Bajirao Mastani review in brief: Forget history, dramatic effect is the highlight in Ranveer Singh movie

1/6

Bajirao Mastani review in brief: Bajirao Mastani starring Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra is all about controlled hysteria. That is what Sanjay Leela Bhansali set out to do and that is what he delivered with Bajirao Mastani, his first-ever historical epic courtesy a splendid show by Deepika, Priyanka and Ranveer. In fact, the entire cast has excelled. The director, with his sweeping narrative touches, blurs the line between fact and fiction in his quest for the grand dramatic moments and the actors are good enough to carry it out to full dramatic effect.

2/6

Bajirao Mastani review: The film has no dearth of sequences designed to dazzle the eye and move the heart. However, the pace of the film, especially in the first half, is somewhat sluggish. But thanks to the strong central performances by Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone, the impressive sets and costumes, and the power of the visuals rustled up by cinematographer Sudeep Chatterjee, Bajirao Mastani is never less than watchable.

3/6

Bajirao Mastani review: The film gathers momentum in the second half and Priyanka Chopra, playing Bajirao Peshwa's first wife Kashibai, gets her due in the drama. It is, however, the love story of the Peshwa and the half-Muslim Bundelkhandi princess Mastani that takes centrestage for the most part. The principal conflict point in the film hinges on the stiff opposition that that the married Peshwa faces from Pune's Hindu clergy and his own deeply offended family when Mastani arrives and lays claim on the man she believes she is betrothed to, having received his personal dagger as a gift.

4/6

Bajirao Mastani review: The two women in Bajirao's life – his wife Kashibai and his true love Mastani – are at odds with each other, but in Bhansali's universe, neither is allowed to lose her feminine calm and composure in the face of the severest of provocations.

5/6

Bajirao Mastani review: A restrained but laboured confrontation scene between Kashibai and Mastani sets the stage for the Pinga number in which the two women come together in an unlikely dance routine. Bajirao Mastani is riddled with several such flights of fancy and Bhansali admits as much in a long disclaimer at the film's outset. Bajirao Mastani might not be reliable history, but it certainly is pure entertainment of the kind that only Bhansali can deliver.

6/6

Bajirao Mastani review: So, notwithstanding its flaws and avoidable detours, this is a film that stays on course right down to the bitter end. The CGI-enhanced battlefield action is impressive – Bajirao Mastani is after all the tale of an 18th century warrior who never lost a battle in a short but eventful life. Bajirao Mastani is an exquisitely, if not accurately, crafted epic designed for those for whom history might not be a big draw. Cast: Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Priyanka Chopra, Tanvi Azmi, Mahesh Manjrekar, Milind Soman; Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali.