Bajirao Mastani Review

One Line Review: A soulful period saga in which the historical pages are unfolded in a splendid way.

Positive Points: Stellar character performances, Well-crafted storyline, Elegant costumes, Majestic sets, Spectacular war sequences.

Negative Points: Ranveer Singh's hyper-active acting at certain points, Music seems to have less shelf life.

Plot: The curtain opens with Bajirao Ballal (Ranveer Singh) gets chosen by Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj (Mahesh Manjrekar) as the Peshwa. The ultimate aim of this Maratha warrior is to create Akhand Bharatvarsha, means a unified Hindu kingdom. (Deepika Padukone) Mastani, the gorgeous half Rajput and half Muslim warrior-princess of Bundelkhand comes to seek help of the selfless crusader Peshwa Bajirao for saving her kingdom. In this journey of victory of Bundelkhand, the love starts blossoming between Peshwa Bajirao and Mastani. After helping Mastani in saving her kingdom, Peshwa Bajirao returns to his kingdom with the hope of meeting Mastani again.

After some days, Mastani arrives in Peshwa Bajirao's kingdom at Pune and confronts the expected denial from Bajirao's first wife Kashibai (Priyanka Chopra), widowed mother Radhabai (Tanvi Azmi), brother Chimaji (Vaibbhav Tatwawdi) and son Nana Saheb (Ayush Tandon) as Peshwa Bajirao's second wife. They prevent Mastani from entering the Peshwa family's abode, Shaniwar Wada. Mastani is humiliated, shunned and even brutalized as she does not give up her claim on Peshwa Bajirao and the story proceeds.

Direction and Other Technical Aspects: The maverick filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali narrated an epic story with a splendid sense. Based on the classic called 'Rau' written by N S Inamdar, the film 'Bajirao Mastani' enlivens the great historical chapter from 18th century on the silver screen with a Bollywood touch. Apart from the fast-paced storyline what grabs one's attention are the aristocratic sets and magnificently executed CGI-aided battle sequences that are the visual treats. The star cast and classy costumes are the other points that made this film create waves with its trailer. The mighty, powerful dialogues enhance the grip of the storyline. The pace of the movie fuels up when Kashibai and Mastani come face to face. The efforts taken by the film's team in depicting the long-gone era are mirrored in this movie. The screenwriting is done in such a way that it ensures the movie does not go to another track. The characters are styled in a spectacular way and the impressive performances by them may help garnering laurels from the masses.

The storyline is narrated in the razor-sharp voice of Irrfan Khan. The well-crafted flick imparts the message as love is a religion itself. The flick could have been even better if the characters would have spoken some more Marathi dialogues with Puneri accent. Cinematographer Sudeep Chatterjee has lion's share in making this film as spectacular as it is. With crisp editing by Rajesh Pandey and good background score by Sanchit Balhara, this period-drama becomes worth to watch.

Performance: Ranveer Singh as Peshwa Bajirao in this film, has given one of the best performances in his career till now. The chiseled actor has worked hard to fit the bill and it reflects in the way he rides horses, combats with Maharastrian weapons such as Danpatta in accurate manner. The aggressive fighting scenes by Ranveer captivate the viewers. However, Ranveer Singh seems hyper-active at certain points and his dialogue delivery at some junctures does not seem to be apt.

Deepika Padukone's kickass entry scene as a warrior is worth the praise. Her acting as Mastani, a Muslim in a Chitpavan Brahmin setting, is absolutely outstanding. Priyanka Chopra gave a graceful performance as Kashibai. However, she is seen hanging around in the backdrop and has a less footage in the first half. Priyanka has done her best as usual in the role of Peshwin Bai by depicting apt emotions. The actress has spoken Marathi dialogues with great fluency. She has well portrayed the sorrow of a wife, a friend, a lover, a forgotten.

Tanvi Azmi delivered great performance as Bajirao's mother Radhabai with a negative side to her personality. Vaibbhav Tatwawdi fits the role as Chimaji, Peshwa Bajirao's brother. He has done good dialogue delivery along with proper facial expressions. Mahesh Manjrekar did good acting in his small role and Milind Soman shined well as friend of Peshwa Bajirao. Raza Murad had a very small role to play as the Nizam of the Deccan, but he has delivered a memorable performance. Aditya Pancholi and Yatin Karyekar did their parts well.

Music: The music composed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali does not seem to have much shelf life. The tracks like "Deewani Mastani", "Pinga" and "Albela Sajan" are tuneful. Most of the songs are picturised in historical places and are well choreographed.

Final Verdict: 'Bajirao Mastani' is a real treat especially for those, who love historical dramas. This dramatic flick doesn't have a dull moment and worth to watch for Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone's blazing performance.