Jaanemonth: Bajirao Mastani

Bajirao Mastani (2015) is a big, sweeping historical epic, which means that viewers can expect grand battles, even grander passions, love, needless tragedy, and plenty of stupid vows.  And of course it delivers.  However, Bajirao and Mastani are unusual tragic protagonists, so there's a bit of a twist.

Bajirao (Ranveer Singh) is the Peshwa, or Prime Minsiter, of the Maratha Empire.  He became Peshwa at the age of twenty, and while he's quite young for the role, he's also a brilliant military leader, skilled diplomat, and clever politician.  Bajirao is married to Kashibai (Priyanka Chopra), who is beautiful, devoted, and perhaps a bit insecure.  They also have a young son, Nana, who conveniently disappears from the narrative for a while.

On the road to Sironja, Bajirao's troops are approached by an emissary from nearby Bundelkhand, asking for help against an invading army.  Bajirao refuses, until he discovers that the emissary is actual factual warrior princess Mastani (Deepika Padukone), daughter of the king of Bundelkhand.  Seeing Mastani's courage, determination, and fighting skills in action, he agrees to make a detour.

During the battle, Bajirao sees Mastani lunging in his direction, sword in hand, and he strikes out of instinct, only to discover that an enemy soldier was sneaking up behind him and Mastani just saved his life.  The battle has been won, and Bajirao carries a wounded Mastani to safety in dramatic fashion.  he stays in Bundelkhand long enough to celebrate Holi, and frequently visits Mastani, using his dagger to cauterize her wound.  Then he gives her the dagger, which turns out to be his first mistake.

It's tradition in Bundelkhund that when a man gives a woman his dagger, it's considered a proxy marriage.  Mastani knows that this isn't the custom in Maratha, but she still considers the gift a valid marriage, and she travels to Bajirao's home in Pune to join her husband.  

In Pune, Mastani meets Bajirao's mother Radhabai (Tanvi Azmi), who isn't allowing this Muslim Rajput woman anywhere near her son.  She goes out of her way to be as cruel as possible, sending Mastani to stay in the courtesans' quarters and humiliating her whenever possible.  That is definitely a mistake; Mastani uses her new living quarters to perform a dance for the court, which is how Bajirao discovers that she's there.  He asks her to meet.

Radhabai continues to try to humiliate Mastani, proclaiming that she's been accepted as the new court dancer. Bajirao is having none of it; he won't have a guest treated that way, let alone the woman who saved his life.  And after he discovers why she's there, he tells Mastani that Kashibai will always be the first wife, and that the court will never accept her, but if she is willing to accept her situation, he will accept her as his second wife.  

Bajirao tells Mastani that they need to stay apart until he explains the situation to Kashibai.  It's not the easiest conversation to have, though, and Radhabai and others in the family keep disrupting his communication with Mastani.  They tell her that he's ill and won't see anyone, prompting a late night visit to check on him, which leads to Kashibai learning the secret in the most painful way possible.

And so it goes.  Bajirao is frequently away at war, and despite his best efforts, the court is actively terrible to Mastani whenever possible.  Kashibai strives for the bare minimum of civility, but she's clearly deeply hurt by the situation.  Despite that, both wives give birth to sons within a few months of each other.  

And speaking of sons, Kashibai's oldest son Nana returns, now an adult and played by Ayush Tandon, and he hates Mastani even more than Radhabai does.  Aftar an assassination attempt on Mastani that is only foiled by a timely warning from Kashibai (and Mastani's own skill with a blade) Bajirao has had enough.  He declares that his price to remain Peshwa is that the court accept both his wives.  They don't,. so he steps down.

That's a problem for Maratha, since the empire is now being threatened by the new Nawab of Hyderabad.  After much pleading, Bajirao agrees to fight one last battle.  And basically the moment he's out of sight, Nana and Radhabai have Mastani arrested and chained up in a tower somewhere, which means everybody's made their last mistake, and tragedy is pretty much inevitable.

In tragedy as explained in High School English classes, the tragic hero is basically virtuous but with a tragic flaw that leads to their downfall.  That's not really what happens here; Bajirao and Mastani aren't exactly blameless, they both try very hard to find a compromise that's at least livable for everyone, and they are instead met with constant, unrelenting, and downright cruel and petty hostility from nearly everyone.  The real tragedy here is that Bajirao's family are such jerks.

That is not a flaw in the movie, however.  Bajirao Mastani hits all of the "historical epic" notes almost perfectly.  The sets, costumes, and actors are gorgeous, the battles are big, and the emotions are even bigger.  It's a very strong cast at the top of their game, and that makes it all the more impressive when Priyanka Chopra manages to steal the entire movie.  Her Kashibai is the most complex, and probably the most admirable character in the entire movie, torn between the desire to see her husband happy and her pain at apparently being replaced.  Kashibai is smart enough to know that her name is not going to be in the title, and it's heartbreaking to see her realize that.