Bajirao Mastani is a 2015 Indian Hindi-language epic historical romantic tragedy film directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, who co-produced it with Eros International and composed its soundtrack. The film stars Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra with Tanvi Azmi, Vaibhav Tatwawaadi, Milind Soman, Mahesh Manjrekar and Aditya Pancholi in supporting roles. Based on Nagnath S. Inamdar's Marathi novel Rau, Bajirao Mastani narrates the story of the Maratha Peshwa Bajirao I (1700–1740) and his second wife, Mastani.
Conceived as early as the 1990s, Bhansali announced the film in 2003 but production was delayed several times due to its changing cast. A passion project for Bhansali, Bajirao Mastani spent over a decade in development hell before being revived in 2014. Extensive research was done before moving into pre-production, which required the creation of twenty-two highly detailed sets, and numerous costumes and props to strengthen its opulence and high production value. Principal photography took place on sets constructed in Film City, with some portions being filmed on location. Visual effects and CGI were used in post-production to enhance a number of scenes.
Bajirao Mastani was released on 18 December 2015 and received widespread acclaim with praise for Bhansali's direction, various technical achievements, and the performances of the cast. The film has also been noted for its scale, grandeur and attention to detail. Recipient of several accolades, Bajirao Mastani won 7 National Film Awards, including Best Direction (Bhansali) and Best Supporting Actress (Azmi). The film received a leading 14 nominations at the 61st Filmfare Awards, including Best Actress (Padukone) and Best Supporting Actress (Azmi), and won a leading 9 awards, including Best Film, Best Director (Bhansali), Best Actor (Singh) and Best Supporting Actress (Chopra). At the Zee Cine Awards, Singh won Best Actor – Male (Critics) and Padukone won Best Actor – Female.
Commercially, the film was successful at the box office, grossing over 356.2 crore against the budget of 145 crore, thus becoming the 4th highest grossing Hindi film of 2015.
Plot In 1720, following the death of Peshwa Balaji Vishwanath, the court of Maratha Chhatrapati Shahu debates appointing a successor. Ambaji Pant Purandare nominates Vishwanath's young son, Bajirao, who demonstrates his tactical intelligence in a court test and is officially appointed the new Peshwa.
Ten years later, Bajirao's chief consort, Kashibai, is visited by her widowed friend Bhanu, whose husband was executed by Bajirao for espionage. Bitter and grieving, Bhanu curses Kashibai, predicting that she too will one day yearn for her husband's presence. Meanwhile, during a military campaign in Sironj, Bajirao is approached by a military envoy from Bundelkhand seeking assistance against invading forces. The envoy reveals herself to be Mastani, the warrior-princess daughter of the Hindu Rajput King Chhatrasal and his Persian Muslim consort, Ruhaani Bai. Impressed by her battlefield valor, Bajirao joins the defense and successfully repels the invaders. During the subsequent Holi celebrations, Bajirao and Mastani fall in love. Before departing, Bajirao gifts her his personal dagger, unaware that in Rajput tradition, this gesture symbolizes a formal marriage proposal. Returning to Pune, a joyful Kashibai welcomes him to their newly constructed palace, Shaniwar Wada, showcasing the Aina Mahal (Hall of Mirrors), which allows her to view his chambers from her balcony.
Driven by her devotion, Mastani arrives in Pune to claim her place as Bajirao's wife. However, Bajirao's conservative mother, Radhabai, and brother, Chimaji Appa, strongly object to her Muslim lineage. Radhabai denies her entry into the main palace and humiliates her by placing her in quarters reserved for courtesans. Mastani stoically accepts the mistreatment and publicly appeals to Chhatrapati Shahu’s court to be recognized as Bajirao's consort. Bajirao initially warns Mastani that his political duties and first marriage mean she will face continuous social ostracization, but moved by her unwavering commitment, he officially accepts her as his second wife. He then departs to secure a crucial non-aggression pact with the Nizam of Hyderabad, ensuring the stability of the Maratha Confederacy.
Upon his return, Bajirao finds both Kashibai and Mastani pregnant. That night, Kashibai looks through the Aina Mahal and witnesses Bajirao embracing Mastani. Distraught by the betrayal, she retreats to her hometown, returning months later with her newborn son, Raghunath Rao. Mastani also gives birth to a boy, whom they name Krishna Rao. When the orthodox Brahmin priests refuse to perform a Hindu naming ceremony for a child born of a Muslim mother, a defiant Bajirao declares his son will be raised as a Muslim named Shamsher Bahadur.
A few years later, Bajirao moves Mastani and Shamsher into a newly built wing at Shaniwar Wada. This decision enrages his eldest son, Nana Saheb, who has returned from his studies in Satara harboring a deep resentment toward Mastani. During a festival, Kashibai uncovers a court conspiracy to assassinate Mastani and Shamsher. She immediately alerts Bajirao, who intercepts the attackers and moves Mastani to a separate palace for her safety.
Summoned to suppress a rebellion led by the Nizam's son, Nasir Jung, Bajirao seeks Kashibai's blessings before marching into battle, as required by military custom. Kashibai performs the ritual but calmly informs him that his infidelity has permanently broken her heart and stripped away her pride. She banishes him from her personal chambers forever.
