Deepika Padukone, Padmavati
Padmavati is a 2017 Indian epic period drama film directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, based on the epic poem Padmavat (1540) by Malik Muhammad Jayasi.[1][3] The film features Deepika Padukone in the title role as Rani Padmavati, alongside Shahid Kapoor as Maharawal Ratan Singh and Ranveer Singh as Sultan Alauddin Khilji, with Aditi Rao Hydari and Jim Sarbh in supporting roles. The film is scheduled for release in 3D on 1 December 2017.[4][5]
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Plot
The film is based on the legend of Rani Padmavati, a legendary Hindu Rajput queen, mentioned in Padmavat, an Avadhi language epic poem written by Sufi poet Malik Muhammad Jayasi in 1540.[1] According to Padmavat, she was the wife of Ratan Sen (called Rawal Ratan Singh in later legends), the Rajput ruler of Mewar. In 1303, Alauddin Khilji, the Turko-Afghan ruler of the Delhi Sultanate,[6] laid siege to the Chittor Fort in Rajputana. According to Padmavat, Khilji led the invasion motivated by his desire to capture Rani Padmavati. The men of the city stormed out in a final mortal sally to kill as many of the enemy before falling. Rani Padmavati is said to have committed jauhar (self-immolation) along with all the other women of the city to protect their honour and to avoid being captured by Khilji who finds an empty fortress, thus denied victory although Chittor "becomes Islam".
Cast
- Deepika Padukone as Padmavati – a 13th century[7] legendary Rajput queen, who was, according to Padmavat, the wife of Rajput king Ratan Singh (also known as Ratan Sen), the ruler of Mewar. The news of Padmavati's beauty reached Sultan Alauddin Khilji, who besieged Singh's capital, Chittor, motivated by his desire to capture the queen.
- Shahid Kapoor as Ratan Singh – the last Rajput ruler of the Guhila dynasty of the Kingdom of Mewar. He was defeated by Alauddin Khilji's forces during the siege of Chittor.
- Ranveer Singh as Alauddin Khilji – the Turko-Afghan ruler of the Delhi Sultanate.[6] He was the second and most powerful ruler of the Sultanate belonging to the Khilji dynasty.[8] He ascended the throne by murdering his paternal uncle and father-in-law, Sultan Jalaluddin Khilji.[9] According to Padmavat, Khilji laid siege to Chittor motivated by his desire to capture Ratan Singh's wife, Padamavati.
- Aditi Rao Hydari as Mehrunisa[10] – wife of Alauddin Khilji
- Raza Murad as Jalaluddin Khilji[11] – the founder and first Sultan of the Khilji dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate. He was deposed by his nephew and son-in-law Alauddin, who murdered his uncle to acquire the throne.[12]
- Jim Sarbh as Malik Kafur[13]– a prominent eunuch slave-general of Alauddin Khilji.[14]
- Anupriya Goenka as Nagmati[15] – the first wife and chief queen of Ratan Singh according to Padmavat.[16] Nagmati and her husband's second wife, Padmavati, didn't get along too well but they performed jauhar together after Alauddin Khilji attacked Chittor.[17]
Production
Pre-production on the film began in July 2016. That same month, playback singer Shreya Ghoshal tweeted about singing a song composed by Bhansali for the film.[18] Many media outlets speculated that Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone, who played the leads in Bhansali's Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela (2013) and Bajirao Mastani (2015), were finalized to play Alauddin Khilji and Rani Padmavati in the film. Their co-star from the previous films, Priyanka Chopra was also in consideration for playing the titular part.[19] In January 2017, it was reported that Bhansali had approached Chopra for a cameo appearance in the film.[20] However, in April 2017, Chopra denied her involvement in the film.[21]
In October 2016, it was announced that Bhansali would team up with Viacom 18 Motion Pictures to produce the film with Singh and Padukone along with Shahid Kapoor as Rawal Ratan Singh, playing the lead roles.[4]
On 31 October 2017, it was announced that Paramount Pictures will be distributing the film over all international territories outside India making this the first Bollywood film to be distributed by the studio.[22][23] It was announced that Prime Focus Limited will be taking on the task for rendering the 3D format of the film. The CEO of Viacom 18 Motion Pictures Ajit Andhare made the announcement about the film being one of the biggest Bollywood production and getting the biggest 3D release across India.[24]
Casting
