Padmaavat is a 2018 Indian Hindi-language epic historical drama film directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Based on the epic poem of the same name by Malik Muhammad Jayasi, it stars Deepika Padukone as Rani Padmavati, a Sinhalese-born Rajput queen known for her beauty, wife of Maharawal Ratan Singh, played by Shahid Kapoor. Sultan Alauddin Khilji, played by Ranveer Singh, hears of her beauty and attacks her kingdom to enslave her. Aditi Rao Hydari, Jim Sarbh, Raza Murad, and Anupriya Goenka are featured in supporting roles.
With a production budget of –, Padmaavat is one of the most expensive Indian films ever made. Initially scheduled for release on 1 December 2017, the film faced numerous controversies. Amid violent protests, its release was indefinitely delayed. The Central Board of Film Certification later approved the film with few changes, which includes the addition of multiple disclaimers and a change from its original title Padmavati. It was rescheduled for release on 25 January 2018 in 2D, 3D and IMAX 3D formats, making it the first Indian film to be released in IMAX 3D.
Upon release, Padmaavat received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics, with praise for the visuals, costume design, cinematography, screenplay, soundtrack, and performances, but criticism for its pacing, runtime, and adherence to regressive patriarchal mores. Critics also disliked the portrayal of Khilji as a stereotypical evil Muslim king and Ratan Singh as the righteous Hindu king, which led to protests by the respective religious communities. Despite not being released in some states of India, it grossed over at the box office, becoming a major commercial success and the third highest-grossing Indian film of 2018.
At the 64th Filmfare Awards, Padmaavat received a leading 18 nominations, including Best Film, Best Director (both for Bhansali), Best Actress (Padukone) and Best Actor (Singh), and won 4, including Best Actor (Critics) (Singh) and Best Music Director (Bhansali). It also won 3 National Film Awards, including Best Music Direction (Bhansali).
Plot In the 13th century, Jalal-ud-din Khilji plots to seize the Delhi throne. His ambitious nephew, Alauddin Khilji, marries Jalal-ud-din's daughter, Mehrunisa. On their wedding night, Alauddin brutally kills a courtier who witnesses him committing adultery. Despite a horrified Mehrunisa learning of his ruthlessness, the marriage proceeds, and Alauddin is appointed a military commander. Concurrently, in the kingdom of Singhal, Princess Padmavati accidentally wounds Maharawal Ratan Singh, the Rajput ruler of Mewar, during a hunt. As she nurses him back to health, the two fall in love and are married with her father's blessing.
Jalal-ud-din successfully takes the Delhi throne and sends Alauddin to repel a Mongol invasion. Following his victory, Alauddin launches an unauthorized raid on Devagiri to expand his wealth and influence. Concerned by his rising ambition, Jalal-ud-din's advisors warn the Sultan. Jalal-ud-din travels to meet his nephew, gifting him an exceptionally skilled slave named Malik Kafur. Alauddin exploits the meeting, ordering Kafur and his generals to assassinate the Sultan and his ministers. Alauddin then returns to Delhi and declares himself the new Sultan, with Kafur rising to become his closest confidant and military general.
Padmavati accompanies Ratan Singh to Mewar, where the court priest, Raghav Chetan, is banished after being caught spying on the royal couple's intimate moments. Seeking revenge, Chetan travels to Delhi and describes Padmavati's extraordinary beauty to Alauddin. Driven by an obsessive desire to possess the world's most exceptional things, Alauddin demands Padmavati's presence. When the Rajputs refuse his invitation, an enraged Alauddin launches a military siege against the capital of Chittor.
After six months of a stale siege, Alauddin feigns a peace offering during the festival of Holi. He is granted entry into Chittor, where he requests to see Padmavati. Ratan Singh permits a brief glimpse through a system of mirrors without allowing Alauddin to see her face directly. Shortly after, Alauddin betrays his hosts, capturing Ratan Singh during a farewell protocol and extracting him to Delhi as a hostage.
To secure her husband's release, Padmavati agrees to travel to Delhi under strict conditions, including the execution of the treacherous Chetan and private access to Ratan Singh. Alauddin agrees. Meanwhile, Alauddin survives an assassination attempt by his own nephew, killing him when he tries to finish the job. Taking advantage of the distraction, Padmavati arrives in Delhi. Disguised Rajput soldiers launch a surprise ambush during the morning prayers. With the secret assistance of an empathetic Mehrunisa, Padmavati and Mewar's generals, Gora and Badal, successfully free Ratan Singh. Ratan encounters a wounded Alauddin but refuses to kill him, citing the Rajput code of honor against attacking an injured opponent. The Rajputs successfully cover the royal couple's escape, though Gora and Badal are killed in the skirmish.
A furious Alauddin imprisons Mehrunisa for treason and marches his entire army back to Chittor for a final assault. Outside the fortress walls, Ratan Singh and Alauddin engage in a fierce single duel. Ratan disarms the Sultan and prepares to deliver the final blow, but Malik Kafur dishonorably shoots Ratan in the back with arrows. As he dies, Ratan denounces the Khilji forces for their lack of chivalry.
