A magnanimous presentation of
drama through symbolism and personification, Padmavat
is brand Bhansali overdone. Sajay Leela Bhansali is the only
director in Hindi cinema that seems to be fanatic about the opulence of ancient Indian royalty and romanticizes it on celluloid boundlessly. Padmavat is a long film of humongous
extrapolations of a directors imagination and artistry. It showcases the great
opulence of the famous Rajput royalty and finer nuances of the culture and
sensibilities. It sketches the director’s imagination of the evil and good on
the screen. The story, dialogue and narrative are pictorial and visual. He does these with extreme symbolism for the two sides. Symbolism in the form of colors, costumes, get up and presentation of the characters and
their surroundings in every frame. The behavior and rituals of these characters strongly attach
to good and evil. The long bearded, evil looking Allaudin Khilji is shown to be
eating meat all the time and murdering innocents. A womanizer who is always
wearing black and silver, speaking in the language of barbarians which are not
that royal even though he is a king. His ways and methods are treacherous and
wicked. Hopelessly selfish and bloodthirsty he is a menacing villain. His songs
and dance moves are pirate like and the only thing lacking was a chain made of
skulls around his neck. But it is replaced with the black get up and shiny jewelry.
One cannot miss the desperately trying to be effeminate character speaking
Hindi in a strange accent. It is sad that queer is associated with the evil and
his character in the film is contemptuous and scoffed at.
On the other hand we had the
Indian royalty shining in gold and red. The characters of Padmavati and Rawal
Ratan Singh display oodles of poise, grace and dignity. In their actions and
dialogues they convey the godly goodness and behavior is royal blue. The fort,
court rooms, verandas, temples and bright red sarees covering women’s faces, all
symbolize everything that can be good and pious. The costumes and jewelry are
a treat to the eyes.
Ranvir Singh gives a good
performance as he acts out the frivolity and madness of the evil side and does
it alone. Deepika shows great poise and understanding of the royalty and
eminence of a queen famous for her beauty. A lot of effort has been invested to
make her look beautiful. I personally liked Shahid because of his consistency
and strong expression. This is a film that can be watched once, and because you
are watching it for the first time you will endure the dreariness. I have promised to take my mother for this
film but I don’t think I have the strength to go through that drama which is
too much even on the large screen. A one-time
watch for its larger than all our lives experience. SLB should give us 5 years
before his next film so we can wear out this one.
The coincidence of the drama before the release of the film with the drama IN the film is uncanny.
Rating - 3/5
