I have always believed that power presents itself in three forms. Money. Position. And Beauty. Anything in the world that assumes a state of power is essentially derived by either of the three. But what happens when a Human Being possess all three and is made up of love, ethics and is fiercely courageous? Well I say, it makes for a story worth narrating.
“With great power, comes great responsibility.” And at some point of time, that must be borne by the powerful. Now whether you consider it a boon or bane that is your choice.
Human Beings are relatively simple. However, the emotions they are capable off, are not. And that is what separates us from other creatures on this planet.
Padmaavat according to the famous legend (poem by Malik Muhammad Jayasi) is the story of Rani Padmavati, the legendary Rajput Queen of the 13th-14th century who was, the wife of the ruler of Mewar, Ratan Singh. It is a tale of her beauty, bravery and unparalleled love for a man along with the self-respect that she so strongly possessed, that she chose to self-immolate herself (Jauhar) along with all the woman of the province in order to protect their honour and escape being captured by Alluddin Khilji after he successfully breaches the walls of Chittorgardh.
Deepika Padukone plays the fierce Rani Padmaavati in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ‘Padmaavat’ and she wears the character like a glove. In the past few years Padukone has slowly and steadily made her way to the top list of actors in the industry more than once playing a woman who is ‘head over heels in love’ with a man and what follows is an Ode of her love dedicated to him. As she replicates iconic characters from Indian history whose existence is debatable, she is skillfully immortalizing herself in the world of cinema, proving her mettle with every film.
Ranveer Singh on the other hand, has bolted his way to the top with such impeccable acting skills and a plethora of a talent that he has garnered over the years making him worthy of the characters he portrays on screen which is absolutely commendable. He is so convincing playing Khilji that it makes you want to cringe in your seat and those extreme close ups just do everything, making you feel nothing but disgust towards the character. Shahid Kapur does justice to the sharp Rajput King, who in times of holding an upper hand over Khilji due to his inability to fight back, chooses to abide the rules of warfare making him rich in ethics and morals, which Khilji lacked. He is able to bring that aura and the goodness to the character on which the unconditional love of a woman blossoms.
Sanjay Leela Bhansali has again managed to create magic on screen and this time he has embossed it with 3D effects giving you an experience like never before. However, every director has a particular style of storytelling and his is getting repetitive making it dangerously monotonous. You will find a lot of similarities to how his story telling progresses to that of ‘Baajirao Mastani’ but in this becomes more of drag as the characters by themselves were flawless but they lacked the chemistry with each other. The first half felt extremely long and mechanical with you wondering when they are going to break for the interval and you slowly question its occurrence altogether. To be frank, you don’t feel anything for any of the characters something that was instant with ‘Baajirao Mastaani.’ Thus, emotional connect is minimal in this film. However, the second part of the feature presentation picks up pace and things start to fall together with the screenplay moving quickly and you have by now warmed up to the characters and their traits.
The background score of the film, like any other period drama, magnifies the emotions on screen with my favorite being the ‘Rani Sa’ track. And over the last three months, ‘Ghoomar’ has played on the radio everyday as I drive back home so that is a song I have come to like over time, mostly because of Shreya Ghoshal and the beautiful poetry, that lyrically expresses a woman in love and the extent of her feelings towards her beloved. It is scary but none the less, a reality that does plays out.
Padmaavat is essentially a love story. A love story that tells you the extent to which unconditional love can go to. It is a tale of a Queen who chose to do what she did, in order to protect her honour and that of her clan’s, making her an empowered woman in the true sense. When you as a person choose to do something from the options that are available to you, you are not a victim of circumstances but a writer of your life story. It is in your hands, how you want your life to shape up.
There is saying in my field of work, that I resonate the most with. It goes, ‘Relative strength is everything, and everything is relative strength.’ It only means that everything around you is a choice that you make relative to what your scenario and the options that you are presented with in life, or in my case, stocks. Nothing in the absolute sense exists or can be applied to making right or wrong only an illusion and perception of the thinker. Thus, there is no black and white but just shades of grey.
So its a long weekend, try and catch the movie if tickets are still available. Bhansali has yet again, with Deepika Padukone managed to capture the essence of woman immersed in love who displays skillful warfare as she carves out a strategy to bring him back when he is captured and feels with all her heart and soul along with the love that she has for him, when she asks for his permission to self-immolate herself, making him a part of her life’s decision.
It is a story worth knowing and understanding that at the end of the day, we are souls bound in human form and at one point of time or another there will come that realization that the journey of life is to recognize your soul and its need to evolve so that you take the path in order to achieve its life purpose. Some call it destiny, some chose to write their own and are brave enough to follow through.
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