By now, one must be living under a rock to no know the historic background of Rani Padmaavati, and her highly admired attempt of Juhur. Since one can just Google it, so it's simply useless to reiterate her story. Instead I’ll be digging more into the film, Padmaavat, which “finally” got released on Jan 25, 2018.
The cinematography, grandeur of Bhansali’s sets, frames, makeup, costumes, jewelry, and leads' acting, all is superb. The truth is Padmaavat is a eye candy, a delight, and one just cannot regret it watching ones!
But beyond that, it’s really shallow, no story substance, no powerful dialogues, no heartwarming scenes. I think just after first quarter, the story starts to revolve around Khilji’s absurd desire of Padmaavati’s mooh-dekhaiye. I just cannot digest the exaggeration of his obsessive portrayal. How can Sultan-e-Hind ignore his all official responsibilities and stupidly camp on the outskirts of Padmaavati’s land, with his huge army, and that for months...wooh!
Oh, here I must applaude Ranveer Singh for his crisp, devilish, foolish, and raw acting skills.
Then comes Maharaja, Padmavati’s husband, whose sole job was to teach us all the Rajputana rules and obligations. Though he clearly loved Padmavati, but still I just wish there were more of such scenes which could have helped establish their strong bond. Because it was simply hard for me to digest that they sacrificed their lives for each other.
And here Shahid Kapoor’s skills were spot on, but still his character or personality just seemed very weak and fragile in comparison to Ranveer and, even Deepika. His character seemed very mellow, which we all know could had been greatly improved.
Now let’s discuss some highlights of the main subject, the great Rani Padmavati, who somehow seemed far more powerful, dominating, foresighted, and sharp than her husband Maharaja. Needless to say, Deepika’s acting, costumes, and jewelry clearly nailed her character. But again, as with other two characters, their was no substance or soul-touching moments.
To be honest, I literally struggled to understand that how could a Rani make her all women to burn themselves alive? What about their kids, and other family members? Since this battle was being fought for Padmavati, she could have just died alone…why make everyone do the same? Or had fought alongside her husband, since she also had some fighting skills. They could have asked help from other Maharaja’s and even Padmavati’s parents could have supported and helped them…There are so many other alternatives, besides just happily walking into the fire!
For me burning alive along with hundreds of other women, just seemed a selfish, senseless, and a coward ending. I know its part of our history. But my question is that in todays times of #metoo and #timesup movements, do we seriously need to invest such a huge fortune to portray how weak and worthless a woman is, and how ridicoulsly powerful A man can be? Is this the legacy we want to follow, leave, or teach our daughters?
Sorry not sorry!
