What a waste of time and effort in a nation where people starve and diseases ravage , where life lapses into the poverty and the paucity of the medieval world with depressing regularity, where everyday struggles are basic and involve survival, not merely human dignity, which comes a distant second. Must one look for statements and issues in everything? Nah, this is merely entertainment.
That apart, the films 's claim to authenticity are two, first, the Jayasi epic is its bedrock, history is largely silent about the story (though folklore is not) and second, its adherence to the times of pre electricity brightness, the dark and the light, the fires serves as symbols of what one knows the film's trajectory to be, as well as the only sources of light apart from the Sun and the Moon, all symbols for Bhansali, who must see himself as a poet in images, if not in letters! everything is thus muted, subtle.
The Khilji character is a monster, yes, but that too is not in your face. He is shown eating, the mannerism raw, he breaks the food apart with his bare hands, his appetites (all of them ) ravenous. However the camera focuses on him, not the food. Bhansali establishes that everything that the man covets, he must have, it is this that fuels his appetite for the elusive queen, the denial.
He is the better strategist, the better General, organises his forces better and inspires them to loyalty as well, the Rawal, in contrast, rules a tradition ridden nation, given to pomp and splendour, a tad complacent. Is it any wonder then that the Khilji won?
He is the better strategist, the better General, organises his forces better and inspires them to loyalty as well, the Rawal, in contrast, rules a tradition ridden nation, given to pomp and splendour, a tad complacent. Is it any wonder then that the Khilji won?
It's all very grandly, very well done, the Rawal who has the Queen , comes across as a cultured man, bound, a tad too much and perhaps foolishly, to the dictates of tradition, antiquated notions of honour , a code of conduct that his adversary will not adhere to, and a code that his Queen too finds perplexing. She is a foreigner to the land after all and understands better the laws of nature, where might is right and power is everything. Introduced as a hunter, ( reminiscent of the forest dwellers of 'Avatar) she is practical and forthright in her understanding of men and their motives. The Rawal, on the other hand seems hemmed in, chained to a tradition, a code of conduct conspicuous by its absence in the corridors of power. It's already dated, a thing of the past. He too is shown eating, the food served in silver bowls, several little dishes, each distinct, partaken of a morsel at a time, delicately!Perhaps civilization does this to one, as perhaps it corrupts others, institutionalising sentiment, alienating, dehumanizing. The metaphors abound, she comes from a kingdom that earth and water, he comes from one that's arid and hot, fire reigns. Those contrasts are drawn out, in the individuals who have imbibed them as well as the cultures that have fostered them.
Everything is fair in love and war, anything for success. Two contrasting worlds. the characters merely play their parts, including the Queen, who must die to uphold honour, not to do so would be an unimaginable disgrace.
The 'Ghoomer' song is a delight, showcasing not only the art form, but the scale and grandness of the set as well, Deepika's best moment!
The human element comes from Kafur, there's real emotion there. this character gets a brilliant introduction. A slave bought in the market, he is presented, veiled as a woman, as a "nayaab cheez" to khilji, who has just been robbed of another 'nayaab yakut' ( his could be the Kohenoor diamond that he did get as part of the loot from Deogiri, but one is not told so) Kafur is a vicious killer and an able general, but more importantly he becomes Khilji's most trusted aide and perhaps his lover. Does he love Khilji afterall? or is he merely a slave bound to wish fulfillment. The Actor's face falls everytime Khiji mentions his desire for Padmani, the author backed part superbly played out on screen. Kafur gets the best song too!
Bhansali has over the years created his own genreI in a film where one knows the entire trajectory beforehand, the possibilities are limited, despite that the Bhansali essentials are all there, the grandness, the costumes, the chandelier, the lights the Bhansalieque one lines. There's plenty to remind one of the jungles in 'Avatar', in the opening scenes with Deepika and the 'Game of Thrones' in the battle scenes and the Khilji courtroom in the latter half. Also as Ranvir runs through the battlements of Chittor in the Climax, does he conjure up an American footballer in the mind's eye...his multi layered shoulder guards do!
The fact that it's based on a poem would not be lost to those familiar with the Operatic world.The film is an Opera in another medium and perhaps for that reason lacks the intimacy of storytelling, or it may be that reducing a legend to the personal tragedies of the protagonists, always a difficult task, escaped Bhansali, in this telling.
Do watch it though, there's enough to keep one engaged and watch it in 3D , Do!
Missed this one on screen. it is perhaps, the softest of the songs in the album and could have added the human sentiment, the emotional content missing between the Rawal and his beauteous queen.
~Vinny
9/2/18
