I have grappled long and hard with the intention of writing a review for Padmaavat. The overwhelming voice in my head throughout the movie kept repeating: this movie should not have been made at all. I’m all for freedom of expression and creative licence but the discomfort that comes with supporting a movie like Padmaavat just doesn’t seem worth it.
I remember reading about Allaudin Khilji in school. His huge eyes from a black and white portrait conveyed determination and a hint of cruelty. Bhansali’s Khilji is portrayed in a very sharp spectrum as well, leaving no room for complexity. He’s demonic, savage and outright evil – which the film stereotypically attributes as Muslim characteristics. He has no hint of sensitivity even when he regales Khusrau with his mediocre poetry.
He goes after every ‘Naayab cheez’ with animal ferocity. With ‘cheez’ here often referring to a woman.
This brings us to the woman in question, Padmavati, a Buddhist princess who likes to hunt in semi-practical clothing and flowing hair that never seems to impede her pyrotechnics. Romance (post the mandatory stalking) ensues with a wooden Rawal Ratan Singh who never once mentions being already married. His flirting is cringeworthy and would trigger any woman who’s ever been cheated on by the quintessential ‘nice guy’.
Padmavati is extremely intelligent and also quite impressionable by the looks of it. She abandons her Buddhist heritage, spews flawless Shri Ram vs Raavan idioms, and magically masters Ghoomar choreography in a jiffy because she’s ‘Sarv gun sampann’.
Also Read: Both Rajkahini And Begum Jaan Tell Us That Women’s Honour Is More Important Than Their Lives
It’s tragic that the 13th century male egos denied women their voices. Oh, wait, that happens in the 21st century too. But as I digress, a random thought hits me – if there were no men allowed except the King in Ghoomar, where did the male chorus voices in the song come from? Were they hiding in a cave somewhere? We’ll never know.
The glorification of Rajputs seems out of place in modern cinema and especially insensitive in these turbulent times. As if that was not problematic enough, the film indulges in caste-based invisibilisation as well. While the kingdom belonged to Rajputs, other castes must surely have been living in the kingdom.
What happened to the Dalit women in the kingdom? Did they commit mass suicide too? In the same pyre as Rajput women? If they did, did they have any say in the matter? Does history forget them, yet again?
I have struggled to be understanding of Jauhar in the context of the 13th century. That was probably the only option they thought they had. The conditioning of a male-dominated society from the context of the 13th century has continued well into the 1980’s and 1990’s, even in our films.
So many movie plots involve the sexual assault of the hero’s sister as an insult to the hero’s ‘honour; and her inevitable suicide. Even Ek Duje Ke Liye, a film that highlighted regional and cultural conflicts, ended with suicide as an aftermath of sexual assault.
The glorification of Rajputs seems out of place in modern cinema and especially insensitive in these turbulent times.
But there’s a difference between the above portrayals and Padmaavat. The Bollywood films preceding Padmaavat depicted the suicides as a tragedy, with heartbreaking music and tearjerking dialogue. It made you angry about the unjust society that conditions women into believing that their lives are over because of sexual assault.
This is where Padmaavat grossly gets it wrong. Padmavati delivers a motivational speech urging fellow Rajput women to commit Jauhar as a ‘dharm‘ to honour their men who are equal to ‘God’ for them. The women then proceed to the pyre in carefully choreographed geometric formations to rousing ‘this is heroic’ music and a voiceover which declares this as a Rajput victory.
As I watched children and pregnant women walking towards the fire, all I wanted to do was sob uncontrollably, but the ‘heroic’ music and cheers of the audience around me just left me frozen. How can you turn an unspeakable tragedy into a celebration, Mr Bhansali? The door closing scene lifted from your Devdas climax just leaves Khilji looking like a lovelorn little boy, not the villain you carefully crafted in the previous 120 minutes.
The disclaimers that this movie carried are worthless. Words are meaningless when actions refute them. In the end, I squirmed in my seat, because the only thing worse than a movie giving out wrong messages is the one that gives out ambiguous ones.
Please don’t tell us art can exist without giving out a message. All art speaks, whether you want it to or not. And Padmaavat leaves itself dangerously open to misinterpretation. In these times of strife, intolerance and extremism, in the name of religion and caste, I wish Padmaavat had never been made.
