#Karni Sena expansion

[townpostin]

Kshatriya Karni Sena Expands, Names New Youth District President

Mohit Singh appointed as East Singhbhum Youth District President at Bhuiyandih event The Kshatriya Karni Sena Parivar Sangathan expanded its district-level organization, appointing a new youth leader. JAMSHEDPUR – At a special event in Bhuiyandih, Mohit Singh was unanimously chosen as the Youth District President for Karni Sena in East Singhbhum. The ceremony took place on Thursday evening at the…

[kerception]

From Padmavati to Padmaavat

     Disclaimer: I grew up watching Bhansali’s  Khamoshi, Black and Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam and obviously I love him for his opulence, his grandeur and the visual treat that he offers his audience. There is an excess that should be nauseating, yet it is decadent, that’s what I love about Bhansali.

      Over the years my politics has taken me further away from his interpretations, however my senses still thrive being fed his imagery. I don’t want to get into a whole lot of what has already been said about his new film (or the politics of meaningless protest by the Karni Sena). As a critique of the film, I’d like to offer something that sticks to the merits of the film. I want to focus on Padmaavat (the erstwhile queen Padmavati) as a piece of cinema.

     Bhansali does justice to the two major plot lines of the film, as he sets up the Khilji rule, led by the majestic Raza Murad (playing Jalaluddin Khilji) and Ranveer Singh as Alauddin Khilji). Alauddin is flamboyant, perhaps spoilt and unabashedly ambitious. He stands firm in Jalaluddin’s aura.

     On the other side is the Rajput kingdom of Rawal Ratan Singh (actor Shahid Kapoor), who discovers Padmavati (Deepika Padukone) while hunting in the forest. The early romance is sweet, tender and a bit reminiscent of a 1950s period piece. And Bhansali does it purposely, for he will juxtapose the sweet tender romance of Rawal Ratan and Padmavati to the jealous cravings of Alauddin Khilji.This is all for dramatic effect, as he will reveal over the next 150 minutes.

     The Khiljis engage in expansion, intrigue, power at the cost of all else. While the Rajputs do that too, to a certain extent, but Bhansali chooses not to explore that. He will only go as far and give us a taste of the palace intrigue on the Rajput side, when Rawal Ratan’s Rajguru (political mentor) is introduced to Padmavati. The short discourse between them was the best set of dialogues in the close to three-hour long saga.  But with the Rajguru’s banishment, all intrigue, political frolic and the story comes to a complete halt. It becomes a predictable dramatic one twist to the other from here on. We know that the Rajguru will go and form an alliance with Khilji, who in turn will train his eyes on Rawal Ratan’s kingdom and Padmavati. This will eventually end in the Rajputs and the Khiljis coming face to face. The end.

     Now let’s look at the rest of the film. Visually this is stunning and we wouldn’t expect anything but from Bhansali. Each and every frame is painstakingly crafted. From the palace of the Khiljis, the spaces that the characters inhabit, the fortress/city of Rawal Ratan and Padmavati and everywhere where the camera even glances at, is Mughal-E-Azam all over again. All credit to the cinematographer (Sudeep Chatterjee) and the art directors who help bring Bhansali’s vision to life.

image courtesy: india.com 

     The characters: For all the criticism that Bhansali has received for presenting Alauddin Khilji’s character as barbaric, lustful and treacherously ferocious, I found Khilji’s character the only one who really gets any attention from Bhansali’s pen. He is crafted with range, substance and yes he is vile. As an antagonist, in typical Bollywood/drama/fiction style, he has to be vile and eccentric. Does this make Bhansali anti-Muslim? Did I respond to Khilji and think all Muslims are like that? I equally enjoyed his exchanges with his court poet Khusru. And while I will call Bhansali out on his depiction of Malik Kafur (played by Jim Sarbh: the brilliant star of the film) for playing into the Bollywood stereotype of LGBTQ characters on screen, I do give him and Ranveer Singh credit for exploring ‘bisexuality’ in a mainstream Bollywood film. Malik Kafur’s character falters towards the end, but he comes to the audience in spurts and he is just wonderful. And for whatever it's worth, the Khilji-Kafur interaction was way more interesting than anything Padmavati and Rawal Ratan’s characters had to offer. It was rather hilarious and in a way Bhansali indulging in self-deprecation, when Khilji mocks Rawal Ratan for being oh so saintly and good.

