry, colors, emotions, & the wow-factor. You are spellbound by the vision of this man of what he brings in each frame.
The writer & the director touches upon a lot of topics like religion, custom practices, during that Maratha era. It is the crisp dialogues by Prakash Kapadia which elevates particular scenes to a great height.
Bajirao was a brave warrior, and he won 40 wars in his 40 years of life. Wish the director could have showed us more of the warrior story of Bajirao being a strategist and not being Sunny Deol who defeats enemies single handedly.
Also the climax is over dramatized, and you start yawning at the unrealistic approach pf SLB. But by SLB standard it is a short movie, and would have had a better effect if its edited more crisply.
This is a movie which should not be missed , but I am sure it will be seen by all of us repeatedly in the future.
CLASSIC !!
Historical characters & their journeys are ideal stories to be told, but translating them on a celluloid is a task which only few storytellers have the mastery of. It requires great vision, taut screenplay & methodical acting to transport the viewers to the bygone era.
Bajirao Mastani - a dream which Sanjay Leela Bhansali has been living for over a decade finally sees itself coming alive on the screen. Throughout his filmography, SLB has always paid minute attention to colorful sets & costumes, but has faltered here & there in terms of story & screenplay.
But this time he has paid special attention to the screenplay & dialogues, which lives with the viewers after the end credits while the production design plays the perfect supporting role.
The story is adapted from a Marathi novel by the name 'Rao', which chronicles the journey of the great Maratha warrior 'Bajirao' who is a Peshwa (Prime Minister) of the Maratha kingdom. The film focuses mainly on his personal life with his first wife 'Kashibai' & how he falls in love with a half-Muslim princess 'Mastani', marries her & tries his whole life for her to be accepted in the family - forms the story.
Summarizing a story in five lines is easier, and making it into an entertaining film while being true to the period, is where Sanjay Leela Bhansali & the writer Prakash Kapadia should be hailed for their herculean effort.
Initially you are spell bound by the production design of the movie, but later on as the characters are introduced, the trials & tribulation of each character; carries the story ahead beautifully.
Ranveer Singh as Bajirao completely owns the character. His body language & especially his Marathi accent while delivering Hindi dialogues are small touches which eventually work in a big way. He has again & again proven , he is a brilliant actor if he is in hands of a good director.
Failures like Kill Dill proves his over exuberance can be acidic if not handled properly.
But delivering performances as diverse as Dil Dhadakne Do & Bajirao Mastani in a single year, just scares you with the potential this actor carries, & hopefully we have greater performances to witness in the future.
Deepika as Mastani looks mesmerizing, but her character's graph is too monotonous, and so is her performance.
Priyanka Chopra as Kashibai relegated to a supporting role, makes you sit up, notice & applaud her act. She is not equipped with the best of the lines, but the pain, love & the galore of emotions, are all conveyed through her eyes.
You empathize with Kashibai and this is solely Priyanka Chopra's achievement that she connects deeply with the audience.
Sanjay Leela Bhansali is a skillful painter, who paints a beautiful picture on a huge canvas layered with characters, poetry, colors, emotions, & the wow-factor. You are spellbound by the vision of this man of what he brings in each frame.
The writer & the director touches upon a lot of topics like religion, custom practices, during that Maratha era. It is the crisp dialogues by Prakash Kapadia which elevates particular scenes to a great height.
Bajirao was a brave warrior, and he won 40 wars in his 40 years of life. Wish the director could have showed us more of the warrior story of Bajirao being a strategist and not being Sunny Deol who defeats enemies single handedly.
Also the climax is over dramatized, and you start yawning at the unrealistic approach pf SLB. But by SLB standard it is a short movie, and would have had a better effect if its edited more crisply.
This is a movie which should not be missed , but I am sure it will be seen by all of us repeatedly in the future.
CLASSIC !!