Reviews
Padmaavati – Oops!!! – “Padmaavat” –The “I” has fallen down.
Padmaavati – Oops!!! – “Padmaavat” –The “I” has fallen down.
The “I” has fallen down.. So has the intellect of Karni Sena who without witnessing what they are fighting for; will fall flat on their face when they will witness the valor of Padmaavat. Something they certainly boast about but fail to show with their display of common sense. No Rajput would be silly enough to take the country on ransom for one film that is work of fiction. Karnisena indeed is those bunch of frogs who deny to jump out of B.C and crossover into A.D. least what it does is, the time leaves them behind. The film releases and they would not be able to do anything much about it. The Supreme Court Decision gave them the taste of democracy which they were not aware it is present. They should be thankful to Sanjay Leela Bhansali for bringing Padmaavati in A.D. era and making people witness the story that echoes Rajput valor, the magnum sacrifice that created the history and will only take the legacy of Rani Padmavati ahead to the further generations through the eyes of Cinema. Cheery on the Cake is Padmaavati is made by Sanjay Leela Bhansali – Man who doesn’t need any introduction for the magnum opuses he delivers.
Padmaavat is one such magnum opus that delivers. It makes you love with the person you would like to hate “Allaudin Khilji” essayed by Ranveer Singh by his sheer performance. It is a feast to your eyes watching this beast. The Beast is at its best. The ease at which he delivers his performance outshines Shahid Kapoor right there. Shahid Kapoor plays the King of Mewar Raja Maharawal Ratan Singh who has a long name but a very short fame in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmaavat. Shahid Kapoor who is a stellar performer plays Ratan Singh with ease in the limited bandwidth role. The role is not well sketched for him to portray much or the role of Khilji overpowers everything. Infact, if the makers would have titled the film “Khilji” it would have done less harm to them than naming it “Padmaavati”. The film definitely belongs to Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone in spite of not having a scene together; there chemistry is right there on screen. Shahid Kapoor’s character just becomes a mere scapegoat.
Deepika Padukone as Rani Padmaavati is indeed the queen of Bollywood who takes responsibility in her act, she herself plays Magnum in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Magnum opus Padmaavat and strives hard to stand in front of the beast Khilji without actually coming in front of him. The war is between these two souls.
The film opens and the beast Ranveer Singh welcomes you with an ostrich and the conversation with his Father in Law to be; claims the character Allaudin Khilji, vows for. Anything “Nayab” unique in the world he keeps his hands on, he owns by all his means. Up next you come across the introduction of Deepika in singhal. Her entrance is quite contemporary leaving you awestruck if this is she you are claiming to be Padmaavati. Not to forget, the place is Singhal (Sri-Lanka) and she is not in Rajasthan yet. It takes a while to get this detailing right. However, the execution may mislead to many. This is the place where Ratan Singh had come to hunt some Ratan’s from Chittor and cupid strikes right in his heart. It is love at first sight and soon Padmaavati becomes Rani Padmaavati and screen shines with the Ghoomar Performance. Ghoomar is a visual treat, the poise Deepika brings in, the grace with which she performs, the tradition it rings in, it leaves you mesmerized.
The action begins post Ghoomar and it goes on making you wait for the interval it gets that long and captive at the same moment. The film is engaging and you are out there sitting tight on your seat seeing things move fast. The level of obsession in Khilji outgrows everything to win over Padmaavati. The war begins, Khilji deceives, Rajput speak ethics, war of words occurs. You are back from the interval and you see the same thing going on.
The execution is at which it happens though magnum yet nothing new that comes out of a Sanjay Leela Bhansali film. Problem with a Sanjay Leela Bhansali film is that they compete with his own work, where each time we expect his Magnum Opus to be grand, grander, grandiose beyond a point this has not elevated in vertical dimension but horizontally yes. Padmaavat is great but not greater than his previous works. The layering looks the same, standard format. What Padmaavat lacks is also the shaping of the central supporting characters. Tanvi Azmi in Bajirao Mastani, Supriya Pathak and Richha Chhada in Ram Leela, Kirron Kher and Milind Gunaji in Devdas they all stand out stongly. In Padmaavat, it is just Deepika and Ranveer let alone the King Shahid Kapoor. The add-ons Aditi Rao Hydari has little to do, easy on eyes yet doesn’t leave any remarkable performance because the role is not sketched that far. Same is the case with Jim Sarabh who probably has more footage than Shahid Kapoor, plays a one down beast to Ranveer Singh who is awestruck to him showcasing his tendencies loud, is indeed a good caricature that gives you some decent laughs. Anupriya Goenka who plays Nagmati Ratan Singh’s first wife is the character not well defined. Hence, Padmaavat doesn’t really outshines Bhansali’s earlier work and it just becomes his mere next film.
Background score of the film is brilliant, however, the song album has nothing great to rave about apart from Ghoomar. Ghoomar is a complete treat. Ek Dil Ek Jaan goes well in the movie. Khalbali seems to be revived from his own creation Malhari of Bajirao Mastani. In Bajirao Mastani, Pinga revolved around Dola re from Devdas. Sanjay Leela Bhansali is revolving and reviving his own work. We only hope we get to see something new that leaves us awestruck than just another film. Same is the case with the dialogues, his earlier films did leave an impact creating a mark for characters. Padmaavat lacks good dialogues. Shahid Kapoor’s character probably could have shined with less spoken but best spoken, have it been he would have given some dialogues.
The million-dollar question, the sage who passes on the message to Khilji about Padmavati’s existence. How did he enter into the confined room where Love birds were chirping? The king is surrounded by soldiers and the sage was not part of the palace. More than the “How” the mystery remains on “Why” did he enter.
The motive? Any answers. Do write back.
Only wish the “I” of Sanjay Leela Bhansali would have worked to have these answers in place than taking audiences “I” for a ride in what they call cinematic liberty.
The film nevertheless has all what it takes to be a Sanjay Leela Bhansali film. Worth a dekho to dive into the fictional history and witness the drama at a scale in cinemas near you.
Verdict: Silver Plus 3.5*s