Thursday, 17th December 11:40 PM IST

BAJIRAO MASTANI Is Magnificent Historical Romantic Drama Meant For Classes 

Pluses:

Minuses:

too slow and long 1st half, not a single chartbuster song, tacky special effects, half baked treatment

Critic Rating:

3.5/5

Business Rating:

3/5

Verdict:

Watch it for lavish set and Priyanka Chopra

Detailed Analysis:

Sanjay Leela Bhansali made some interesting larger than life films like 'Devdas', 'Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam' and 'Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram Leela'. But in between he gave some big box office duds in 'Saanwariya', 'Guzaarish' and 'Khamoshi The Musical'. Now he is back with another historical larger than life film.

The film tells story of great Maratha warrior Bajirao Peshwa (Ranveer Singh) who is married to Kashibhai (Priyanka Chopra). He falls in love with Mastani (Deepika Padukone) who is daughter of King of Bundelkhand. When Bajirao saves kingdom of Bundelkhand, King gives him opulent gifts including his daughter Mastani who is in love with Bajirao. Mastani is daughter of a Muslim courtesan and that becomes crux of the problem when she comes to Pune to be with Bajirao as whole Hindu kingdom opposes a Muslim wife to Hindu king. How Bajirao fights for his love for Mastani while balancing his love for country forms the rest of the story.

The pace of the film is too slow in the 1st half and there are too many songs i.e. 'Deewani Mastani', 'Albela Sajan' 'Malhari' and one classical song. There si only one war scene in the beginning of the film. 2nd half is pacy and has some good 3 - 4 amazing sequences i.e. Deepika's fight against soldiers with her child, climax scene and sequence before Pinga song.

Performance wise Ranveer Singh is good and gives his more than 1005 for the film but his lack of persona for this role proves crucial. His dialogue delivery is inconsistent and at times he lacks authority. But Deepika Padukone again manages to hold the screen and looks stunning throughout. But real star of the film is Priyanka Chopra who is simply outstanding in every frame despite having rather shorter role. Watch out for scene when she goes to Mastani before Pinga song, spell-bounding! Milind Soman is good, Aditya Pancholi is decent, Mahesh Manjerkar and Tanvi Azmi fit the bill. Irrfan Khan's narration makes an impact.

Film has below par screenplay and dialogues are good but at times lack edge. Film has inconsistent editing as film is too slow in 1st half and 10 minutes too long. Music is weak link of the film as there is no chartbuster. Bhansali provides some melodies but no song leaves you spellbound in cinema. Cinematography is superb , production design is perfect and costumes are apt. Background score is good.

Director Sanjay Leela Bhansali has done good job with this one but to be honest he is saved by presence of cast, sets and grandeur . Biggest issue with the film is clear confusion whether its an historical film or romantic film or war film. Its kind of medley of 'Devdas' and 'Goliyon Ki Raas Leela Ram Leela' where Paro and Chandramukhi sort of situation have been created between Mastani and Kashibhai and even climax borrows from Devdas - Paro. Still his grand vision and tight direction deserves all accolades.

Film will release tomorrow and it will get good to very good reviews but it will get decent to good opening only due to clash. Film might also suffer due to very regional appeal and might find tough to score among masses in places like north and east which was also the case with earlier Bhansali films. Film will have 50 cr nett plus weekend in India but it does not have mass appeal for blockbuster run at box office.

Go for this one for magic of romance, history and kickass performances!