Since I posted that I watched Padmaavat yesterday
many of my friends have asked if the movie is worth it or not so here’s my take
on this movie -It’s a beautiful movie but not a perfect one and it’s definitely
worth a watch. Self-admitting that movie is based on fiction, Bhansali has kept
himself on a safe side. Whether the protesters regard it to be fabricated,
manipulated, tampered, beautified or airbrushed, I loved the plot of the story.
With Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh, Shahid Kapoor
and Aditi Rao Haidari as major characters, Padmavat basically rotates around the
attempt of Allaudin Khilji (Ranveer Singh) to pursue Padmavati (Deepika
Padukone) and Ratan Rawal’s (Shahid Kapoor’s) efforts for not letting this
happen. One of the reasons I have always admired the works of Bhansali is
because he presents the female character to be bold, fierce and witty.
Radiant
with beauty and enriched with valour, Deepika is
presented to be smarter, wiser and learned than the Raajguru and more strategic
than her husband when it comes on anticipating enemy’s moves. She possesses
political acumen, takes decisions even if it means going against her
husband, has better insights and knowledge on war and is more courageous
compared to the male counterpart. Every time the king’s stupidity lands the
country in trouble, Padmavati’s sensibility saves the nation from the clutches
of the villain.
The grandeur, the costumes, the dialogs, the
opulence presents the efforts of the makers into it. The major reason behind
why you shouldn’t miss this movie is for Ranveer Singh. Ranveer Singh is portrayed
as a tyrant and a merciless savage. His barbaric image, his obsession to
conquer Rani Padmavati, his crave for power and flesh, the way he extracts pleasure from cries of pain, the way lust, shrewdness
and cunningness oozes out of his performance is mind blowing. His performance ensures that eyes do not get
off him. I loved the villain more than the hero
and that couldn’t have been possible if it wasn’t Singh’s outstanding acting
skills. No one could have done justice to this role as Ranveer has done. The scene in which a Rajput
soldier keeps on fighting even after having his head cut off gave me chills.
The thing that weighs down the movie for me is Shahid’s
shaky performance and the leaking love story in between Rani Padmavati and Raja
Rawal Rattan Singh. Compared to other Bhansali
films of the past it isn't as emotionally touching. The love between Deepika and Shahid wasn’t as fierce as the
enmity between Ranveer and Deepika.
The betrayal of Raja Rattan Singh
to his first wife is glorified and is considered to be romantic while that of
Allaudin is condemned which clearly presents the hypocrisy of the then society. One
of the most disturbing scenes (practice of jauhar ) for me was to see
pregnant women and children jumping into fire when Padmavati kills herself
along with all the females to protect themselves from being raped by
the rival army after defeat. I was angry when Deepika had to take permission before
committing the so called suicide and how easily the king agreed on it. But realizing it to be just a snapshot of
that period, I hold my aggression towards this practice for a while (though I hate
how the men at that time considered their wives to be a mere possession and
didn’t want them to marry with anyone else after their death).
If I had to rate the movie it would be three on
five. I would love to listen to your reviews after you have watched it. Good
day!
