Padmaavat(minus the i)

I woke my blog up from it's deep slumber to review Padmaavat. I watched this movie last weekend (many thanks to the hubby for watching our kids) and I enjoyed it.

The main reason I wanted to go watch this movie in the theater was because I wanted to lend my support and solidarity to the principle of Freedom of Expression in an increasingly intolerant world. Sanjay Leela Bhansali has been through hell and back to make this film, and to finally get it released. From being thoroughly roughed up on the sets, and death threats, to legal battles and threats of modern day jauhar/suicide if this movie got released, he has seen it all.

Now on to the movie itself, despite the multiple cuts from the censor board, in my opinion, this film has delivered. On the longer side, at a total run time of 2 hours and 44 minutes, it held my attention throughout. Deepika Padukone plays the gorgeous princess of Singhal, Padmavati who runs into Shahid Kapoor’s character, the King of Chittor, Maharawal Ratan Singh while she is out and about enjoying a hunt. Ratan Singh falls prey to her arrow (and later to her charms) and is rendered unconscious. She nurses him back to health and in the process, the couple falls in love and gets married. They return to Chittor and are blissfully enjoying their marriage despite a run in with the creepy Rajguru who attempts to spy on their “alone time” and gets banished from Chittor but not before vowing to bring the kingdom down to its knees. We also get to see an up and coming Alauddin Khilji, played by Ranveer Singh. He is shown to be fearless and at times barbaric, and without a moral compass, as he vanquishes one and all in his pursuit of the throne of Delhi. He is also quite obsessed with possessing “har nayab cheez” and comes to hear of the unparalleled beauty and charms of Queen Padmavati, courtesy creepy Rajguru. What happens next is very well documented (so no spoilers here) in countless stories, poems and folklore ending with Padmavati's Jauhar (a common practice of self-immolation to avoid capture and slavery in those days).

There is nothing extraordinary in the script itself - however, with the Sanjay Leela Bhansali treatment and the actors' brilliant performances, the audience is treated to a sweeping tale of love, romance, pride and honor. There is beauty in every frame and the sets are a visual delight. Deepika and Shahid looked regal and resplendent as the King and Queen of Chittor and displayed strong performances (I do think they could have had better chemistry in their scenes together - they are good actors in general so maybe I had higher expectations for their love story). Deepika emotes very well with just her eyes and expressions and has turned into a wonderful actor (a far cry from her Om Shanti Om days, which to be fair, was her debut film). This movie however belongs solely to Ranveer Singh. Ranveer Singh brings a, heretofore unseen, level of maniacal energy to his performance and exudes evil from every pore in his portrayal of Alauddin Khilji. He is magnificent as the ruthless Khilji who will let nothing stand in his way to get what he wants. The supporting cast brings their A game too - Jim Sarbh is amazing as Alauddin Khilji’s slave/right hand man and Aditi Rao Hydari does not have too much to do but brings the right level of angst and tears as Alauddin Khilji’s hapless wife Mehrunnisa. Regarding the act of Jauhar itself, I don’t believe Sanjay Leela Bhansali is wrong in showing it as it is a practice (as terrible as it was) that was commonplace in those days. I do agree with many of the movie's critics, that he could have toned down the glamor content in Deepika walking eyes blazing and looking gorgeous as ever, into the fire. That being said, I am not in agreement with Swara Bhaskar's "open letter" which is all over the place and confuses sati and Jauhar. Sati is where a widow had to (many times involuntarily) sit on her husband’s pyre and (I cringe as I type this) be burned alive. Jauhar (equally cringe-worthy) was the practice of mass self-immolation to escape a fate worse than death. It is very very sad that women had to commit jauhar at all; but given what awaited them at the hands of the enemy soldiers, I am not sure what the alternative could have been. As a feminist, I agree with Swara Bhaskar's points related to rape and women's rights - I just don't think they can be applied to the context of this movie.

My verdict: Definitely a one-time watch in the theaters. I don’t think I can/will watch this movie more than once.