Writer: Janak

Writer Ratings:
Overall: 4.0 Out of 5
Cast: 4.0 Out of 5
Plot: 3.0 Out of 5
Effects: 5.0 Out of 5
Cinematography: 5.0 Out of 5

Watch this if you liked: “Devdas” & “Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela”

The Good, the Bad and the Grand Performance :

• "Bajirao Mastani" is an Indian historical romance that narrates the story of Maratha Peshwa Bajirao (1700-1740 AD) and his struggled relationships between his 2 wives, Khashibhai and Mastani. While the film backbone story was altered to cater commercial audience, the essence of the story remained as close as stated in history books.

• Despite appearing less important than Padukone's character Mastani, Priyanka Chopra's deserves full praise for her acting chops as Khashibhai, Bajirao's first wife. Ranveer Singh gives his career's best act by far and Deepika Padukone is as enchanting as one princess can ever be.

• Fascinating characters and inspirational scenes with worthy performances by the actors is the strongest backbone of this film. With better editing, the film would have been flawless.

• If the outstanding cinematography were to go by any heights of chance, then no other Bollywood director can excel higher than Bhansali himself. What makes it more intriguing after watching this film is to wait for Bhansali's next magnum opus, and let's just hope that happens very soon again.

Trivia:

• Sanjay Leela Bhansali (aka SLB) is well known for not repeating his actor and actresses in the same film together so it's rather surprising that this is Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone's second film together with the director, first being "Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela" (2013).

• Coincidently, Salman Khan and Aishwariya Rai was a couple when they both appeared in Bhansali's film "Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam" (1999). Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone are secret lovers when they were cast in "Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela" (2013).

• "Bajirao Mastani" was in development for almost 15 years due to casting issues. After much consideration on the list of strings of Superstars that included Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Hrithik Roshan, Aishwariya Rai, Rani Mukerji and Katrina Kaif, Sanjay Leela Bhansali finally ended up casting his same lead pair from "Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela" (2013).

• This is not the first time that Shah Rukh Khan and Sanjay Leela Bhansali have released their films on the same date (Dec 18th). Back in Nov 9th, 2007, Sanjay Leela Bhansali's "Saawariya" clashed with Shah Rukh Khan's "Om Shanti Om", with the latter coming on top ruling the box office. Coincidently though, Deepika Padukone made her debut in Shah Rukh Khan's "Om Shanti Om".

• The film also faced many controversies surrounding with actual history of Peshwas, as many states in India (mainly areas dominated by the Marathi's and the descendants of Peshwe), claim that Bajirao's presentation in the film was changed dramatically, calling a ban on the film completely.


Cinema Online, 31 December 2015