Like all Sanjay Leela Bhansali films, this one is grand.
The music is given by Bhansali himself. And Pinga, the song, truly does stand out. But the rest of the music is not memorable.
As an experience, it is complete. When you leave that theatre, you carry back a story. That travels with you. Which is what good story telling is all about. If you are like me, you will also cry in some parts.
Thankfully, the movie completely underplays the mush and focuses on the political milieu that led to the tragedy of the love story.
Ranvir: What a performer! When I entered the movie, the thought in head was that the hero was a casting mistake. But 10 minutes into the movie, I knew it wasn't. This man *was* the character.
The casting is, in fact, perfect. Every single actor does justice to the character. And every character does justice to its existence. Like a chess board, the pieces are balanced, their juxtaposition carefully crafted, their interplay, mesmerising like a dance sequence.
Priyanka Chopra and Deepika are both perfect. No surprises there.
But what totally, completely blew me away was the background score. From traditional Indian beats to the final battle - where Western classical music was used. If you close your eyes, you will not know that you are sitting in a Hindi film.
And I would especially like to mention the use of light in at least 2 sequences - the battle of Bundelkhand and the imprisonment of Deepika at the end. In both places, light was used to generate an effect of its own.
At the editing table, I can only imagine the agony of the person who would be responsible for cutting out pieces with so much beauty. They made one mistake though - Ranvir positively did not need to sing and dance. No really, that song is an eyesore. The music, choreography, the whole thing.. its 5 minutes of pure torture. The concluding sequence in the Narmada river which is a Ranvir solo also should have been edited to a much shorter duration.
A Bhansali film is an extravaganza - a sort of feast for the senses and the heart. The entire experience of Navarasa. It manages to weave a coherent story. And tell it well.
When your heart goes out to the man who, in spite of being the most powerful man in the Maratha Empire, cannot get a name for his son. When you look at a woman saying "Khuda Hafiz" to her child for the last time.. and something inside you snaps, you know you have taken your heart to the Adventure Park, and treated it to the roller coaster ride.
This one is a must watch! For adults only. Children not recommended.
