Rocket Singh—Salesman of the Year: Of Spiderman, and Ramayana

I really don't know what prompted me to watch Shimit Amin's Rocket Singh—Salesman of the Year again. There are many films that on re-watching bring a new perspective. Released in December 2009, I remember watching it and liking it a lot. I was just a few months into my first job, with no experience in running companies. Now, nearly six years have passed, and with some experience working in different organizations, I wanted to see if I could understand better the inherent message of the film. 

Rocket Singh—Salesman of the Year is the story of Harpreet Singh Bedi (Ranbir Kapoor), who stays with his grandfather P.S. Bedi (Prem Chopra). He gets 38.72% in his B.Com, is quite satisfied with it, and has no intention of pursuing an MBA. He wants to be in sales. He gets a job as a salesman at At Your Service (AYS), a firm that sells assembled computers. Brimming with idealism, he meets a client who asks for a bribe for giving the order to AYS. Harpreet refuses and instead submits a written letter of complaint against the client for asking for a payback. His bosses at AYS are furious with him, and humiliate him for taking this step. Dejected by the constant ridicule of his colleagues, and the unethical practices encouraged at AYS, he secretly starts his own firm Rocket Sales Corporation while still working for AYS. He promises excellent customer service to his customers, and within a few weeks, he starts grabbing the market share. Of course, AYS' boss eventually gets to know, and then problems ensue for Harpreet.

There is a lovely moment in the film when Harpreet and his grandfather are watching the scene of the battle of Rama and Ravana in Ramanand Sagar's Ramayana. A similar battle is fought between Sunil Puri's AYS and Harpreet's Rocket Sales Corporation. Rama started all alone in the jungle with no resources with him to fight his battle with Ravana, but he made friendships, and partnerships with people, such as Sugreev and Hanuman, along the way to Lanka and was able to defeat the giant Ravana. Rama's victory is hailed as the victory of good over evil. Ravana was one of the most intelligent and knowledgeable persons ever in the history of existence, but his arrogance became the cause of his downfall. Likewise, Harpreet starts off all alone, but along the way, he makes partners, such as Koena, Giri, Nitini, and Chhote Lal, that help him start his firm. His firm does not engage in evil practices; thus, its victory is symbolic of good over evil. He grabs the market share from AYS because of his superior service, whereas AYS seemed to have no idea what customer service is all about. Its arrogance that no one can defeat them became the cause of its downfall, even though it used all the resources at its disposal. To extend the argument further, one can argue on the ethics of Rama's battle in taking the help of an insider Vibhishan who knew all the secrets of Ravana; similarly, Harpreet starts as a firm while being an insider in AYS. Though he follows the rule of ethics by noting down all the resources of AYS that he used for starting his firm, this action of his is undoubtedly illegal. But the thing is that the film does not try to condone his illegalities, instead, it duly punishes Harpreet for them. In this David versus Goliath battle, Rocket Sales emerges as the winner over AYS, like Rama did over Ravana.

When Harpreet is constantly humiliated by his colleagues, they throw paper rockets at him. Harpreet is on a call with a new client, and a rocket lands at him. On an impulse, he names his firm Rocket Sales Corp., and then he throws back the rocket at his colleagues, who are surprised that he threw back one at them. Later, when his friends advise him that he is taking a considerable risk, he responds by saying, "Risk to Spiderman ko bhi lena padta hai. Main toh phir bhi Salesman hoon." It was not Harpreet who said this line for the first time. It was Nitin who had taught him this line when he took Harpreet along on his first client visit. When Nitin interviewed Harpreet, the room had a poster of Spiderman as the salesman with the tagline—There Whenever You Need Him. When Harpreet launched his own firm, he promised 24-hour customer service. Thus, the true champion of the Spiderman poster was not Nitin but Harpreet, who took a considerable risk and promised the same service as that mentioned in the poster. Harpreet was the Spiderman. At one point, Giri says, "Tu jo lagta hai vo hai nahi, jo hai maloom nahi", as if Harpreet channels his ordinary Peter Parker persona into that of a Spiderman.  

Nitin's character was an equally interesting one. He is exceptionally smart, and he had the same idealism as that Harpreet when he started, but due to the nature of the corporate world, he gave up on it and became like the others. When Puri finds out about the scam, he throws all members of Rocket Sales Corp. out. At that point, Nitin is sitting in front of a job portal with his daughter in his lap. The circumstances of feeding his family might have caused him to change earlier also. I was reminded of Subhash Ghai's Taal, where Vikrant had these two sets of principles. One from his maa and one from his mama. Following his mother's utopian principles landed him nowhere, while following his uncle's practical principles gave him instant success. It is hard to judge Vikrant's success because he did try to follow his mother's principles. It is the harsh reality that coming-of-age movies often ignore. Doing what you really want is easier when you have the cushion of something to fall back on, but for people like us, making ends meet is equally important. In Wake Up Sid, Sid fails in his exams, but he has the luxury of living on his father's credit card. He moves out of his father's house, and then the reality confronts him that he needs money. In many ways, Rocket Singh—Salesman of the Year, could be a middle-class version of Wake Up Sid.  

The film is painstakingly detailed and meticulously researched. Nitin's tricks that he teaches Harpreet, such as putting the tie in his pocket while eating, the ability to read upside down, and never leaving one's real name in the entry register, show extensive research. Harpreet's friends call him HP, sometimes reminding us of the computer company HP. In the end, Puri comes to meet Harpreet at a Croma store. The store seems to have a specific context. Croma is owned by TATA, a group known for its ethics and service, and it is in that store that Harpreet finds a job. When Harpreet, Koena, and Giri make their plan in the dhaba outside their office, Duniya Mein Logon Ko from Apna Desh plays in the background. Even that film is based on the honesty of a young man that becomes a liability to his corrupt superiors, like in the case of Harpreet. 

Shimit Amin's previous film Chak De! India became a case study on leadership. There is much to learn from Rocket Singh—Salesman of the Year, too. In one instant, we see a poster of the famous Peter's Laws, The Creed of the Sociopathic Obsessive Compulsive. A similar poster can be created based on learnings from the movie.

