Padmaavat Movie Review

At the 64th Filmfare Awards, “Padmaavat” received 18 nominations, including Best Film, Best Director (Bhansali), Best Actress (Padukone), and Best Actor (Singh). It won four awards, including Best Actor (Critics) for Singh and Best Music Director for Bhansali. Additionally, the film won three National Film Awards, including Best Music Direction for Bhansali.

Story

In 13th-century Afghanistan, Jalal-ud-din Khilji plans to seize the Delhi throne. His nephew, Alauddin Khilji, marries Jalaluddin’s daughter, Mehrunisa, despite being caught in an adulterous act. Alauddin becomes a lead general in Jalaluddin’s army.

In Singhal, Princess Padmavati accidentally injures Maharawal Ratan Singh of Mewar while hunting. As she treats him, they fall in love and marry.

Alauddin conquers Delhi after killing Jalaluddin and becomes Sultan, aided by his close ally Malik Kafur. Meanwhile, Raghav Chetan, a banished royal priest from Mewar, informs Alauddin of Padmavati’s beauty, prompting Alauddin to lay siege to Chittor. After tricking Ratan Singh into captivity, Padmavati agrees to visit Alauddin under conditions, leading to a rescue mission where Ratan is freed.

During the final confrontation, Ratan Singh is killed dishonorably by Kafur. Despite capturing Chittor, Alauddin’s victory is hollow as Padmavati and the Rajput women commit jauhar (mass self-immolation), leaving Alauddin’s quest unfulfilled and enraging him further.

Main Casts

Production

An adaptation of Malik Muhammad Jayasi’s epic “Padmavat” (1540), Sanjay Leela Bhansali had envisioned a film version for a decade. He first worked on a television adaptation as an assistant editor for Shyam Benegal’s series “Bharat Ek Khoj” (1988), which included an episode about Padmaavat featuring Om Puri as Alauddin Khilji. In 2008, Bhansali produced an opera version in Paris, which inspired him to start working on the film adaptation.

“Padmaavat” also drew inspiration from earlier adaptations of the epic, including Bengali literary works by Kshirode Prasad Vidyavinode (1906) and Abanindranath Tagore (1909), the Tamil film “Chittoor Rani Padmini” (1963), and the Hindi film “Maharani Padmini” (1964).

Pre-production for the film began in July 2016. That same month, playback singer Shreya Ghoshal tweeted about recording a song composed by Bhansali for the film. Media outlets speculated that Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh, who had starred in Bhansali’s “Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela” (2013) and “Bajirao Mastani” (2015), were set to play Rani Padmavati and Alauddin Khilji. In October 2016, it was confirmed that Bhansali would collaborate with Viacom 18 Motion Pictures to produce the film, with Singh and Padukone alongside Shahid Kapoor as Rawal Ratan Singh in the lead roles.

Box Office