Padmavati is the third collaboration between Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone with Sanjay Leela Bhansali. The trio had worked before in Goliyon Ki Rasleela Ram-Leela (2013) and Bajirao Mastani (2015), while it is Shahid's first film with the three.[25]
Shahid Kapoor plays Rajput king Maharawal Ratan Singh, the ruler of Mewar. For his role, Kapoor undertook rigorous training under trainer Samir Jaura and followed a strict diet for 40 days. He also learnt sword fighting and the basics of Mardani khel (a weapon based martial art) and admits that it has been one of the most physically and emotionally challenging roles of his career.[26] Kapoor also dismissed rumours that he and Ranveer Singh had a clash over the importance of their roles in the movie and it allegedly took a lot of effort from Bhansali to convince both of them to play their parts.[27]
Ranveer Singh portrays the antagonist of the film, Alauddin Khilji, the second and most powerful ruler of the Khilji dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate. This is the first time that the actor is playing a negative role. Director Sanjay Leela Bhansali had given Singh books to read delving into the psyche of dark rulers of history such as Hitler, asserting that Singh has to completely forget who he is before he can play Khilji. Said a source, "Ranveer is prepping his body language, mannerisms, diction and physique. He is holed up in his Goregaon apartment and has himself off from people. For many hours in the day, he transforms into Khilji working on his dialogues and diction."[28] Singh trained under Mustafa Ahmed, who works with actor Hrithik Roshan, to get into proper shape for the role. The actor worked out twice a day for six days a week, while training for Padmavati.[29]
On Jaya Bachchan's recommendation,[30] Aditi Rao Hydari was cast to play the fourth lead in the film and was paired opposite Ranveer Singh. She portrays Alauddin's wife, Mehrunisa.[10][31] Hydari is the only member of the star cast who actually belongs to a royal lineage.[32] "It's not a major role. When I signed on for Padmavati, I knew very well it was going to be a small part. But, Sanjay Leela Bhansali sir presents all his women so well," Aditi said. "In Goliyon Ki Raasleela - Ram-Leela, Richa Chadha had a brief role, but she made an impact. I am sure I will leave some impact in Padmavati. No one who works with Sanjay sir comes away without benefiting from the association."
Veteran actor Raza Murad portrays Alauddin's paternal uncle and father-in-law, Sultan Jalaluddin Khilji, whom Alauddin murdered to acquire the throne. Murad has earlier collaborated with Bhansali in Goliyon Ki Rasleela Ram-Leela and Bajirao Mastani.[33] Jim Sarbh portrays Malik Kafur, a prominent eunuch slave-general of Alauddin Khilji.[34] Sarbh learned horse-riding for the role.[35]
On 25 October 2017, the first song from the film titled Ghoomar was released. A woman, dressed like a queen, appeared in the song's video briefly, which left people wondering who she was. It was later revealed in a Twitter fanpage of Sanjay Leela Bhansali Productions, that the woman is Maharawal Ratan Singh’s first wife, Rani Nagmati, who is portrayed by Anupriya Goenka.[36]
Design
Delhi based Rimple and Harpreet Narula designed Rani Padmini’s costume using traditional Gota embroidery work of Rajasthan. The border, has been derived from the architectural details of Rajasthani palace windows and jharokhas and the odhnis have been styled in conventional ways which are still prevalent in the Mewar belt of Rajasthan.[37] The designer duo elaborated that the costume worn by Padukone in the final scene of the film features the tree of life motif and twisted gota embroidery and has a Kota dupatta with block printing. Padukone's dresses were made with Sinhalese influences, as the character of Padmavati hailed from Sri Lanka. The costumes for Shahid Kapoor were made from mulmul and cotton and special emphasis was given for preparing the turbans one of which featured a 28-dye lehariya, which was inspired from a turban that is placed in The Victoria and Albert Museum in London.[38] The clothes for Ranveer Singh were based on travellers' accounts on the Turko-Persian influence on Indian clothing[39] (Khilji was of Turko-Afghanheritage).[6]
It took 200 craftsmen who spent 600 days molding 400 kgs of gold for Padukone’s Rajasthani jewellery.[40] Padukone's look for the "Ghoomar" song features intricate jewellery weighing up to 3 kilograms designed by Tanishq featuring a triple Borla, Mathapatti and Bajuband which are traditional ornaments worn by the Rajasthani women.