With the Rajput army defeated, the Khilji forces breach the fort. Realizing that military defense has failed, the Rajput women, led by Padmavati, choose to protect their dignity over capture. They march into a massive, roaring pyre to commit Jauhar (mass self-immolation). Alauddin storms the inner palace only to find burning embers, turning his military conquest into a total psychological defeat.
Cast
Production Development An adaptation of Malik Muhammad Jayasi's epic Padmavat (1540), Sanjay Leela Bhansali had been planning a film adaptation for a decade. He first worked on a television adaptation as an assistant editor for Shyam Benegal's television series Bharat Ek Khoj (1988), based on Jawaharlal Nehru's The Discovery of India (1946), featuring an episode about Padmaavat starring Om Puri as Alauddin Khilji. In 2008, Bhansali produced an opera version in Paris, inspiring him to begin work on a film version. Padmaavat also took inspiration from other earlier adaptations of the epic, including Bengali literary adaptations from Kshirode Prasad Vidyavinode in 1906 and Abanindranath Tagore in 1909, the Tamil film Chittoor Rani Padmini (1963), and the Hindi film Maharani Padmini (1964).
Pre-production on the film began in July 2016. That same month, playback singer Shreya Ghoshal tweeted about performing a song composed by Bhansali for the film. Many media outlets speculated that Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh, who played the leads in Bhansali's Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela (2013) and Bajirao Mastani (2015), were finalised to play Rani Padmavati and Alauddin Khilji in the film. 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.
Casting
Padmaavat is the third collaboration between Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh with Sanjay Leela Bhansali. The trio had worked before in Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela (2013) and Bajirao Mastani (2015), while it is Kapoor's first film with the three. Their co-star from the previous films, Priyanka Chopra was also in consideration to play the title role.Priyanka Chopra offered another Sanjay Leela Bhansali film? . Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
Shah Rukh Khan was offered the role of Rawal Ratan Singh but felt it was not "meaty" enough and declined; failure to agree on his fee may have been a factor. Bhansali offered the role to Sushant Singh Rajput, but he had to turn down the role over scheduling issues. Shahid Kapoor was finally cast with an assurance of a good enough part and a hefty fee. 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 admitted that it had been one of the most physically and emotionally challenging roles of his career.
Ranveer Singh portrays the antagonist of the film, Alauddin Khilji, the first negative role of his career. Director Bhansali had given him books to read delving into the psyche of dark rulers of history such as Adolf Hitler, asserting that he had to completely forget who he was before he could play Khilji. Singh trained under Mustafa Ahmed to get into proper shape for the role. The actor worked out twice a day for six days a week. Playing Khilji affected Singh's personality and behaviour such that he had to see a psychiatrist to return to normal.
Jaya Bachchan recommended Aditi Rao Hydari's name to Bhansali for the role of Khilji's first wife, Mehrunisa. Bhansali cast Hydari over four other choices. She is the only member of the star cast who actually belongs to a royal lineage.
Raza Murad portrays Alauddin's paternal uncle and Khilji dynasty founder, Sultan Jalaluddin Khilji. Murad has earlier collaborated with Bhansali in Goliyon Ki Rasleela Ram-Leela and Bajirao Mastani. Jim Sarbh portrays Malik Kafur, a prominent eunuch slave-general of Alauddin Khilji. Sarbh learned horse-riding for the role.
On 25 October 2017, a video of the first song from the film, titled "Ghoomar", was released, in which a woman dressed like a queen appeared briefly. It was later revealed in a Twitter fan page of Sanjay Leela Bhansali Productions, that the woman is Maharawal Ratan Singh's first wife, Rani Nagmati, who is portrayed by Anupriya Goenka.
Budget Due to the costs mounted on the film by delay in the release, Box Office India declared the film's budget to be , which makes it the most expensive Hindi film and one of the most expensive Indian films ever made.
Costumes Delhi-based Rimple and Harpreet Narula designed Rani Padmavati's costume using traditional Gota embroidery work of Rajasthan. The border derives 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. 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, with special attention given to the turbans, one of which, featuring a 28-dye lehariya, was inspired by a turban to be found at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. The clothes for Ranveer Singh were based on travellers' accounts of the Turko-Persian influence on Indian clothing (Khilji was of Turko-Afghan heritage). The costumes for Aditi Rao Hydari, who plays Khilji's first wife Mehrunisa, incorporated Turkish, Afghan, Mongol and Ottoman elements to showcase Mehrunisa's Turkic origins. For both Singh and Hydari's costumes, extensive research was done on the clothing and textiles of the Turkish belt, from Afghanistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to Kazakhstan and to the Central Asian belt around Turkey.
Padukone's look for the "Ghoomar" song features intricate jewellery weighing up to designed by Tanishq featuring a triple Borla, Mathapatti and Bajuband which are traditional ornaments worn by Rajasthani women.