Tag Archives: Bajirao Mastani

Best of Bollywood 2015 (10+1list)

Best of Bollywood 2015.

written by Souranath Banerjee

Bollywood cinema essentially means films made in Hindi language, generally produced and distributed in and around the Bombay Film Industry.

Last year 2015, according to me, was a good year for Bollywood.

Films, some of them of finest quality have been made or released, which successfully maintained the thin line between aesthetics and entertainment, and kept both the critics and the audience content.

And so, here is the list of Best of Bollywood 2015. Hope you agree with me on this. (If not, then let’s at least disagree on it)

10. Drishyam

Film Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuuX2j14NBg

Drishyam-posterA thrilling tale of a common man who by his intellect and imagination tricked everyone in order to save his family.

Directed by Nishikant Kamat, a south remake starring Ajay DevgnShriya Saran and Tabu.

A thriller that keeps you on the edges of your seat and doesn’t reveal the suspense till the very last shot of the film.

9. Bajrangi Bhaijaan

Film Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyX4toD395U

Bajrangi-Bhaijaan-posterA Salman Khan film, that has a realistic story line, enough scope for acting and most importantly high on emotions and less on dramabazi!

Directed by Kabir Khan, this one is about a big hearted man who went all the way to Pakistan to unite a cute little girl (who is also mute) with her parents.   

A perfect family entertainment clubbed with fun-filled sentiments.

8. Tanu Weds Manu Returns

Film Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGGmyaurjAI

tanu-weds-manu-returns-poster1With a double role (playing the sexy Tanu and the tomboyish Datto) Kangana Ranaut yet again shows that she is currently THE best actress in Bollywood.

(Click for the review)

Directed by Aanand Rai and written by Himanshu Sharma Tanu Weds Manu Returns guarantees a smile on the audiences face as they leave the theaters. And believe me that’s a huge achievement. 

7. Nh10

Film Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9icNqWlylw

nh10-poster1A perfect romantic trip turns into a nightmare.

(Click for the review)

Directed by Navdeep Singh, this is one hard hitting thriller where a urban woman experiences the brutal face of rural India, as she unintentionally becomes involved in a case of honor killing.

Raw, edgy, gritty and very much realistic, and undoubtedly Anushka Sharma‘s best performance till date.

6. Bajirao Mastani

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHOc-4D7MjY

Bajirao-Mastani-poster2A take on the life of Baji Rao Ballal Balaji Bhat, a Maratha general of the early 1700!

(Click for the review)

Directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, there are rarely any Bollywood films (if any) that are so pleasing to your eyes that the story, content and characters almost get sidetracked by the sheer beauty of each and every frame.

5. Margarita, with a Straw

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YORjJiWBxAg

Margarita-with-a-Straw-posterDirected by Shonali Bose and Nilesh Maniyar this is an exceptional film about a young girl with cerebral palsy who is not afraid to fall in love!

(Click for the review)

Kalki Koechlin – her innocence, her vulnerability, her dialogue delivery, her body language, expressions, her smile – she is the reason to watch this film.

4. Talvar

Film Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQNMsw8Ljjc

Talvar-Poster2Directed by Meghna Gulzar, this one is a well researched version of the Noida Double Murder Case of 2008, also known as the Aarushi-Hemraj murder case.

(Click for the review)

A gripping tale that often makes it difficult for the audience to remember that after all, it’s a fictional representation of the dismal crime and its aftermath.

3. Piku

Film Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeiKUlUUNQ8

piku-poster1Directed by Shoojit Sircar, one of the best entertaining films of the year, emotional, real and so much fun.

(Click for the review)

Amitabh Bachchan as the selfish constipated dad,  Deepika Padukone as the devotedly caring yet tired of taking-care-of daughter and Irrfan Khan as the suitable suitor (perhaps).

2. Titli

Film Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOqiQiMkXDA

titliA family whose family-business is car-jacking, often violently abusing the passengers and looting their valuables. The youngest member of this family is named Titli, and this is his story of freedom.

(Click for the review)

Superbly directed by Kanu Behl, the film even got a nomination at the Cannes Film Festival!