Vipul Amar and Harsheen Arora of Delhi-based design house ‘The V Renaissance’ designed costumes for Rawal Ratan Singh and Alauddin Khilji, employing historical techniques to create the armours such as cuirboilli, sculpting, chiselling, and inlaying.[41] The armours used to be rested on mannequins and stored in vintage closet trunks and took a team of 40 workers 8 months to prepare.[42]
Soundtrack
| Padmavati | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by Sanjay Leela Bhansali | ||||
| Released | TBA | |||
| Genre | Feature film soundtrack | |||
| Language | Hindi Rajasthani | |||
| Label | T-Series | |||
| Sanjay Leela Bhansali chronology | ||||
| ||||
The film score is composed by Sanchit Balhara while the songs are composed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali. A. M. Turaz and Siddharth-Garima have penned down the lyrics for songs. Shreya Ghoshal has already rendered a song.[43][44] She will be singing four songs for the film. Padukone filmed a Ghoomar performance, a traditional Rajasthani folk dance, on a set that replicates the interior of Chittorgarh Fort.[45][46] The soundtrack will be released by T-Series. The first song "Ghoomar" was released on 25 October 2017.[47]
| Track listing | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Singer(s) | Length |
| 1. | "Ghoomar" | A. M. Turaz, Swaroop Khan | Sanjay Leela Bhansali | Shreya Ghoshal | 4:41 |
| 2. | "Ek Dil Ek Jaan" | A. M. Turaz | Sanjay Leela Bhansali | Shivam Pathak | 3:40 |
Release
The film is scheduled to be released in India on December 1, 2017 in conventional 2D as well as 3D. Paramount will handle the international release across 90 countries.[48]
Controversy
The film became a subject of controversy during production. There were allegations from groups such as the Shri Rajput Karni Sena, claiming that the film is depicting inaccurate facts, with activists vandalizing the sets of the film. However, a sting operation[49] conducted by an Indian news channel[50] showed that the activists had planted the controversies in order to extort money from the filmmakers. The vandalism resulted in broken mirrors installed in the Chittor Fort that were over 40 years old, as said by the Archaeological Survey of India.
In January 2017, a film set was vandalized. Several historians responded to the vandalism, with The Times of India reporting, "Sufi poet Jayasi made up the story that later got legend status, so Bhansali can't be threatened for taking creative licence with the tale, say historians".[51] Akhilesh Khandelwal, an Indian politician and ruling Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) member, made a Facebook post announcing a reward for anyone who attacks the director Sanjay Leela Bhansali with a shoe. The opposition Indian National Congresscondemned the post, demanding action be taken against Khandelwal for attempting to instigate an attack.[52] Bhansali was assaulted by the Karni Sena on a film set,[53] which led to a number of celebrities and public figures condemning the attack.[54] Forbes noted that it was part of a trend of Bollywood becoming the target of bullying and attacks from self-appointed censors and conservative zealots, comparing it to previous controversies involving Aamir Khan and Karan Johar.[55]
In March 2017, while the cast and crew were filming a scene in Masai plateau, Kolhapur at night, a mob of around 20–30 people armed with petrol bombs, stones and lathis charged and ablazed the set hurting animals which were present at the time of the incident and destroying several costumes. The attacks were believed to be staged as certain Rajput groups claimed that the film includes a dream sequence where Padmavati and Alauddin Khilji will be seen in an intimate position, a claim which the team rebuffed being in the film.[56] In October 2017, a Rangoli of the first poster released from the film, which reportedly took 48 hours to create, was destroyed by a group of around 100 people shouting religious slogans. Deepika Padukone condemned this action and express her anger on this issue on social media following which action was taken by the police authorities.[57]
The Karni Sena made threats of violence, reportedly threatening to burn down theatres if the film is released to audiences before it is shown to them for evaluation. Bhansali responded to the threats by reiterating that rumours of a romantic dream sequence between Padmini and Khilji are false, and that the film contains no such scene. In November 2017, Raj K. Purohit, an Indian politician and senior BJP member, called for the film to be banned. He stated: “How can a Rajput queen be shown dancing and without ghoonghat? It is against Rajput culture and pride. No community will be able to tolerate it.” He said he will meet Smriti Irani to seek action against the film.[58] Central Board of Film Certificationmember Arjun Gupta has petitioned the Home Minister to put Bhansali on trial for treason.[59] The Karni Sena have held protests, supported by politicians in the ruling BJP party. Historians have criticized the protests, such as Aditya Mukherjee, who called the protests "absurd", stating that, in "the contemporary period, there is no mention of this event, no accounts of Padmavati by Amir Khusrau, a prolific writer of the era and a courtier of Alauddin Khilji. This is misuse of both fiction and history. There is no historical evidence of this Padmavati event - this story is a poet's imagination". He referred to the controversy as "manufacturing of hurt sentiments clearly with an eye on politics".[60]
Threats have been made against Bhansali and lead actress Deepika Padukone, and riot police may be deployed at Indian cinemas.[61] The Karni Sena threatened to violently assault and mutilate Padokone, which Mumbai Police responded to by giving her special security.[62][61] Chatriya Samaj leader Thakur Abhishek Som made death threats against Bhansali and Padukone, announcing he would give a reward to anyone who beheads them
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