Padmavati, the third consecutive production from director Sanjay Leela Bhansali to feature Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone (this time alongside Shahid Kapoor) has been making news since it was announced many months ago.
Padmavati, the third consecutive production from director Sanjay Leela Bhansali to feature Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone (this time alongside Shahid Kapoor) has been making news since it was announced many months ago.
From getting its sets ransacked by protesters to riling up communities over its depiction of history, the Sanjay Leela Bhansali period saga has been seeped in myriad controversies.
Now that the official trailer for the upcoming saga has been unveiled, it is clear that Padmavati will continue to make news.
Running over 3 minutes, the trailer is drenched in grandeur that is the trademark of Bhansali. Elaborate sets, an operatic score that evokes Puccini, it is the closest Bollywood has gotten to Game of Thrones.
The trailer opens with the sprawling Chittor fort and moves to Padukone, who stars as Rani Padmini ‘Padmavati’. There is old school charm in the romance of Padmavati and Ratan Singh (Shahid Kapoor), especially obvious in the one scene in which Padmavati is sewing Ratan’s turban.
Ranveer Singh as Sultan Alauddin Khilji soon enters the foray but the various hues represent him in mostly battle mode. Blood-stained face, wolfing down meat akin to an animal with long locks – Singh’s transformation for this role is nothing short of genius and he reeks of ambition, obsession and violence.
The bad news here is that Bhansali’s last film, Bajirao Mastani too was an epic and it too evoked similar grandeur so it does feel slightly familiar. The chief difference, however, is that unlike Bajirao, in this epic it is Shahid Kapoor who plays the good man while Khilji is the sinister ruler.
Padmavati is based on the story of “14th century ruler Alauddin Khilji” who fell in love with “Padmini, the queen of Chittor. Choosing honour over a life in Delhi, Padmini and the other women of Chittor killed themselves by leaping into a fire – a practice called jauhar.”
Given the folklore, it is possible that the film could land into trouble over its narration of events. Whether historical accuracy was a priority for Bhansali can only be determined once the film releases but for now, all eyes are on Padmavati, as they should be.
It should also be added that while the trailer captures the sprawling landscape against which the story is set in terrific fashion, it is somewhat ambiguous and minimal dialogues are presented, much like the trailer of Bajirao Mastani. A battle between the Rajputs and Khilji dynasty is inevitable but whether the film surpasses past efforts by Bhansali is a toss-up.