Also Read: Padmavati: Attempts to Control A (Fake) Historical Woman
Featured Image Credit: Eastern Eye
I agree with your perspective to a great extent. I too left the theaters with an extremely confused mind. i was was dragged from both sides as to think whether the practice of jauhar was at all heroic. It was considered as a war strategy observed by the Rajput women because honor mattered to them more than their lives. But where I am confused is what would have been the other option for the women in 1300 AD if not self-immolation. They would have been put into harems as prostitutes only to be ‘used’ as an object of sexual and cardinal gratification and suffering a life long slavery. But having said that lauding jauhar also in other words makes submit to this patriarchal ploy. Honor, even today, is considered to be extreme when a woman is raped, abducted, molested, trafficked or even returned from her in-laws house because of dowry demands.
Padmavati’s husband Maharawal Ratan Singh accoridng to me was nowhere near Padmavati when it came to gauging the upcoming moves of the Khiljis and the farsightedness of political and war conspiracy. she was more ajile, breaching Rajputani norms, saving her husband, which Ratan Singh’s first wife could not even imagine.
I believe it’s best to see Padmavat as just a movie created out of Jaysi’s fictional work and put an end to it. I also believe that this menacing portrayal of Khilji was also overdone. Yes, he was outright evil and demonic but somewhere I believe Bhansali has provided fodder to the Hindu right wing extremists and has relegated Muslims as evil, thus reigniting the communal row.
This is just my perspective that I stated.
PS: I DO NOT SUPPORT JAUHAR OR SATI OR ANY OTHER PROCEDURES THAT OBJECTIFY WOMEN AND NEITHER DO I SUPPORT PATRIARCHY.
Since Padmavati was portryed as this brave Sinhalese Princess who is also a wise Scholar who understands Yuddhaneeti in the starting of the film, perhaps she could have sneaked the women and children out of her kingdom and shipped them safely to Sinhala?
“But having said that lauding jauhar also in other words makes submit to this patriarchal ploy.”
I don’t think it has anything to do with the so called ‘patriarchy’. Just look at the history of last five fuckin years woman. ISIS took over parts of syria and iraq , kurdish militia were the ones who put up the greatest resistance there. And the women only squads among them gained a lot of media attention. In one media coverage showed all of these women carrying one extra bullet in their pocket.When asked they said it was to take their own lives in case you get captured.Because when you get captured by isis,the treatment towards you changes greatly if you are a woman. The men didn’t carry an extra bullet because they know terrorists won’t waste that much time on them it’ll be over by a shot to the head. You can’t deny how islam treats and views kaffir women. And again you can’t understand these choices unless you truly understand the circumstance
So true.This should be known to everyone who liked the movie.
“if there were no men allowed except the King in Ghoomar, where did the male chorus voices in the song come from? Were they hiding in a cave somewhere? We’ll never know.”
Hahaha!!! Very true.
Amazingly written article, I loved reading it & agree with every point you made!
Padmaavat is nowhere near BM, Devdas and HDDCS Which are legendary movies today. I got sooooo bored watching Padmaavat! It’s so overrated & boring. It should’ve never been made.
Hey, guy’s ! just watch a movie as a movie and never be judgmental for highly imaginative issues. coming to the perspective, its Sanjay Leela Bansali’s creative hues portrayed and reiterated the concepts of patriarchy as normal and common. So dear friends Padmaavat, a history which consists an era of centuries ago mostly an imaginative experience. Watching a movie for the sake of movie is well received i think in my personal point of view.
Today we are discussing whether Jauhar was heroic or not on a social platform sitting in the comfort of our living rooms. Unfortunately this was not the situation 700 years ago.
Forget 700 years, go back to our partition and history records will tell you the heart wrenching number of women who were raped, assaulted and abducted just to cause insult to the community they belonged to.
Simply speaking, once the fort is destroyed, men are killed, the women were basically left with two options. One, accept the new ruler’s overlordship, be his slave and let him do whatever he wants to be done with you. Or two, not let him even touch your shadow, immolate yourself on a pyre.
Definitely, the second option might seem conservative, orthodox, patriarchal, ancient, backward, weird, and to a great extent outrageous but there you go. No 100 to call, no #metoo post to upload, no one to go, nothing to do..
In such a situation which option would you have chosen if you were Padmavati, especially her because whatever you do, you would stand responsible for the fates of 200 other women as well.
I too agree with the article. Its too overrated!! and Boring!!