Peter's Laws

• Money cannot buy everything. Thori conversation, thori persuasion, thori negotiation can help win over someone.
• Customer service is of paramount importance.  
• Sales hi aisa ek field jahan numbers se zyada akal chahiye hoti hai.
• Treat employees as partners, and then they will put in their best effort. Never treat them like they do not matter. Even Chhote Lal can assemble computers, and he craved a little respect from his colleagues.
• Think of people, and numbers will automatically come.
• Even zero has a value. Puri ridiculed Harpreet as a zero in front of everyone, but in the end, that zero proved his immense value.  
• Never forget those who helped you out when you had nothing. They took a risk on you when you had nothing, so don't betray their trust. As Shah Rukh Khan beautifully summed up in Luck By Chance, "Unhe mat bhoolo jo tumhe tab jaante they jab tum kuch nahi the, bas yahi hain jo tumse hamesha sach bolenge."
• Every person has two types of qualities, those that take him up and those that bring him down. The ones he uses more will show where he ends up.
• Aaadmi ek baar bik jiye, toh dusre hamesha use bikau samajhne lagte hai

Harpreet is genuinely a nice person Koena has to tell him that if he can't disturb people, how will he become a salesman. It is his niceness that becomes a problem for him to survive. At one point, his grandfather admonishes him for his act. He responds that he did not teach him how to do a thief's work; if he'd taught him, he wouldn't have become a thief. It shows how important an upbringing affects a person's actions. His screensaver is a picture of Guru Nanak. When his grandfather prays in front of Guru Nanak to give him blessings, Harpreet feels guilty about stealing an order. He cancels the pizza order and goes back to eating daal. It shows this belief in a higher entity that is watching us all. He is so calm even when his boss shreds him to pieces in front of a client; I felt like, why doesn't he hit back? Then he realizes that his boss is ridiculing him because he is letting him, and he wants to teach him a lesson. Despite all this, Harpreet never has any anger towards his boss when he comes to visit him in the store in the end and gives a spiel. There are really very few people like Harpreet these days. Even his girlfriend has to tell him to use her.

Now, the elephant in the room—Puri. He is a terrifying figure. He is cunning and can read people very well. He started as an entrepreneur. He has adapted to change well. He started with typewriters, then moved to fax machines, and finally, sold computers. His motive is profit at any cost. He paid bribes and engaged in unethical and, possibly, illegal practices. However, I won't judge him for this. Running a business in India is nearly impossible with its humongous red tape and license raj. Even if one tries to be ethical, the clients won't let them. They would demand a share, as in the National Chemicals case. Even to get a straightforward fire safety clearance, one has to grease palms. Of course, some businesses are ethical, but it is difficult to look at them in isolation of the business environment, which is why there is a big brouhaha on the ease of doing business. Puri did well in establishing his business, but he lost the human aspect of treating employees and customers with respect, dignity, and fairness, which he needs to correct. There is a thoughtful moment in the film when he stands in front of his numerous awards. He would have disrupted the market when he started, and now, a new player with a completely new business model has come up disrupting the market. That is the way innovations come into place. 

Based on the concept of objectivism, Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead described its four principal characters in terms of what a man should be. It said, "Howard Roark is the man who was 'as man should be,' who lives for himself and his own creativity, indifferent to the opinions of others. Gail Wynand is the 'man who could have been,' who rises from the poverty of his youth into an extremely rich and powerful position. Still, he uses his superlative talent not to create for himself but to control others, leading to his demise. Peter Keating is 'the man who couldn't be, and doesn't know it,' who wants to achieve as well as make a name for himself but lives off the support and condolence of others, which leads to his demise. Ellsworth Toohey is 'the man who couldn't be, and knows it,' who sets out to destroy others through guilt and altruism because he knows that this is the only way he can accomplish anything." In some ways, the description of the four characters could be mapped to the characters of Rocket Singh—Salesman of the Year. Harpreet is the idealist as man should be. Nitin, his boss, was like Harpreet when he started but lost out on many promotions because of his idealism; hence, he abandoned it and became like the others. He is the man who could have been. The other salesman in the office, who have no idea that they are being used and are fighting among themselves without any idea of what they stand for, personifies the man who couldn't be and doesn't know it. Finally, Sunil Puri, the owner of AYS, the much-feted and popular leader, is 'the man who couldn't be, and knows it, as he comes to realize that even after he has purchased the brand of Rocket Sales, he cannot provide the same service as them. 

Rand's hero Howard Roark is a selfish man in the positive sense that he is true to his values, convictions, thinking, mind, and self. To be true to himself, a man must first have a self. She argues that the ultimate moral value, for each human individual, is his or her own well-being, and she believes that selfishness is a virtue. At many times, Harpreet tells us that he is only doing this for himself, "Apni hi to parwah kar raha hun." That is the ultimate goal we all should aspire for—to take care of ourselves. After all, if we won't, then who will?

Dialogue of the Day:
"Uljhe nahi to kaise suljhoge,
Bikhre nahi to kaise nikhroge."
—Pankho Ko, Rocket Singh—Salesman of the Year

P.S.— Sell the pencil was quite like the pen scene in The Wolf of Wall Street.

Tujhse Naraz Nahi..

Bas aaj yahi yaad aa raha hai. 

Of Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi and Tamasha

Hindi films have often explored the theme of two different persons with the same face. In Yash Chopra's Lamhe, Viren Pratap Singh (Anil Kapoor) falls in love with Pallavi (Sridevi); after her death, Pallavi's daughter Pooja (Sridevi) falls in love with Viren. A conflicted Viren struggles to understand if he is in love with Pooja or if Pooja's face is a carbon copy of her mother, Pallavi. In Anand L. Rai's Tanu Weds Manu Returns, Manu (Madahavan) splits up with his wife Tanu (Kangana Ranaut), and meets Datto (Kangana Ranaut) who has a striking resemblance to his wife. He thinks he is in love with Datto, but it is somewhat clear that he is in love with Datto's face, which reminds him of his wife. In Rakesh Roshan's Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai, Sonia (Ameesha Patel) summed it up perfectly when she said that she feels tortured when she sees Raj (Hrithik Roshan) as his face reminds her of her dead lover Rohit (Hrithik Roshan). 

Interestingly, there have also been films that depict the concept of two different personalities of the same person. In Hrishikesh Mukherjee's comedy of errors Gol Maal, Amol Palekar takes us on a joy ride by creating two versions of himself to dupe his boss. In Vijay Lalwani's Karthik Calling Karthik, Karthik (Farhan Akhtar) suffers from a split personality disorder where he calls himself in the middle of the night. These films are often comedies or psychological thrillers. A few days ago, Aditya Chopra's Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi completed seven years of its release. I had recently watched Imtiaz Ali's Tamasha and was still in the thinking temporal zone that an Imtiaz Ali film leaves us with. Curiously, it struck me that not only do both these films have the same theme of two different personalities of the same person, but they also have many other similarities. 

Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi is the story of Surinder Sahni (Shah Rukh Khan) and Tani (Anushka Sharma). Due to the death of Tani's fiancé on her wedding day, Surinder is asked to marry Tani. After they get married, she tells him she will be a good wife, but she can never love anyone again. To get back her old happy Tani, Surinder plays Raj's role as Tani's dance partner. Somehow, by the grace of Rab, she cannot identify that Raj is Surinder only. Tani decides she wants to love again but is unsure who she is in love with—Raj or Surinder—even though they are the same person. 

Tamasha is the story of Ved Vardhan Sahni (Ranbir Kapoor). The story begins in Corsica. He meets Tara Maheshwari (Deepika Padukone). They decide to spend some time together without revealing their true identities or who they are in real life. He says he is Don, while she says she is Mona Darling. They decide that they will not meet again. Whatever that will happen between them in Corsica will stay in Corsica. But as it happens, Tara falls in love with Ved. Four years later, she looks for him in a cafe, hoping that she will bump into him. She does. He introduces himself as Ved, a product manager at a firm. They agree to go out, but soon Tara realizes this is not the Ved she fell in love with. The point of conflict between Tara and Ved is this dual personality of Ved, where Tara is in love with the Ved whom she met in Corsica, while he thinks he was only playing a role then. She breaks off with him. She tells him that he is suffering from a complex. Then begins his journey of self-realization. About finding who he really is.

In Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, Surinder is mousy and timid. He works in Punjab Power, but there is nothing powerful about him. He has always been a good boy and fits the ideal child's description on those kitschy aadarsh balak charts. He goes on his mundane job daily, but when he sees Tani, he falls in love with her. To make her feel happy, he takes up the role of someone who is his exact opposite—loud, brash, and fun—Raj. I wonder the ease at which he can take up the role of Raj, perhaps, he always has this side to him, but her never showed it to anyone. Likewise, in Tamasha, Ved's daily job is like Surinder's. He is a lakeer ka fakir. He wakes up, brushes his teeth, and eats the same breakfast daily. He gets nervous during presentations. His routine is so mundane that he holds the elevator door for the same lady every single day. In contrast, Ved's alter ego, Don, is the exact opposite of Ved. Don is free, no one can capture him, he talks to the mountains, he drinks water from the ponds like an animal. When Surinder watches films in theaters, he identifies the characters on the screen that are like him. Ved, on the other hand, is fascinated with stories and imagines himself to be in those stories. In the end, Surinder and Ved's alter ego triumphs. I don't think either film advocates that any side is necessarily better, but both films' essential message is to learn to be comfortable in your skin and not lose your identity. At one point in Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, Surinder says that he can change himself completely to make Tani happy, but he will not change himself to get Tani's love. He will not be someone who he is not. Ved learns that he does not need to be a lakeer ka fakeer if he feels suffocated, and he can follow his passion for telling stories. At another point in Tamasha, Ved runs out on the streets of Simla, meets a procession, and starts dancing like a dervish, immersed in his newfound freedom. A feeling of letting go, where he seemed to have finally found his dil ki aawaaz.

I am not saying that Suri and Ved have the same motivations. Suri is unable to express his love for Tani. At one point, he puts a rose with a note he wrote for Tani, then hesitates and keeps it back. His alter ego, Raj, helps him express that love, and he openly flirts with her, saying that she has to tell him not to flirt with her. In the case of Ved, he has this side to him, and Tara helps him embrace that side. She acts as a catalyst to help him reach his full potential, or else he would have been stuck in the same mundane existence all his life.  

It is strange that not only the theme of duality of the lead roles is common to both films, but there are several similar elements in their screenplay. Surinder's alter ego is named Raj Kapoor. In contrast, Ved's alter ego is named Don after Amitabh Bachchan's eponymous character in Don, but he takes the most inspiration from Dev Anand. Surinder and Ved find refuge in Hindi film heroes for their alter egos. Surinder and Ved have the same last name—'Sahni.' In Rab De Bana Di Jodi, there is a tribute to the heroes of Hindi cinema, including Raj Kapoor, Dev Anand, Shammi Kapoor, Rajesh Khanna, and Rishi Kapoor, in the song Phir Milenge Chalte Chalte. In Tamasha, there is a tribute to Raj Kapoor and Dev Anand in Matargashti. The song's lyrics refer to Dev Anand's films Tere Ghar Ke Saamne and Prem Pujari, and Ved copies Dev Anand's signature moments. The song also refers to Raj Kapoor's Chhaliya, and at many points in the film, the scenes of Tara and Ved are quite reminiscent of Nargis and Raj Kapoor. Phir Milenge Chalte Chalte and Matargashti refer to the same Dev Anand song, Dil Ka Bhanwar Kare. Thus, both films have a commonality: Raj Kapoor and Dev Anand. 

As if the the above coincidences were not enough, there is more, which is my favorite. Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi and Tamasha have a Japanese connection, and both films end in Japan. I have struggled for days to come up with a satisfactory explanation for the Japan link, particularly in the context of Tamasha. No film director would take an entire crew to Japan for one scene if there is something that he is not trying to tell us. In Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, Surinder fights with a Sumo wrestler and wins tickets to visit Japan. Ultimately, they visit Japan, and we witness one of the best ending credits in a film when Surinder describes his pictures from Japan. In Tamasha, Ved and Tara went on their first date to a Japanese restaurant. The waitress offered them different varieties of water. "What a brand, Japan. Companies are the latest countries, and countries hare the latest companies," said Ved. Ultimately, Ved and Tara meet in Japan at a tea conference where the building's board says Oracle. Japan is a place known for its robotic mechanization and efficiency. That could have something to do with it. While Surinder fights a Japanese wrestler to prove his love, Ved fights his inner demons. They are both at peace in Japan and have found love in Tokyo. 

An interesting thought comes to mind. If Kuch Kuch Hota Hai was made by Imtiaz Ali, would Rahul realize that the Anjali he was friends with eight years ago is not the same Anjali he is now marrying? That's a discussion for some other day.

Dialogue of the Day:

"Pyaar to Rab ki meherbaani hai, toh pyaar me kaisa dard."

 —Raj, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi

2015—Of Some Unforgettable Moments

A year ends, another one begins. Life remains the same, except the date changes, and for us—the mortals—the time remaining on earth gets shortened by one year. However, a change of year gives a good opportunity to look back and reflect on the year gone by. The moments that deeply impacted us, the moments that gave us a sense of exhilaration, and the moments that stayed with us. After all, when the dust from the sepia-tinted memories will be wiped, it is these moments that we will remember as the story of that year. As the ever-so-wonderful MJ Akbar says, "History, sometimes, seems to be an accumulation of moments."

There is a quote attributed to Jerry Seinfeld. It says, "It's amazing that the amount of news that happens in the world every day always just exactly fits the newspaper." Any reader of a newspaper knows that the number of pages in a newspaper changes depending on the content availability. Likewise, we always find films to give awards to every year, whether good or bad. Making year end lists is a herculean task. If I was giving awards, I will give one to everybody, just for the effort. Nevertheless, I recollect the following moments from films released in the past year that have stayed with me (in no particular order).

• Dil Dhadhakne Do—Neelam Mehra eating a cake in front of the mirror. Her philandering husband keeps mocking her eating habits. At the onset, it feels that it was a usual taunt, but only after this scene, we realize, she is compensating the love that she craves from her husband with food. There is no dialogue in that scene, only Shefali Shah stuffing her mouth with cake, and the background tune plays, yet, that scene says so much. "Silence, I discover, is something you can actually hear," says Haruki Murakami. True words. 

• Masaan—Deepak's breakdown after Shaalu's death. One moment, you are planning to spend your life with your lover; the next moment, you are crushing her bones to light her lifeless body in the pyre. Deepak breaks down at the ghaat, after screaming when does this grief ever end? And, we breakdown with him. The light of the fire, the blurb of the light from the windows of a train passing behind, the darkness of the night. His friends rush to comfort him. One tells him that he will hit him if he cries; the other offers him his motorcycle as if trying to placate a crying kid. How do you console a grieving friend? More than the death, it is the unpredictability of death that shocks us. 

