PADMAVAT

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