Plot
When
asked
to
get
an
ostrich
feather
by
his
uncle
Jalaluddin
for
his
crown,
Alauddin
Khilji
(Ranveer
Singh)
walks
into
the
court
with
the
living
bird
itself
and
seeks
his
cousin
Mehrunisa's
(Aditi
Rao Hydari) hand
for
marriage
in
return
for
risking
his
life.
He's
a
man
driven
by
power
and
flesh.
Khilji
soon
gets
his
uncle
killed
to
become
the
Sultan-E-Hind.
Meanwhile,
on
the
other
hand
in
the
kingdom
of
Singhal,
a
free-spirited
woman
Padmavati
(Deepika
Padukone)
loses
her
heart
to
Maharawal
Ratan
Singh
of
Chittor
(Shahid
Kapoor)
when she
accidently
ends
up
wounding
the king
with
her
arrow
while
chasing
a
deer
in
the
forest.
Eyes
meet
and
it's
love
at
first
sight
followed
by
marriage.
Later,
an
exiled
priest
from
Mewar
reaches
the
Delhi
Sultanate
(where
Khilji
and
his
clan
live)
and
devises
an
evil
plan
to
seek
revenge
from
the
Raja
and
his
queen
Padmavati for
his
banishment.
He
sings
praises
of
Padmavati's
beauty
to
Khilji
and
plants
a
seed
in
his
mind
that
he
can
rule
the
entire
world
only
if
the
Rajput
queen
is
by
his
side.
Thus
the
obsessed
Turko-Afghan
ruler
begins
his
conquest
to
catch
a
glimpse
of
Rani
Padmavati
and
capture
her.
Direction
Whenever
it
comes
to
magnificence
and
opulent
frames
on
screen,
there
is
no
one
better
than
Sanjay
Leela
Bhansali
to
pull
you
into
the
world
of
visual
story-telling
and
Padmaavat
is
no
different.
Padmaavat
is
humongously
erected
on
the
scale
of
grandeur
and
leaves
you
in
awe
with
its
beauty
and
stellar
acts.
Unfortunately,
the
film
suffers
from some lethargic
writing
and
fails
to
bring
an
emotional
connect
to
the
story.
The
snail-paced
narrative
especially
in
the
first
half
makes
it
a
tedious
watch
and
leaves
you
with
mixed
feelings
by
the
end.
With
Bhansali
wanting
to
pack
in
a
series
of
events
in
the
runtime
of
about
2
hours
and
44
minutes,
the
romance
between
Shahid-
Deepika
remains
unexplored
and
Khilji's
rise
to
power
isn't
clearly
spelled
out.
While
the
film
tells
the
tale
of
a
popular
folklore,
the
archaic
idea
of
a
woman
commiting
'jauhar'
to
to
save
the
‘honour'
of
her
husband,
and
her
people
may
be
found
questionable
by
a
section
of
the
audience
especially
in
today's
times.
Performances
Deepika
Padukone looks
ethreal in
every
frame.
Her
eyes
do
the
talking
whenever
there
are
minimal
dialogues
and
she
plays
the
Rajput
Queen
with
beauty,
brains
and
valour
to
perfection.
Shahid
Kapoor
brings
a
regal
aura
as
the
kohl-eyed
Maharawal
Ratan
Rawal
Singh
who
could
even
lay
down
his
life
for
the
'Rajputana
aan
baan
aur
shaan'.
Though
there
are
a
couple
of
moments
in
the
film
where
you
feel
he
has
underplayed his
role
and
could
have
fared
even
better.
And
finally
coming
to
the
man
of
the
moment-
Ranveer
Singh!
You
loathe,
cringe
and
shudder
at
the
mere
sight
of
his
Alauddin
Khilji
deliciously
wrapped
and
delivered
in
one
of
his
career-best
performances. With
his
scarred
face
and kohled
eyes,
he sinks
his
teeth
deep
into
his
role,
relishes
and
savours
to
unleash
madness
and terror
on-screen.
By
the
end
of
the
film,
you
hate
his
Khilji
to
the
extent
that
you
fall
in
love
with
Ranveer
Singh
all
over
again.
What's
commendable
is
that
he
plays Khilji's
dubious
sexuality
without
over-exaggeration
to
point
out
that
it's
power
that
drives
him-
be
it
over
a
man
or
a
woman!
Jim
Sarbh
as
the
Sultan's
general
slave
Malik
Kafur
looks
a
little
misplaced
but
he
pulls
up
his
socks
to
churn
out
an
honest
performance.
Aditi
Rao
Hydari
looks
replescent
and
manages
to
leave
a
mark
even
in
a
small
time
frame.
Anupriya
Goenka
delivers
a
decent
act.
Technical
Aspects
Sudeep
Chatterjee's
ace
camera
work
makes
sure
that
you refrain
from looking
off
the
screen
even
for
a
minute
and
lets
your
eyes
feast
on
a
spectacle!
Jayant
Jadhar,
Sanjay
Leela
Bhansali
and
Akiv
Ali's
editing
look
a
little
abrupt
at
a
few
places.
Music
Bhansali's
films
are
known
for
their
lavishly-shot
songs
and
soul-stirring
music.
Be
it
'Goliyon
Ki
Raasleela
Ramleela'
or
'Bajirao
Mastani,
his
magnum
opus
always
boosts
a
musical
treat.
Unfortunately
with
Padmaavat,
barring
Ghoomar
and
Khalibali,
none
of
the
other
tracks
catch
your
attention.
Meanwhile,
the
background
score
of
the
film
is
quite
appealing
and
stays
with
you
for
a
long
time.
Verdict
Sanjay
Leela
Bhansali's
latest
offering
may
be
titled
Padmaavat
but
it's
Ranveer
Singh's
show
all
the
way.
He plunges
deep
into
the
sea
of
evilness
to
bring
the
'monster'
to
life
for
'ek
jung
husn
ke
naam'.
It
may
be
a
doomed
love-story
for
him
in
the
film but
Ranveer,
you
are
truly
'Sultan-E-Hind'
when
it
comes
to
capturing
our
hearts
with
your
bravura
performance!