• Bajirao Mastani—Mastani's entry into Shaniwar Wada in Deewani Mastani. I can't get enough of this song. Each scene of the movie is like a painting, but this remains the most exquisite of the lot. Everything flows perfectly in the song. Not a single moment of imperfection. I want to be in that song, even if it is only to be a fly. Immortalized in the walls and the mirrors for posterity. 

• Tamasha—Tara in Agar Tum Saath Ho. As I wrote earlier, in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series, there is a charm called Expecto Patronum. The charm is used to fend off the happiness-sucking dementors, and one must muster the happiest memory they can think of, else the charm does not work. The happier the memory, the better the charm will work. Agar Tum Saath Ho casts a magical spell, but it is a reverse patronus. It will remind of a time of a devastating heartbreak, of a time of a wretched state, and of a time of a numbing hopelessness. The first fifteen seconds of the song are enough to bring back that flood of painful memories. Memories that one thought were purged, but in reality, they were buried somewhere deep in a small corner of the heart. Her inability to not let go of him; holding him tightly, caressing him on the table, to hold him for one more moment.

• Talvar—At one point, Ramshankar Pillai, the former chief of CDI, tells Ashwin that we all know that the Lady Justice is blind, but people often forget that the Lady also carries a sword in the other hand. Like he talked about looking at both the hands, the film tries to explore the case from all possible sides. The last 30-minutes again explore this theme, with shades of Ek Ruka Hua Faisla. The poetic moment, "Woh afsana jise anjaam tak lana na ho mumkin, use ek khubsurat mod dekar chhodna achchha," from Gumrah, teaches us a lot about the finding a path to closure when we go gumrah.  

• Piku—I was really surprised by how much the film stayed with me throughout the year. I kept going back to listen to the film's sarod tune, which has a deep calming effect. The moment where there is a smile on Bhaskor in his death, as if he finally found the anand that he had forgotten, and the next scene where Piku goes to his room and sits on his bed is almost cathartic. At one point, Rana says, "Par apni roots unko agar ukhad do, toh kya bachega." And, as Piku says, if there were somebody else in her position, they would have done the same because we cannot judge parents. Because howsoever they are, we cannot judge our parents.

• Tanu Weds Manu Returns—I did not care at all about Tanu and Manu who are plain stupid, but Kumari Kusum Sangwan's poise is something that stood out from the silly shenanigans of the others. If only Tanu and Manu had some sense to learn something from the maturity and the grace of Datto. The scene where Datto runs from her wedding, not showing her tears to anyone, and cries all by herself is something that made us care for her. She deserved better than Manu; and, I am sure she will find happiness in the future. One of my other absolute favorite moments in which I laughed out so loud was when Datto goes to kidnap Komal, and tells the girls something in Haryanvi, "Kal ki mariyo, bahar Saa Rukh Khan aya se." All the girls run out like he actually came. It was hilarious. If this was not enough, the girls come back and one of them says there is no Shah Rukh Khan, people are only making a fool out of them. On seeing Payal unconscious, they say, "Arey yeh to neeche hi so gayi." One has to see to realize the absurdity of the scene. 

• Badlapur—Elizabeth Kübler-Ross theorized five stages of grief—denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. Raghu's inability to accept turns him into Joker from Batman. At one point, Raghu and Liak have a fight with each other, and then, Liak goes away, but comes back. He explains that that he lost his cool, and in the heat of moment, he killed Raghu's wife, but what about Raghu? He killed Harman and his wife in cold blood, even when they were innocent; so, essentially, what is the difference between him and Raghu? It is a moment which makes us wonder about the degrees of murder, and the purpose of vengeance. Life is lost in both the cases, but as Animal Farm taught us all murders are equal, but some murders are more equal than others.

• Bombay Velvet—I understand little about music, but Behrupia was a gem in this spectacular film. I liked it more than Dhadaam Dhadaam. There is something about Mohit Chauhan's lilting voice. Bujhi shama se na dil behla, haath mein aayega tere bas dhuaan.

• Dum Laga Ke Haisha—The animosity that Prem and Sandhya show towards each other by playing cassettes of the songs of the '90s is a cracker of a scene. It will bring back the nostalgia of growing up as a nineties kid—Kumar Sanu, Anu Malik, Alka Yagnik, Sadhana Sargam, Udit Narayan. Fascinating thing this nostalgia; it makes one feel young and old at the same time. 

• Shaandaar—Notwithstanding the opprobrium the film received, I loved Shaandaar. If you loved Jhoom Barabar Jhoom, you will love Shaandaar. In his earlier film Queen, Vikas Bahl portrayed Rani who learns that she does not need a man to be happy in life. She goes to her honeymoon all alone, as if she is Alice In Wonderland (as Rani wears a sweatshirt showing Alice). In Shaandaar, we again see an anti-fairy-tale where a girl literally takes out her clothes in her wedding, because her fiancé keeps mocking her for her weight, and then, she flies away in a helicopter. A shaandaar moment. 

I have not watched NH10, Margarita With A Straw, Titli, Phantom, and Jazbaa, films that I look forward to watching sometime in the near future. I know more sad moments than happy ones, but it is the emotional connect that matters, no? 

Dialogue of the Day:

"Har naam pe nahi rukti, dhadkanon ke bhi usool hote hai."

—Humari Adhuri Kahani

Bajirao Mastani—Of Rukmini, Krishna, Radha

After making us wait for a decade, Sanjay Leela Bhansali comes up with his magnum opus Bajirao Mastani. Based on the book Rau by N.S. Inamdar, it is the story of the romance of a Marathi king Bajirao (Ranveer Singh), with a Muslim warrior princess Mastani (Deepika Padukone), even though he is married to Kashibai (Priyanka Chopra). In Bhansali land, love brings exhilaration but also pain and longing. In his earlier films, such as Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Devdas, Saawariya, Ram-Leela, and in Bajirao Mastani, as well, love brings with it joy, heartbreak, suffering, anguish, and grief. It is a story of an ishq that makes one forget even God in front of the lover. Ishq—Jo mehboob ko dekhe toh khuda ko bhool jaaye, vo ishq. Love is like a scar, ugly and forbidden in the eyes of society but permanent that would endure the test of time and become immortal in the annals of history. At one point, Mastani literally scars Bajirao with her sword on his neck, and that scar is visible later, etched on him in perpetuity. Later, Bajirao wounds her in the war with his sword. Aapne to sirf apne vaar ka nishaan dekha hai, ghaav to kahi aur hai. They are literally and metaphorically scarred for life by love.

