Bajirao Mastani is a celebration of magnificent obsession — Bajirao’s obsession with his beloved Mastani, and director Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s obsession with the 17th-century Peshwa and his doomed love story. Sanjay has nurtured and sculpted this film for 12 years. It is based on the book Rau by Marathi novelist NS Inamdar. But it begins with a disclaimer, which states that the film isn’t professing to be historically accurate.
Bajirao Mastani plays out a like an operatic, swooning, feverish love poem. It is also Sanjay’s homage to one of Indian cinema’s greatest love stories — Mughal-e-Azam. Once again, statesmanship gets in the way of grand passion. A proud, battle-scarred leader is felled by an uncontainable emotion. Bhansali instantly throws you into Bajirao’s story — even before the opening titles, he has been established as a superlative warrior and shrewd politician. Sanjay is Hindi cinema’s most opulent artist and each frame is designed for beauty.