     Padukone as Padmavati should have been the heart of the film, but she isn't. Bhansali played with the idea of turning Padmavati into the astute, politically savvy protagonist that she could have been. But instead he chose to leave her out completely in the first half, so that whole thing came to naught. And by the time she is back, you have been blinded and exhausted by the colors and cravings of Bhansali’s canvas.

     I want to be more generous to Kapoor for playing Rawal Ratan with some stoic restraint, but I can only compliment him for his chiseled torso, unfortunately. I kept hoping that his first wife Nagmati (played by Anupriya Goenka) would come out of the shadows, but again Bhansali decided character development didn’t matter in a magnum opus.

     The practise of Jauhar: Jauhar was a prevalent practise in the Rajput communities for centuries. I saw the depiction as merely a recreation of a practise that existed in medieval India. I asked people in my entourage and no one seemed inspired to commit Jauhar after watching the film, as was being suggested by commentators, social media folk. From where I sat, Bhansali’s depiction of Jauhur (unlike Sati) was similar to say Ridley Scott’s depiction of Maximus as a Gladiator. Archaic and dehumanizing, of course, but not glorified. It’s part of the poem (Padmavat, 1540) that Malik Muhammad Jayasi wrote and the film being inspired from it, saw it make its way as a dramatic, over the top climax.  

    My critique of the film is that Bhansali lost an opportunity to really tell an intriguing, layered, engaging story about a character who is part of contemporary folklore, something that is naturally expected of him. His journey from Padmavati to Padmaavat meant that we were given a visual treat, which besides Ghoomar (a song I absolutely love) was lacklustre musically and absent a whole narrative. I momentarily pondered over the alleged nexus between the Hindu-right and Bhansali for creating a propaganda piece furthering the Hindu-Rajput identity, but then I remembered that the chest thumping of Rajput pride is just part of how Bollywood films approach religion and the Rajput/Hindu confluence. So, I won’t blame Bhansali for being at the root of the problem, he is merely a symptom.

[bollywoodzones-blog]

Padmaavat film industry gathering Day 4: Deepika's film crosses the Rs 100-crore check

Padmaavat Box Office Collection

Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Padmaavat, which at long last hit the screens on January 25, is relentless in the cinematic world. Padmaavat featuring Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor and Ranveer Singh is throwing its enchantment at the ticket windows with each passing day. In the wake of entering the Rs 50-crore club inside two days of its discharge (counting paid reviews), the film has now crossed the Rs 100-crore check.

As per early gauges, Padmaavat Box Office Collection has gathered Rs 30 crore approx on Sunday, consequently taking the aggregate to Rs 113 crore approx.

On account of Karni Sena, Bhansali's film snatched eyeballs much before its discharge, and the expectation in the fans was obvious. Furthermore, this excitement converted into huge numbers at the ticket windows.

In their initial seven days, Raees and Tubelight had scored 109.01 crores and 106.86 crores individually. Presently Padmaavat has delighted in a robust four day end of the week (in addition to the paid reviews) to appreciate 112 crores* accumulations as of now. What makes this number significantly sweeter is the way that the Sanjay Leela Bhansali coordinated flick isn't playing in various states and notwithstanding that the accumulations would have been considerably huger and tested a portion of the other real victories as of now.

In any case, the time has come to celebrate for all required with the film. Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Ranveer Singh have now scored their third century each (after Ram Leela and Bajirao Mastani]. Concerning Deepika Padukone, this is yet another expansion to the arrangement of hundreds of years that she has just conveyed. Then again, Shahid Kapoor has now at long last entered the 100 Crore Club in the wake of being in the business for 10 years and a half. The film's prosperity would give a tremendous force to his profession.

Film industry - Padmaavat has its stage set after the end of the week, it's a great opportunity to unite over next 11 days.

What should be seen however is how much greater does the film end up being so as to come. There are 11 more open days ahead for the authentic show before PadMan and Aiyaary strike on ninth February. This gives the film adequate space to succeed. The broadened opening end of the week has given the film a decent stage to merge and starting here on a normal of 10 crores for every day would permit a 200 Crore Club section.

Visit here to read more about Padmaavat Budget.