In many ways, the film is the story of Radha, Krishna, and Rukmini. In Bhansali's world, Bajirao and Mastani are Krishna and Radha. The film is full of references to these characters. Mastani says, "Patni to Radha bhi nahi thi, lekin naam to Krishna ke saath unhi ka liya jata hai na." When they celebrate Holi, Mastani sings, "Mohe rang do laal, Nand ke laal laal," exhorting Nand Ke Laal Krishna to paint her in the color of love—red. During Pinga, when Mastani comes to meet Kashibai, the subtitles read that she comes dressed as Radha giving one more indication of the Radha-Krishna theme. One of my favorite scenes from the movie Lagaan is the Janmasthmi one when Elizabeth asks Bhuvan if Radha and Krishna are married to each other. Bhuvan replies that Krishna was married to Rukmini, and Radha was married to Anay, but they had this internal love that transcended generations. Kamal ke patte pe, shabnam ki boond jaisa. Ek bhi nahi hue aur alag bhi nahi hue. It was the first time I ever got to know the name of Krishna's wife and, more importantly, Radha's husband. Since times immemorial, Radha-Krishna has been the epitome of pure love. While Anay seems to have been discarded permanently from the annals of mythology, Rukmini gets a mention sometimes. With Bajirao and Mastani as Krishna and Radha, the film acknowledges the silent, almost forgotten love of Rukmini in the form of Kashibai. Kashibai narrates the story of Rukmini's trepidation on fear of being forgotten. Log toh priyasi ko hi yaad rakhte hain. Even though the film is based on Bajirao and Mastani, Kashibai's love is acknowledged, even if it takes some sheen off the leads' story, I feel it is important to give her due because a film based on the theme of love should be graceful enough to accept all kinds of love or at the very least not be dismissive about it. Kiran Nagarkar's gem of a book Cuckold, based on the predication of Meerabai's husband whose wife is in love with Lord Krishna, says one can exorcise a devil, but how does one get rid of a God. There is a line in that book. "We were that rarest of couples. Even after years of marriage, we were madly in love. I with her and she with somebody else." This could very well be Kashibai speaking.

In some ways, Bajirao Mastani also depicts the seven stages of love as defined in Arabic literature. The seven stages comprise hub (attraction), uns (infatuation), ishq (love), aqeedat (reverence), ibaadat (worship), junoon (obsession), and maut (death). We see these stages in some form or the other. The first time Bajirao and Mastani get attracted to each other in the middle of the war. Behoshi me bhi aap unse aise lipti hui thi, jaise do nahi ek ho. Then, there is infatuation when he visits her in her chambers and gives his dagger to her after looking at her deep wounds. They celebrate Holi. She tells him to paint her in the color of love. This infatuation turns into love when he is about to leave. She then leaves Bundelkhand because of ishq to meet him. Her love for him is like Radha's love for Krishna. Patni to Radha bhi nahi thi, lekin naam to Krishna ke saath unhi ka liya jata hai na. This ishq turns to reverence. Tujhe yaad kar liya hai, aayat ki tarah, kaayam tu ho gayi hai, rivaayat ki tarah. I have memorized you, like an aayat, a holy prayer. For me, you have now become a custom and a ritual. They both start trusting and respecting each other; he will fight for her respect even if it means going against the world, and he will go against his family to protect her honor. This slowly becomes an ibaadat. Aaj ibaadat roobaroo ho gayi, jo maangi thi us dua se guftgoo ho gayi. The one for whom I have worshipped and prayed for, I’ve come face to face with her today. What I was desiring for, I’ve had a conversation with her. Slowly, this ibaadat turns into an obsession for them. She cannot live without him, and neither can he. Humare dil ek saath dhadhakte hai aur rukte bhi ek saath. He is ready to give up anything for her, and she will do anything to be with him. In the process, they lose their own identity. In the final stages, Bajirao's junoon becomes hallucinations where he sees fate and destiny conspiring against him and Mastani. He fights an imaginary war with his inner faceless demons. Death is the only escape from this madness, and it comes to them simultaneously. The final stage of love is achieved, and they are immortalized for the years to come, and everyone will take their name together as one. They have been united forever.

The film is spectacular in showing the glorious tradition of the past. When Bajirao gives a dagger to Mastani, she becomes his wife as giving a kataar to a woman also means marriage in Bundelkhand. Later, when Bajirao comes to visit Mastani after crossing the river, he talks about the three challenges she could face if he accepts her. Mastani, without an iota of hesitation, says kubool hai. In an Islamic wedding, the bride says kubool hai three times; in a way, it was the second time they married. In both cases, there was no big ceremony, and their wedding got solemnized based on tradition and customs. At the onset, Bajirao talks about creating a Hindu kingdom giving indications of his Hindu nationalist leanings. While there is the tradition in the film, it also surprises us with its liberalism. Mastani worships both Krishna and Allah. Even though she is a Muslim, she names her child Krishna. Yeh sach hai har dharm ne ek rang ko chun liya hai, lekin rang ka to koi dharm nahi hota. Durga and dargah might belong to different religions, but at the same time, the same green color is important for both. Bajirao says that even though he fights Muslims, his fight is with the Mughals, not their religion. He names his son Shamsher Bahadur in defiance when the fundamentalist priests refuse to do a naming ceremony for his son Krishna accusing him of not marrying a woman according to Hindu rituals. He teaches both his sons the shlokas. Rather than giving into dogmatic rituals, he makes new interpretations of them, like the cracker of a reply he gives to his heartless mother—what kind of mother stops her own grandson from taking her blessings—that he will make amends by marrying Mastani with full celebrations and bring her to Shaniwar Wada. Earlier this year, Zoya Akhtar's Dil Dhadhakne Do had an insightful scene. That film also starred Ranveer Singh; at one point, he says to his parents that he loves Farah. Vo dancer hai, aur Musalman hai. Religion continues to be one of our society's deepest fault lines that a film set nearly three hundred years later in an upper-class tony family of Delhi has undercurrents of the same religious difference in a film of the past. In this political climate, when we are debating ghar waapsi, it is heartening to see that the film holds onto its liberalism.

Any Sanjay Leela Bhansali film is a study of symbolism. The sets and the costumes represent the characters and their emotions. Cheeteh ki chaal, baaz ki nazar aur Bajirao ki talvar par sandeh nahi karte, kabhi bhi maat de sakti hai. Therefore, everywhere we see the images and the statues of the cheetah and the baaz. When Bajirao is in his camp, there are bronze carvings of the eagle and the cheetah. The map and the kingdom's flag have the eagle and cheetah. In Shaniwar Wada, his room has the same images and statues. Even Bajirao's dagger, which he gives to Mastani, has a cheetah on its end. This reinforces the idea that not only Bajirao was skilled in sword-fighting, but had these other two qualities—a remarkable celerity and a razor-sharp vision. If Bajirao was a cheetah, Mastani was a lioness in the jungle. When a lioness gives birth, there are no midwives and nurses, likewise, Mastani does not require any help and gives birth to her son without the services of a midwife. 

