Bajirao Mastani (2015)

Interesting facts

• Awards: 1 · Nominations: 0. Including: Filmfare Award for Best Film

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.

Production

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.

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".

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.

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.

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.

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