Once Bajirao departs for the battlefield, Nana Saheb and Radhabai exploit his absence by placing Mastani and Shamsher in solitary confinement. Upon learning of his family's treachery, an emotionally shattered Bajirao defeats Nasir Jung in combat but suffers a severe psychological and physical breakdown, developing a terminal fever. Stationed at a riverside military camp, his health rapidly fails. Kashibai arrives to nurse him and sends an urgent letter ordering Nana Saheb to release Mastani, realizing only her presence can save him. Nana Saheb intercepts the command, releasing only the young Shamsher while keeping Mastani chained. Delirious with high fever and hallucinating, Bajirao dies on the riverbank, while an imprisoned Mastani passes away at the exact same moment in her cell.
Cast The cast has been listed below:
Production Development
Sanjay Leela Bhansali had conceived the historical romance about Maratha Peshwa Bajirao and his second wife Mastani even before he had directed his first feature Khamoshi: The Musical in 1996. Several other directors such as Muzaffar Ali, Manmohan Desai and Kamal Amrohi had tried to make a film about the two historical figures but they were never made. Bhansali had intended to make Bajirao Mastani after the release of Devdas (2002) and had officially announced it in 2003, with filming scheduled to begin in May 2004. The film, however, was shelved indefinitely. Reports about a possible revival had made headlines ever since; Bhansali had planned to revive it every other year but the project never came to fruition. In an interview with The Telegraph, Bhansali spoke about his intention to make Bajirao Mastani after finishing every film he made in-between, saying "I kept trying to revive it over and over again, but if there is one thing that filmmaking has taught me, it's that every film has its own destiny. And I strongly believe that the souls of ... Bajirao, Mastani and Kashibai wanted us to make this film only now." In the process, the film became a passion project for him.
After spending eleven years in development hell, Bhansali revived the project in 2014; the film was reported to be an adaptation of the Marathi-language novel Rau (1976) by Nagnath S. Inamdar. After the project was shelved, Bhansali said he struggled to put the film together and that he considered the project impossible to make. Nevertheless, he clung to his ambition to make the film someday, saying, "there is magic to it". Some film industry professionals believed it would never be made, calling it "jinxed". Bhansali always believed in the project, assuring himself the script was so powerful he had to make it one day. He told The Telegraph, "Honestly, I want very few things in life ... so I know that I am resilient enough to get them all! Deep down, I kept asking for the universe to let me make this film. When you dream very genuinely, then I believe you also get the power to fulfill it. In pursuing Bajirao Mastani, I have been resilient and very focused. I have sacrificed a lot of things".
Primarily known for making romantic dramas, Bhansali was intrigued about the romance between "two people who defied everything, just to be in love with each other", and was excited to tell a 200-year-old story. He wanted to show the relationship between Bajirao and Mastani because it was rarely depicted in history books, and little was known about it. He had long admired the Maratha backdrop and the different religions of the protagonistsBajirao was Hindu and Mastani was Muslimwhich further drove his interest towards knowing more and telling the story. He saw it as a chance to comment on religion and love, saying, "In those times, people were offended by the same things that offend them today. Through this film, I want to show that love is the greatest religion."
Prakash R. Kapadia wrote the screenplay. The makers acquired the rights of the novel and worked with historian Ninad Bedekar. Kapadia said writing the screenplay was a difficult task and a huge responsibility considering the historical context. Kapadia and Bhansali had consistently worked on the script since its conception, refining several aspects of the film. Considering the script was written twelve years before, several changes were made to it, such as the decreasing the length and increasing the pace to suit the modern audiences. Although adapted from the novel, the romance between the film's protagonists has not been well documented in history books or archives and several versions of the story exist. Many cinematic liberties were taken to build drama and highlight incidents.
Casting Bhansali originally wanted to repeat his Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999) pairing of Salman Khan with Aishwarya Rai for the eponymous roles, but could not cast them together after their highly publicised break-up. Khan then tried to suggest his then-girlfriend Katrina Kaif for the role of Mastani but things did not materialise. When the film was finally announced in 2003, Bhansali had cast Khan and Kareena Kapoor in the titular roles, with Rani Mukerji playing Baji Rao's first wife Kashibai. However, the idea was scrapped when Khan and Kapoor signed other films together. Bhansali wanted to be the first director to showcase their pairing. Hence, the film was shelved and Bhansali went on to direct other films.
Over the following 10 years, media speculation about the production and casting of Bajirao Mastani continued. After the film was revived in 2014, reports of Ajay Devgn and Deepika Padukone being approached for the film made headlines in February. Devgn dropped out of the film, however, due to differences with Bhansali about several terms of his contract, such as dates and remuneration. Bhansali offered the role to Sushant Singh Rajput, but he had to turn down the role over scheduling issues. The next month, it was reported that Ranveer Singh was in talks to play Bajirao. The same month, reports suggested Priyanka Chopra was cast to play Kashibai, Bajirao's first wife. In July 2014, it was officially confirmed that Singh, Padukone and Chopra were finalised to play the principal roles.