The map has cheetah and baaz

The costumes, too, told us about the characters. Mastani is always dressed in lighter colors, with the only exception of red. All her costumes had a single-colored palette and lighter shades. Whether it is the Deewani Mastani song, the blue lehengas, the yellow lehengas, or the white lehengas, everything seems to be in lighter shades, and they do not have a contrasting color. On the other hand, Kashibai's sarees are full of dark colors, and they are not single-colored but have many, many colors in them, such as a contrast of purple, blue, yellow, and much brighter than Mastani's. It is an indication of the many worldly emotions of Kashibai from love, happiness, joy, fear, while Mastani is only interested in the one emotion of love, and red signifies that love.

At another instant, Kashibai tells Bajirao to not come into her chambers anymore; she is trying to light off the diyas. She cannot reach the height, so, Bajirao takes the stick and puts them off, just like their relationship seems to have run its course. 

In Bundelkhand, when Bajirao is to leave the next day, Mastani visits him in the middle of the night and gives a paan to him. When Mastani comes to Shaniwar Wada, after she sings Deewani Mastani, Bajirao welcomes her by giving paan. The betel leaf has been a part of Hindu tradition for a long time, even shown in some miniature paintings depicting Krishna offering paan beeda to Radha. There is an amorous quality associated in giving a heart-shaped leaf to one's lover; perhaps, that is why paan continues to be romanticized in films. At a later point, Kashibai also gives a paan to Bajirao when he visits her when she tells him she is pregnant. The way she gave the paan to him was an indication that she saw that he had given Mastani the paan. He thinks that she does not know anything, but she is smart and intuitive. She says, "Yeh chaand bhi na kabhi is badli ke peeche, kabhi us badli ke peeche," with a reference of the moon to Bajirao's hidden relationship with Mastani.

One of my favorite scenes in the film is when Kashibai and Bajirao's mother are sewing the flag and talking about how they are similar to each other. Kashibai says that all through the years, she was Bajirao's parchhai and without telling, he went into darkness. A shadow does not exist in the darkness, making her question her existence. In that scene, we see her image in the mirror in a box near her. It is a lovely scene, and her image is clearly seen even in the room's darkness. The image is a classic trope in Bhansali's films. In a gorgeous scene in Saawariya, Sakina's image is projected in the mirrors. In Goliyon Ki Raas Leela Ram-Leela, Leela's image is seen in a mirror. Early in the film, Mastani is seen holding a rose in front of a mirror. One of the most aesthetic scenes in the film involves Bajirao's image projected on a mirror. After that, Maa Saheb compares their lives to a mango tree; even though the mango might be the king of fruits, but it is the one that has to bear the most stones. Perhaps, Maa Saheb used this as a reference to her own husband's infidelity during his life, or maybe she misses the presence of her husband in her life and can understand Kashi's plight. The two of them were bonding by sewing a saffron flag—the flag of their kingdom—as if they were bound together by tradition and their helplessness to change the nature of their relationships. In the process, they 'sew' a bond with each other. In Saawariya, Sakina used to weave carpets. One welcomes the other by putting the best carpet. Sakina kept waiting for Imaan and wove the finest kaaleen to welcome him in her heart. Here, we see two women talk about relationships while sewing a flag. 

Love is the permanent state of intoxication for Bajirao and Mastani. Mastani's eyes flow with love for Bajirao; the moment she falls in love with Bajirao till the end, her eyes seem watery as if she is intoxicated by love. In the same way, Bajirao, too, is inebriated in her love. At one point, he even says, "Kaun nashe me nahi hai? Hum sab nashe me hai." Bajirao's eyes are seen to have a red blood color lining. Their love is so strong that she flows in his body like blood. He cannot exist without her, and neither can she. Without blood, no human can survive. The red color that symbolizes Mastani is deeply ingrained in his veins. Even the title poster shows that the red color is in Bajirao's name.

Nature and its elements are a significant part of Bhansali's oeuvre. In Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Nandini is depicted as nature's finest creation in Manmohini Tera Ada. Tujh me hai kudrat saree khoyee khoyee. In Black, Michelle McNelly's first words are not mother or father, but water. It was a new birth for her where she was immersed in the water at the fountain. In Bajirao Mastani, too, nature is a character in itself. The sky changes its color depending on the mood. When Mastani sings Mohe Rang Do Laal with her gulaal hands, the sky turns red. When Mastani is welcomed for the first time by Kashibai, the sky seems to be changing color from grey to red. When there is death, it rains as if the sky is crying.

Water, too, plays an important part in Bajirao's life. He crosses a river going wild in the middle of a stormy night to meet Mastani. He is seen walking in the water many a time. When he calls upon the Nizam, he walks through the water. When he visits Mastani, he stands in the water, surrounded by lovely fountains, and calls her to join him. Later, Kashibai invites him into the water; however, there are no fountains because his fountain of love is now for Mastani. In the final scene, death comes to Bajirao in water. Perhaps, water represents the purity of his thoughts, his actions, his intentions, and his love. In Black, water represents purity and clarity of thought, helping Michelle realize that words have meaning. In that film, too, the fountain formed an important part. Michelle's first word is spoken by her in the water at a fountain; in the end, Debraj also learns his first-word 'water' from Michelle near a fountain. The magnificent poster of the film depicts Bajirao and Mastani standing in water, surrounded by lotuses, with tiny streams of water beneath and behind them. They are holding hands; perhaps, their love is like a fountain itself, sustaining them like the fountain of life.

If there is sky and water, the fire would catch up soon. There is a fire in almost every scene in the film. Mastani uses the fire to light her arrow, Kashibai uses the fire to glow the diyas, and Bajirao uses fire to stop the zeher of the wound he inflicted from spreading in Mastani's body. This fire is also a subtext for the burning passion of the characters. One of the most beautiful scenes in the movie is when Kashibai is sitting over a golden statue of a cheetah-lion hybrid, with a fire burning in front of her. This fire is her state of mind, burning with desire for Bajirao as Mastani seems to have become the object of her husband's affection. In an earlier scene, Bajirao pours water over Kashibai. Dressed in a saffron saree, a color that matches the color of the fire, this pouring of water was, perhaps, a subtle indication that the fire that Kashibai ignited in Bajirao's heart was starting to extinguish. It is Mastani who now ignites the fire in him. However, Kashibai's heart still beats for him, and sits on the animal statue, which is a reference to Bajirao.

