Overhyped Padmaavat Should Only Be Watched for Ranveer
By Avik Basak
When I enter a theatre to watch a film which has been made on a budget of more than 200 crores and is about the historical event of a siege of a castle, I do not know about you but I expect to see a significant amount of battle or war sequences, which is unfortunately not the case with Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmaavat. On the other hand, if you are looking for a high dose of well-crafted drama, there is plenty of that in it, a little too much at times.
The film that faced a lot of trouble and controversy from the very beginning released to rave expectations from the audiences. Sadly, it has to go down as an overhyped movie as it is neither able to reach the epic standard it promised nor did it utilise the full potential the plot had.
Reportedly based on the eponymous poem of the same name by the 15th-century poet, Malik Muhammad Jayasi, Padmaavat starts off well as it establishes its main players. The fast-paced first half showcases how Khilji obtained the throne of the Delhi Sultanate, how Padmavati became the god queen of Chittor and how the quarrel began that will surely hook you to it. But sadly, in the second half, it loses its way. The makers were so interested in setting up the ‘jauhar’ sequence and add flesh to Padmavati’s character that they almost ignored to show the actual siege of Chittor and how it was done. As a result, it became another failed attempt at making a proper historical drama in Bollywood, where history took the backseat to make way for drama.
If something that should be remembered about this movie for the time to come is the stupendous performance of Ranveer Singh in the role of Alauddin Khilji. It is his astonishing portrayal of the antagonist that keeps the movie together and helps us sit through its excruciatingly long runtime. Deepika Padukone too shines in the eponymous role of Padmavati. The invisible battle she fights with Ranveer’s Khilji without sharing a single scene is one of the best things about the movie and is also nicely weaved. Though he had a limited role, Shahid Kapoor does well in the role of Maharawal Ratan Singh as he is always toe to toe with Ranveer in every scene they are together. Another stand out is Jim Sarbh in his role of slave general Malik Kafur, who was excellently used by Bhansali to hint at Khilji’s bisexuality.
As writer-director, Sanjay Leela Bhansali fails to give the movie the stature it deserved. It could have been a great movie the way it is set up but he messes it up along the way as he convolutes the story with some unnecessary plot points, while ignoring the comparatively important aspects. As music director though, Bhansali does not disappoint as all the songs in the film’s soundtrack are treat to the ears. Sudeep Chatterjee is as usual amazing the way he shoots the film as is Sanchit Balhara with his gripping background score that touches our heart. The editing by Rajesh Pandey is a bit slack as the movie is overlong at almost 2 hours and 43 minutes and could be a lot shorter.
Overall, Padmaavat should be watched for Ranveer Singh and the scenes he shares with Shahid Kapoor and Jim Sarbh. The drama at parts is also nicely created but if you are searching for an epic, then you are going in for the wrong picture.
2.5 Stars Out of 5 from Me...
I completely disagree with you on almost all the aspects of being how over-hyped this film is. Yes, it's an epic and it should have more battle scenes but the title of the film does not justify its cause of having more battle scenes than it has shown. And tell me, how does a budget of a film (also) justifies about how much of war scenes should there be in a film?? Is somewhere GoT revolving in your mind about more budget=more war scenes?!
ReplyDeleteWhat you have also forgot to mention is about the sets that are being used and use of VFX. No film of Bhansali has such a vivid ornamentation of the castles (closest comes Devdas, although it didn't have any castle), like Padmavaat's. The VFX of Bahubaali looks comical in front of the VFX of this film. The fight scene of the duel between Ratan and Khilji reminds me of the duel from Troy. So many similarities but still it will be downgraded since it is a Bollywood film.
As far as Ratan's role goes, I don't even consider his role to have had a limited one! I think he had more screen time than Padmavaati till he got captured. Overall, from me, this movie deserves a 4.5 out of 5 from me, the only drawback being they could have shown the the details of Jauhar or atleast Padmavaati entering into the fire. They could have depicted the pain of Sati rather than glorifying it.