The greatest commandment of all is love. Nothing reminds us better of this saying than Bajirao Mastani, a tragic film that shows how only a few people genuinely love.
Our dreams make us develop pride and ego. Then pride and ego make us hateful. Thus, to love others, we must sacrifice our dreams. Bajirao Mastani demonstrates this point well.
Plot
Bajirao inherits the title of the Prime Minister of the Maratha Kingdom after his father's death. He brings success to the Kingdom in the next few years by conquering nearly half of India. He embarks on military duty to the South, where he meets Mastani, a beautiful princess of the Kingdom of Bundelkhand. Mastani wants him to help her father fight invaders that have come to conquer Bundelkhand. Bajirao is impressed by Mastani’s fighting prowess when she enters his tent, downing several soldiers. He agrees to help her save her home. After the victory against Bundelkhand invaders, Bajirao stays for a few days in the Kingdom, where he and Mastani fall in love. Before departing to continue his campaign South, Bajirao gifts Mastani his dagger. Unfortunately, he is unaware that when a man gives a lady his dagger in Bundelkhand, she becomes his wife. Thus, he married Mastani.
Bajirao abandons his campaign South and heads back to Pune (his hometown). A few days later, Mastani (now his wife) follows him there. Bajirao’s mother ensures that Mastani does not meet him, especially after learning that Mastani is a Muslim. Mastani, determined to meet her husband, acts as a dancer and attends the party to celebrate Bajirao's victory and beneficial alliance with Bundelkhand. Bajirao learns of her presence and plans several meetings with her later. He agrees to take Mastani as a second wife after she accepts that she will tolerate all the ridicule she will suffer by marrying him.
Kashi, Bajirao’s first wife, learns later about Mastani’s existence. Bajirao's second marriage angers her, so she moves to her maternal home to have their baby there. Mastani is also pregnant. She is isolated and ridiculed such that Bajirao attends to her himself when she gives birth. Later, Bajirao brings Mastani home. Nobody is there to welcome them except for Kashi. While she lives in Bajirao’s mansion, Mastani is scorned and called derogatory names like “mistress” and “court dancer.” She is not affected by that. She is only focused on Bajirao’s love for her.
Later, Bajirao's eldest son, Nana Saheb, first attempts to kill Mastani while Bajirao is attending a feast. Bajirao arrives in time to save her. The second time, Nana Saheb and his grandmother arrest Mastani when Bajirao leaves for war. They aim to kill Mastani. When Bajirao learns about this, he is enraged that he goes to battle alone, suffering severe injuries. A few days later, Bajirao and Mastani die together simultaneously in different places.
Conflicts in Bajirao Mastani
Love vs. The Pride of a Woman
The movie presents two wives of Barijao, Kashi and Mastani, with similar challenges but different reactions. Kashi symbolizes the pride of a woman, while Mastani symbolizes love.
Kashi
Kashi is angered that Bajirao has brought home a second wife. She feels her pride is hurt because Bajirao’s eyes and heart caught another woman's. This occurrence exposes Kashi’s side that Bajirao and, probably, the audience did not imagine she had.
Before Kashi knows Mastani’s existence, she appears as a loving and supportive wife. However, when Kashi learns about Mastani, she becomes a hateful and jealous woman. First, she leaves Bajirao to have their child at her maternal home. When Kashi returns, Kashi supports all the ridicule and suffering other people make Mastani endure. She enjoys all the vile things Bajirao’s family and court throw at Mastani. She even calls Mastani "mistress." When she learns that Mastani is about to be killed, she delays informing Bajirao. Were it not for Mastani’s superior fighting skills, the assassins would have killed her. Kashi does not oppose Mastani’s arrest. She only asks for Mastani's release upon realizing that Bajirao will die without Mastani. She even tells Bajirao that he hurt her pride when she forbids him from visiting her chambers.
Here, we see Kashi’s pride, in the pretense of love for Bajirao, make her clear and pure mind turn into a dark and hateful heart. Kashi thinks she loves Bajirao, but the movie reveals that she loves her dreams more. She supports the scorning of Mastani, whom she ought to help uphold her dignity because she wants Mastani out of her life with Bajirao. She joins the company of people who call Mastani a mistress and dancer, hoping they will break Mastani down and make her leave Bajirao.
Kashi loves her pride (dreams) more than Bajirao. That is why it is hard for her to understand that Bajirao and Mastani are in love. Her pride makes her not see that the heart chooses who to love, and Bajirao and Mastani are blameless here. Her dream of being the only wife of Bajirao unfolds as pride and ego, preventing her from understanding the love Bajirao and Mastani share.