And, then, there is nature itself. Bajirao wears a navgriha ring, made up of nine planets. Yeh dharti, yeh aasman, yeh toofaan, aur yeh seene ki aag ko sakshi manke, aaj se hum aap ko apni patni maante hai. Nature—the earth, the sky, the wind, the water, and the fire in his heart—becomes the sole witness to their communion. It is as if nature has blessed them. In the end, he says that they will meet the next time when the sky will have the setting sun and the rising moon; that day, the sky will change its colors; the winds of desire will be blowing; the clouds will be thundering; the dry leaves will be swishing; and, there will be an untimely rain. There will be no barriers of religion, no earthly relationships, only fire, the fire of their love. Again, nature and its elements provide the conditions for their eternal union. Bajirao might have won forty wars, but he couldn't win the one he fought for Mastani. It is only in death, that they will be able to meet forever.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali is in love with the peacocks. Ram-Leela was full of peacocks. Every song in that film had a peacock reference, and Ram was compared to a peacock in the film. Even Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam was teeming with peacocks. His love for peacocks is immense that even the symbol of Bhansali Productions is a peacock. Expectedly, Bajirao Mastani has peacock references. There is not only a peacock feather but patterns of peacock feathers on the palace walls and the floors, the diyas, the earrings, and the lamps. When Mastani is sent to live in the red light area, a woman jokingly calls her a morni. When she visits Mastani Mahal for the first time, we can hear a peacock screaming in the background. There are also many lotuses in the film. When Bajirao visits the Aaina Mahal, Chimaji tells him he is standing on a lotus. There are lotus flowers in Kashibai's and Mastani's rooms. Even the film's gorgeous poster is teeming with flowing pink lotuses. The song Aaj Ibaadat says, "Om Jai Jai Om, mangalam pundarikaaksham manglaaye tano Hari." All auspiciousness to the one who has eyes like petals of a lotus flower. And auspiciousness to Krishna. Krishna is associated with peacocks and lotuses; not only do they add to the Krishna reference, but the presence of these symbols also underscores the spiritual and divine elements in his earlier films and in Bajirao Mastani. His heroes and heroines are embodiments of gods and goddesses. 

Lotus

Each frame of the film is so exquisite that one cannot help but marvel at this painting. It is truly like poetry in motion. The film stuns with its visual resplendence. At so many points, I was just smiling to myself and thinking about its brilliance. One can't help but be mesmerized by it. When that scene comes where they project Bajirao's image in Kashibai's room, it is similar to when Kashibai sees Bajirao and Mastani together—what a thought, what a scene. The top shots, another signature element of his films, are breathtaking. The symmetrical top shot of the priests eating from green leaves, the shot of women dressed in red at Mastani's father's place in preparation for the pyre, the Gajanan song sequence, and even the way that the peacock logo of his production house is made in the title credits using gulaal is marvelous.

Like any Bhansali film, all the songs are splendidly choreographed. The song Deewani Mastani is a dream song on the big screen. Its beauty is unparalleled. I was waiting for this song to come. Just the top shots of the song are worth the price of the film's ticket. The song is a glorious homage to one of the most iconic songs of Hindi cinema—Jab Pyar Kiya Toh Darna Kya from Mughal-E-Azam. Madhubala, dancing in front of the emperor of India, declared her love for Salim and completely defied the world. At one point in the song, she sings, "Chhup na sakega ishq hamara, chaaron taraf hai unka nazaara." Her images are then reflected across the mirror walls of the palace. She is everywhere. Mastani enters the Shaniwar Wada for the first time. She comes dressed in a golden lehenga, wearing a golden Peshwa topi and a golden nose ring, holding an intricately carved golden mandolin. The golden color matches the walls of the palace. There is a special significance of the golden color and the matching of the color of her dress and the color of the palace. A palace signifies something strong, grand, and brave. Mastani shares these characteristics with the palace. Her story will stand the test of time, like the walls of the palace, which are a testament to this era. She sings, "Mashoor mere ishq ki kahani ho gayi. Kehte hai yeh deewani mastani ho gayi." Her love story has become famous, and she has become mad in love. And, this story of hers will be written in 'golden' letters in the annals of history. As they say, itihaas ke sunehre aksharon me likha jayega. Like Anaarkali, she defied the orders of Maa Saheb, and comes to meet Bajirao. As Anarkali's love was everywhere in the walls of Aina Mahal, so was Mastani everywhere in the palace. The palace will be a testimony to her timelessness. Her sillage will linger in the palace walls for generations to come. Perhaps, that explains the amalgamation of Mastani and the palace in the song. In numerous interviews, Sanjay Leela Bhansali has said that whenever he makes a film for posterity. His characters are destined for posterity, too. 

In Devdas, Paro and Chandramukhi, the two women who loved the same man, had danced together on Dola Re. In Bajirao Mastani, the two wives of Bajirao dance together in Pinga. Kashibai and Mastani are dressed in a traditional Marathi silk saree with a traditional necklace, a khopa hairdo, and green bangles. The only difference between them seems to be the color of the saree. While Kashibai is wearing a purple one, Mastani is wearing a dark-red one. This contrast symbolizes the personalities of these two women. Kashibai is royal and regal. The color purple is symbolic of power, wisdom, leadership, respect, and wealth. It has been worn by emperors in the past. Even in the song, Deewani Mastani, and the film's poster, Kashibai is dressed in purple hues. In fact, Kashibai always carried a purple stroll with her. On the other hand, Mastani, true to her name, is dressed in dark red, as red is a color of passion and determination. At one point in the song, she sings, "Haan tu jaane yeh duniyadari, main to hu bas mohabbat ki maari." She does not care about worldly stuff, she is only immersed in her divine love. Pakeezah hasti hai teri, tu noorani hai. There is another moment in the song when Mastani sits in front of Kashibai, which reflects her lower stature as the second wife. This similitude in the costumes indicates that both love the same man. Both of them share the love for and by Bajirao, with changes in color underscoring the difference in their personalities. In fact, at one point, they even sing, "Jo peer meri hai so peer teri hai." What I worship, you worship it, too. In Dola Re, Paro and Chandramukhi dressed almost identical with no difference even in the colors, which reflected the shared love for the same man. At one point in that song, Paro advises Chandramukhi to put sindur, and gestures a movement where she puts sindur in Chandramukhi's maang, and then puts it in her own head, pointing that they both love the same man, although they don't know it. Here, they sing, "Are dono ki maang laage, sooni aadhi, aadhi laal." Like their half-filled maang, they share the half-love of a man who can never be completely theirs. It is a beautiful thought. 

Not only Deewani Mastani, but the beautiful song Mohe Rang Do Laal is also inspired by Mohe Panghat Pe Nand Laal from Mughal-E-Azam. In that song, Anarkali playing Radha sings, "Mori najuk kalaiyaa marod gayo re." Here, Mastani sings, "Marodi kalaai mori." The similarity of lyrics, the presence of the fountains, the sitting women playing veena, and the audience comprising the dancer's would be lover in the two songs leave no room for doubt that this is a tribute to Mughal-E-Azam. In addition, the scene where Mastani is in chains is reminiscent of Anarkali in chains. The thumri that plays in the background when Bajirao and Kashibai are engaged in coitus seems to have been inspired by Mughal-E-Azam. Even in Mughal-E-Azam, Anarkali danced on the floors with lotus paintings, like here. "Mohabbat jo darti hai, vo mohabbat nahi aiyyashi hai," said Salim; "Bajirao ne Mastani se mohabbat ki hai, aiyyashi nahi," said Bajirao. In many interviews, Bhansali has said that Mughal-E-Azam is his favorite film. He watched it with his father every year when he was growing up. Even in Saawariya, Imaan, Sakina and Badi Ammi watch Mughal-E-Azam, and Badi Ammi remembers all the dialogues from that film. With Bajirao Mastani, he reinforces his immense love for that film.