  1. Masaan

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVZzYa0MxM8

masaan-posterBrilliantly directed by Neeraj Ghaywan, there is a certain honesty about Masaan that eventually grows on you and within it’s 100 min screen time, the film compels you to relate to it’s characters.

(Click for the review)

Shot in Varanasi, stories and incidents are threaded together like precious little pearls and the thread being the holy Ganges!

and (The ‘+1′ film is not necessarily the best but certainly the most crazy one. A must watch).

+1. Manjhi: The Mountain Man

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9KAoTQlEWs

mountain-man-poster-1Directed by Ketan Mehta,  a brilliant biopic of Dashrath Manjhi, a man who single-handedly (with only a hammer and a chisel) sliced open the mountain to make a passage through it, reducing the distance from his village to the nearest hospital to minimal.

(Click for the review)

It took him 22 years but he made the impossible possible.

Poster courtesy:  www.bollywoodmdb.com

Bajirao Mastani (2015)

Bajirao Mastani review.

written by Souranath Banerjee

‘Cheeteh ki chaal, Baaz ki naazar aur Baji Rao ki talvar par sandeh nahi karte, kabhi bhi maat de sakti hai.’

My Ratings: 4/5.

Almost twelve years back in 2003, director Sanjay Leela Bhansali wanted to make a film Bajirao Mastani with Salman Khan and Bajirao-Mastani-poster2Aishwarya Rai in the lead roles. But fate had some other plans. 

Finally in 2015, the film was made, i may add very beautifully made, with a fresh cast, Ranveer SinghDeepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra.

Now, there are rarely any Bollywood films (if any) that are so pleasing to your eyes that the story, content and characters almost get sidetracked by the sheer beauty of each and every frame.

Bajirao Mastani is one such example of cinema.

Mr.Bhansali along with his cinematographer Sudeep Chatterjee and production designers Saloni DhatrakSriram Iyengar and Sujeet Sawant have managed to create stunning painting-like-shots (many Bajirao-Mastani-poster3of the frames in the film actually resembles classic paintings of famous Marathi painters) and have enthralled us with these great visuals through out the film.

And talking about the story of the film, (without going into the debate of how much historical authenticity it has), I would say it comes under the classic ‘doomed love story’ category, where love wins only through destruction of them who are in love!

Baji Rao Ballal Balaji Bhat, a great Maratha general of the early 1700, who though happily married and Hindu, falls in love with a charming half-muslim princess Mastani and eventually makes her his (second) wife.

But Baji Rao’s family (especially his mother and brother) are not too happy about this second marriage. So correspondingly, they humiliate Mastani and try to kill her a couple of times.

Bajirao-Mastani-poster7At the end, they do understand that ‘Baajirao Ne Mastani Se Mohabbat Ki Hai, Aiyashi Nahi’, but by that time it was too late!

Acting wise. superb performance by Ranveer Singh; his way of speaking Marathi, his body language as a warrior, his confident dialogue deliveries – basically he did look the part.

Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra also did great job, and played out the perfect love triangle scenario.

Even the secondary characters Tanvi Azmi (as mother), Milind Soman (as minister), Aditya Pancholi (as the rival), Vaibbhav Tatwawdi (as brother) and Mahesh Manjrekar (as Maratha King) – all were at their best.

The content is relatively simple but the presentation is creditable, a Bajirao-Mastani-poster4bit too loud often (specially the dialogues) but again, that’s the part of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s filmmaking style I guess.

A clever move to put a disclaimer in the very beginning of the film which basically said that the film doesn’t claim to be faithful to any historical facts; and then only did all the fuming historians calm down and concentrate on their popcorn tub.

Don’t forget the numerous elaborately choreographed dance sequences; decent musical score by Sanchit Balhara and Sanjay Leela Bhansali himself.

Do watch it in big screen to absorb the opulence and grandeur of this film.

P.S – Bajirao Mastani is banned in Pakistan since it is regarded as ‘a historical drama that is indirectly against Islam and Muslims.’ (No idea why or what that means).

Poster courtesy: www.muchask.netdailyroabox.comwww.bollywoodmdb.com