Padmaavati – Oops!!! – “Padmaavat” –The “I” has fallen down. PK Verdict: Silver Plus 3.5*s

Padmaavati – Oops!!! – “Padmaavat” –The “I” has fallen down.

The “I” has fallen down. So has the intellect of Karni Sena who without witnessing
what they are fighting for; will fall flat on their face when they will witness
the valor of Padmaavat. Something they certainly boast about but fail to show
with their display of common sense. No Rajput would be silly enough to take the
country on ransom for one film that is work of fiction. Karni sena indeed is
those bunch of frogs who deny to jump out of B.C and crossover into A.D. least what
it does is, the time leaves them behind. The film releases and they would not
be able to do anything much about it. The Supreme Court Decision gave them the
taste of democracy which they were not aware it is present. They should be
thankful to Sanjay Leela Bhansali for bringing Padmaavati in A.D. era and
making people witness the story that echoes Rajput valor, the magnum sacrifice
that created the history and will only take the legacy of Rani Padmavati ahead
to the further generations through the eyes of Cinema. Cheery on the Cake is
Padmaavati is made by Sanjay Leela Bhansali – Man who doesn’t need any
introduction for the magnum opuses he delivers.

Padmaavat is one such magnum opus that delivers. It makes
you love with the person you would like to hate “Allaudin Khilji” essayed by
Ranveer Singh by his sheer performance. It is a feast to your eyes watching
this beast. The Beast is at its best. The ease at which he delivers his
performance outshines Shahid Kapoor right there. Shahid Kapoor plays the King
of Mewar Raja Maharawal Ratan Singh who has a long name but a very short fame
in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmaavat. Shahid Kapoor who is a stellar performer
plays Ratan Singh with ease in the limited bandwidth role. The role is not well
sketched for him to portray much or the role of Khilji overpowers everything.
Infact, if the makers would have titled the film “Khilji” it would have done
less harm to them than naming it “Padmaavati”. The film definitely belongs to
Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone in spite of not having a scene together;
there chemistry is right there on screen. Shahid Kapoor’s character just
becomes a mere scapegoat.

Deepika Padukone as Rani Padmaavati is indeed the queen of
Bollywood who takes responsibility in her act, she herself plays Magnum in
Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Magnum opus Padmaavat and strives hard to stand in
front of the beast Khilji without actually coming in front of him. The war is
between these two souls.

The film opens and the beast Ranveer Singh welcomes you with
an ostrich and the conversation with his Father in Law to be; claims the
character Allaudin Khilji, vows for. Anything “Nayab” unique in the world he
keeps his hands on, he owns by all his means. Up next you come across the
introduction of Deepika in singhal. Her entrance is quite contemporary leaving
you awestruck if this is she you are claiming to be Padmaavati. Not to forget,
the place is Singhal (Sri-Lanka) and she is not in Rajasthan yet. It takes a
while to get this detailing right. However, the execution may mislead to many.
This is the place where Ratan Singh had come to hunt some Ratan’s from Chittor and
cupid strikes right in his heart. It is love at first sight and soon Padmaavati
becomes Rani Padmaavati and screen shines with the Ghoomar Performance. Ghoomar
is a visual treat, the poise Deepika brings in, the grace with which she
performs, the tradition it rings in, it leaves you mesmerized.

The action begins post Ghoomar and it goes on making you
wait for the interval it gets that long and captive at the same moment. The
film is engaging and you are out there sitting tight on your seat seeing things
move fast. The level of obsession in Khilji outgrows everything to win over
Padmaavati. The war begins, Khilji deceives, Rajput speak ethics, war of words occurs.
You are back from the interval and you see the same thing going on.

The execution is at which it happens though magnum yet nothing
new that comes out of a Sanjay Leela Bhansali film. Problem with a Sanjay Leela
Bhansali film is that they compete with his own work, where each time we expect
his Magnum Opus to be grand, grander, grandiose beyond a point this has not
elevated in vertical dimension but horizontally yes. Padmaavat is great but not
greater than his previous works. The layering looks the same, standard format.
What Padmaavat lacks is also the shaping of the central supporting characters.
Tanvi Azmi in Bajirao Mastani, Supriya Pathak and Richha Chhada in Ram Leela, Kirron
Kher and Milind Gunaji in Devdas they all stand out stongly. In Padmaavat, it
is just Deepika and Ranveer let alone the King Shahid Kapoor. The add-ons Aditi
Rao Hydari has little to do, easy on eyes yet doesn’t leave any remarkable performance
because the role is not sketched that far. Same is the case with Jim Sarabh who
probably has more footage than Shahid Kapoor, plays a one down beast to Ranveer
Singh who is awestruck to him showcasing his tendencies loud, is indeed a good caricature
that gives you some decent laughs. Anupriya Goenka who plays Nagmati Ratan Singh’s
first wife is the character not well defined. Hence, Padmaavat doesn’t really
outshines Bhansali’s earlier work and it just becomes his mere next film.

Background score of the film is brilliant, however, the song
album has nothing great to rave about apart from Ghoomar. Ghoomar is a complete
treat. Ek Dil Ek Jaan goes well in the movie. Khalbali seems to be revived from
his own creation Malhari of Bajirao Mastani. In Bajirao Mastani, Pinga revolved
around Dola re from Devdas. Sanjay Leela Bhansali is revolving and reviving his
own work. We only hope we get to see something new that leaves us awestruck
than just another film. Same is the case with the dialogues, his earlier films
did leave an impact creating a mark for characters. Padmaavat lacks good
dialogues. Shahid Kapoor’s character probably could have shined with less
spoken but best spoken, have it been he would have given some dialogues.

The million-dollar question, the sage who passes on the
message to Khilji about Padmavati’s existence. How did he enter into the
confined room where Love birds were chirping? The king is surrounded by
soldiers and the sage was not part of the palace. More than the “How” the
mystery remains on “Why” did he enter.

The motive? Any answers. Do write back.

Only wish the “I” of Sanjay Leela Bhansali would have worked
to have these answers in place than taking audiences “I” for a ride in what
they call cinematic liberty.

The film nevertheless has all what it takes to be a Sanjay
Leela Bhansali film. Worth a dekho to dive into the fictional history and
witness the drama at a scale in cinemas near you.

PK Verdict: Silver Plus 3.5*s