Like Kashi, most people today claim their partners betray them. They do not realize their immense pride and ego clout their love and make them hate their partners. True love does not have room for hate.
Mastani
Mastani is a valid symbol of love. The film uses her to show what love is, which is different from people's collective knowledge of love. She accepts to be Bajirao's second wife in a society where people ridicule second wives. Additionally, she is a Muslim, so Bajirao's Hindu society twice discriminates against her. Mastani’s love makes her strong, weathering all these challenges. Mastani, a princess of Bundelkhand, abandons her home and moves to Pune, where she lives a low life among courtesans. People call her mistress, concubine, and dancer. That does not matter to her. While Bajirao’s family disrespects her, there is no time that she responds with anger or insult. She is humble and sober throughout the movie until she dies in prison. Mastani shows that love is humble and strong. It makes her ignore her title as the Princess of Bundelkhand and lives that low life in Pune because she loves her husband. Bajirao’s love is enough for her. She needs nothing more; neither pride and titles nor riches and servants. It is very moving to see how Bajirao, the Prime Minister of the Maratha Kingdom, attends to her when she is left alone in labor. That is the movie's sweetest part and most magnificent expression of love. Had Kashi put her passion for Bajirao above everything else, like Mastani, neither Bajirao nor Mastani would have died. Her pride destroys her love for Bajirao and not Bajirao’s second marriage.
Mother vs. Son
The arrival of Mastani rocks a steady family as it puts mother and son at loggerheads. Radhabai, Bajrao’s mother, opposes Bajirao’s marriage to Mastani. She tries as much as possible to prevent Mastani from seeing Bajirao when Mastani arrives in Pune. She leads her court in insulting and degrading Mastani. Radhabai is a conservative Hindu eager to preserve her family's status. She believes that welcoming a Muslim as a second daughter-in-law destroys her family's high position among the Hindu priests and people. Thus, she does everything to have Mastani out of her house.
Bajirao’s love for Mastani is so strong. The actions of his mother, brother, and Kashi against Mastani stress him a lot. It is hard for him to fathom that his family cannot see and accept the pure love that he shares with Mastani. Bajirao reveals how his mother, Kashi, and brother are mainly concerned about the status of the family than their love for him when he chooses to leave his position as Prime Minister. He tells them that if that position matters to them, he will abandon it so that the appropriate person takes it and uphold the family's status. Later, he takes back the role because he admits that his love for the Marathi Kingdom is more significant than his love for Mastani. Here, Bajirao exposes Radhabai, Kashi, and his brother, that their love of status is far greater than their love for him. Their opposition to his marriage to Mastani (a Muslim) is not because Mastani has a bad character but because her marriage to Bajirao lowers the family's status in Hindu society. This occurrence reminds me of Alexander the Great, who lost popularity among his commanders and Greek people due to his tendency to marry foreign women.
Religion vs. Love
Religion or love, which one is mightier? This question lingers even today in a world plagued by terrorism and Jewish aggression in the Middle East. Bajirao Mastani shows how man has struggled with this question for centuries. The notable thing about this question is that love is one of the core teachings of virtually all religions in the world, yet there comes a time when love and faith collide. So, is the love taught by religion true love, or does religion have pride and ego that make it unloving?
In Bajirao Mastani, Mastani gives birth to a boy and gives him a Hindu name, Krishna Rao. Bajirao asks the Brahmin priest to conduct a Hindu naming ceremony for the innocent Krishna Rao, but the priest refuses. He argues that Krishna Rao is an illegitimate child. It is hard to understand why a priest should refuse to perform a ceremony for a child whose "fault" is only being born. Whatever the wrong things Bajirao or Mastani did, their child should be free from condemnation. Here the actions of this priest or religion do not amount to love. The priest and his faith have started isolating and killing the dreams of a young soul even before it knows what is right or wrong.
Additionally, Bajirao's family is devoted to Hinduism, respecting every practice and norm of the religion. One of the critical teachings of Hinduism is love and selflessness. However, their actions towards Mastani, a Muslim, go against the basic principles of their religion. Bajirao's family ridicules Mastani and does not show her an ounce of love. No one can get attracted or converted to that religion with the immense hate they show Mastani, a fellow human being. Thus, the film shows that love is more significant than religion as it shows the maltreatment of Mastani and her child under the Hindu religion.
Conclusion
Bajirao Mastani is a classic epic movie with deep themes that challenge women, families, and religions to self-examine themselves. It reveals how people's selfishness (immense love for their dreams, pride, and ego) makes them develop hate disguised as love and feel betrayed. It shows that true love is humble and selfless. Watch it and get challenged.
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