Bajirao Mastani movie review: Ranveer Singh and Priyanka Chopra are the stars in Bhansali's latest ill-fated romance

If Bajirao Mastani disappoints, it is when Bhansali steps out of the carefully controlled interiors and heads out into the battlefield where he is unable to recreate the magic. SS Rajamouli's feat in Baahubali automatically flashes in memory as the fight sequences here never quite wow.

Cast: Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Priyanka Chopra, Tanvi Azmi, Milind Soman, Vaibhav Tatwadi, Mahesh Manjrekar
Direction: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Ratings: (3/5)

In his two-decade long career as a director, Sanjay Leela Bhansali has made it quite apparent that he has a weakness for tales centering on forbidden and failed love. His most recent film, audiences have been told, is one that he has wanted to make for the last 12 years. It is the story of star-crossed lovers - Peshwa Bajirao I (Ranveer Singh) and Mastani (Deepika Padukone), the half-Rajput and half-Muslim beauty from Bundelkhand. You understand why Bhansali never quite gave up on his dream project. It gives him the perfect excuse to stage another tragic love story against a grand, lush backdrop with graceful, bejeweled women, gorgeous costumes and beautifully choreographed songs.   

But what sets this doomed romance apart from his last romantic tragedy, Goliyon Kis Raasleela…Ramleela, is the presence of another woman in Kashibai (Priyanka Chopra), Peshwa Bajirao I's wife. The film may be called Bajirao Mastani but it is Kashibai who makes a formidable impression in Bhansali's version of the historical tale. She isn't the kinds to forgive her husband's betrayal and thankfully isn't reduced to a bitter, vengeful wife. Credit goes to Chopra who further humanizes the character, making audiences feel Kashibai's loss and anguish.  The scenes between Singh and Chopra - first as the happy couple and then estranged - are dramatically the most enriching bits in the film. One misses that in the encounters with Bajirao and Mastani which are passionate and tearful but still lack the potency that should make viewers root for them.

But perhaps that isn't Bhansali's intention. In the first half he pays tribute to Mughal-e-Azam with two songs, "Mohe Rang Do Lal" and "Deewani Mastani". He draws parallel between Radha and Mastani, who was never married to the man with whom she is remembered.  He is eager to show Kashibai's plight and Bajirao's struggle to balance between loyalty for the kingdom, responsibility as a ruler and unwavering love for Mastani. It is Mastani who is ill-serviced in Prakash Kapadia's screenplay. Viewers get little sense of the woman other than a Juliet adept in sword fighting. This warrior side all but disappears in the second half and Mastani is the consort who is ostracized by the Marathas and futilely hopes to win the approval of Radhabai (Tanvi Azmi), Bajirao's mother, and Chimaji (Vaibhav Tatwadi), his brother. Bhansali is keen to highlight the religious divide which is the bane of Bajirao and Mastani's romance and he accomplishes it without the melodrama. Sadly excessive theatrics seep into the climax where Bhansali much like Bajirao loses control stretching the film for needless visual splendour.

If Bajirao Mastani disappoints, it is when Bhansali steps out of the carefully controlled interiors and heads out into the battlefield where he is unable to recreate the magic. SS Rajamouli's feat in Baahubali automatically flashes in memory as the fight sequences here never quite wow. It is words and not action that speaks louder in Bajirao Mastani which isn't a great strategy as audiences are told that Bajirao hasn't lost his last 40 odd fights. Furthermore the second half loses focus as both the women quickly turn mothers and Bajirao's adolescent son, Nanasaheb, suddenly arrives and decides to take things into his own hands.  

Nonetheless, there is a lot to swoon over in Bajirao Mastani. Technically the film is a marvel, even more so if you choose to watch Dilwale right after it. Bhansali's female characters have always looked like they have stepped out of a painting but here even Singh gets to strut about in some wonderful anarkalis. Collaborating with Bhansali for the second time, cinematographer Sudeep Chatterjee creates some wonderful imageries, a few of them in the fountain. There is just the right amount of whistle-drawing dialogues to enliven the proceedings.  Singh relishes delivering these theatrical lines with a Marathi twang. His body language demonstrates the bravado and hunger of a ruler and his eyes the passion and rage of a lover. He is wholeheartedly committed to the character, often losing himself as evident in the song "Malhari". He is an actor who is eager to appease the audiences and declare that he wants to reign supreme in Bollywood. He arrives and he conquers.