Albela Sajan that was also in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, is recreated in Bajirao Mastani, and is a delightful classical composition. I also very much enjoyed Malhari despite the criticism that was hurled at it. It is a totally energetic and infectious song. My biggest disappointment was the song I liked the most, Ab Tohe Jane Na Dungi, was not there in the film. The background score comprising Ji Re Ji Re is so enthralling that it lifts up the scene by a few notches. I wish they release that as a track, too.

Ranveer Singh as Bajirao delivers a stupendous performance. The way he walks, the way he speaks, and the way he shows his aggression, he brings the gravitas required for the role. Bajirao says Mastani was his prerna, and Kashi was his taakat. He knows that maintaining relationships is more difficult than making relationships. He stops meeting Mastani because he wants to tell Kashi about his relationship with Mastani first because she is his friend and confidant, and he respects his relationship with her. The film enters into interesting territory when Mastani says to Kashi that if he held her hand, he did not let go of Kashi's either. Can one be in love with two women at the same time? Undoubtedly, he loved Mastani, maybe even more than Kashi, but did he stop loving Kashi? I have always wondered if human beings are destined to be monogamous. I think one can be in love with two people simultaneously; perhaps the intensity of love might vary. For instance, take a film such as Kal Ho Naa Ho. Naina is in love with Aman, but she gets married to Rohit. Aman was her first love, and she says that she will always remember him. Aman died, but she never stopped caring for him. What if Amar did not die? Would she stop loving Aman? Coming back, when Bajirao is sick, he asks about Mastani, but he also asks about Kashi. He never forgets her. Or maybe love dissipated and she turned more into a friend.

Deepika as Mastani looks ravishing. One can imagine her to be the woman Mastani was, but somehow, her passion got slightly subdued in the second half. Without a doubt, she was the most intriguing character. The first time we see her, she comes to ask for help from Bajirao to save her kingdom. Later, she even fights the war with him. Why does her father not go into the war with her? She is fighting the battle to save her kingdom, putting her life in danger. Moreover, she was not even the legitimate heir to her father, as Mastani's mother never married her father. That made me wonder if that drove her desire to be accepted by Bajirao's family. Bajirao had told her that she would be humiliated forever if she married him, and she gladly accepted. Maybe that was another reason she never rebelled against his family. She accepted to live in the house of a prostitute and even stayed in a khandar. Love makes her lose her identity. There is a fascinating scene where she is sent to the prostitute's house. She takes out her sword and practices with it. Perhaps, that was her way of channeling out her anger. Something violent in its conception can be therapeutic for her. Love also brings a certain intuitive and magical power. I liked how she could sense that Bajirao was coming to meet her. Even in the climax, she can sense that something is not right. 

My favorite character was Kashibai. It is a very well-written character, and Priyanka Chopra flies with it. She stole the show from everyone. She accepted the role knowing it was not the lead one, and still managed to get all the accolades. She stars in an international TV show, brings out her own album, and shines in any role. Priyanka, you go, girl. The character of Kashibai was inspired by Raja Ravi Varma paintings. At one point, when she is sitting and crying in her chambers with the white swan, that scene is a replica of a Raja Ravi Varma painting. Kashibai was the wronged one, we sympathize with her, but we don't pity her. She does not become desperate or vengeful, boiling for Mastani's blood. In fact, she does not even care for paraye people when Bajirao says that he and Mastani must have hurt her. She was more hurt by the wounds inflicted by apne. She never loses her self-respect, but at the same time, can convey that she is hurt. She wishes she was the beloved than the wife because a wife is forgotten, and history remembers the preyasi. Still, she goes on doing her duties as a wife. She will welcome Mastani in her palace, but not in her heart. She never loses her humanism when she could have easily got Mastani killed when she got to know that there was an attack planned on Mastani. But she goes and conveys to Bajirao about the impending attack. That scene spoke volumes about the strength of her character. Eventually, she goes and meets Mastani in her palace. She makes some hurtful comments but then realizes that since Mastani is special to her husband, she has to come around. Rao ko tumhari zaroorat hai, aur unki zaroorat ka khayal rakhna hamari zaroorat hai. The sacrifice of the wronged lover is a repeating trope in Bhansali's work, and somehow, this wronged lover triumphs by the strength of his character. Be it Vanraj, Chandramukhi, Gulaab ji, or Kashibai. These characters understand love much more deeply because, to them love lies in the happiness of the lover, even if it brings pain to them. As Nandini said, "Tumne mujhe pyaar karna sikhaya, magar pyaar nibhaana maine apne pati se seekha hai." Kashibai knows the real meaning of love and comes out as the bigger person in the end. Rukmini may or may not be forgotten, but Kashibai will live forever.

In many instances, I was reminded of Jodhaa Akbar. For instance, at one point, Kashibai is watching Bajirao taking a bath. In Jodhaa Akbar, Jodhaa watches Akbar practicing his sword, and he tries to entice her to keep looking at him. When Mastani says, "Adhuri mulakat hi to phir se milne ka vaada hota hai", I was somehow reminded of Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna where Dev says, "Alvida nahi, alvida kehne se phir milne ki ummeed mar jaati hai, kya pata phir mile." 

It was a bit disheartening to see the largest-ever disclaimer put in the movie that this is a work of fiction. I am amused by the protests and criticism that it is trying to distort history. Do people really believe that Akbar's son was Salim, as shown in Mughal-E-Azam? It was a work of fiction. There was opprobrium that he made Paro and Chandramukhi dance together in Devdas. Devdas was a work of fiction, so is it a crime to interpret a story in one's own way? Aren't there nearly three hundred versions of Ramayana?

In an interview with Anupama Chopra, Sanjay revealed that he makes grand sets to ward off his childhood claustrophobia. His sets are a mélange of the emotions of his characters. There is so much happening in the movie that one viewing is simply not enough to capture all the details. I remember reading a few pieces when Avatar had released. Critics had praised it as the movie that took people back to the theaters for it made people rediscover the experience of watching the movie on the big screen. Even though Hindi cinema has always been larger than life, Sanjay Leela Bhansali is one of those few filmmakers whose films seem to have a magical hold on the big screen. Bajirao Mastani is a film that needs to be experienced on the big screen. Bajirao Mastani is the fulfillment of a lifelong dream for Sanjay Leela Bhansali. A character in the movie says, "Chandan ke vriksh ko bhi sugandh dene kiye ek umar ki aavashakta hoti hai." A sandalwood tree takes more than a decade before it is harvested for its fragrance. Strange are the things how life works. It took more than a decade to make this film. Maybe it is destiny, where the cosmos conspires to find the right time. As chandan's fragrance lasts forever, the fragrance of the movie will continue to enthrall in the coming future.

Other Reading:

1. On Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela (link)
2. On Black (link)

Dialogue of the Day:
"Har dharam mohabbat sikhata hai, par mohabbat ka to koi dharm nahi hota. Vo khud apne aap me ek dharam hai."
—Mastani, Bajirao Mastani

P.S.—The film was dedicated to his parents, Lady Popo and S. Lady Popo is his dog but did S mean Salman Khan?