Trailer Watch: 'Padmavati'

I must admit I had mixed feelings after watching this. Undoubtedly regal and unquestionably Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Padmavati, inevitably, has Bajirao Mastani 2.0 feels to it, probably because it’s set in the same era. So, while it all looks sparkly and spectacular, you can’t help but feel that you’ve seen it all before, and not that long ago either.

Deepika - regal as Rani Padmini

That said, the detailing, the grandeur, the intensity, the visuals and the drama all unfold astonishingly thick and fast in this three minute trailer, and just like the Bajirao trailer, here too, there’s not much dialogue, just visuals of war, heartbreak and awe-inspiring set-pieces that pretty much set the stage for this awaited epic which hits the marquee 1 December.

Ranveer as the ruthless Alauddin Khilji

A fictional re-telling of the story of a legendary Rajput queen, Rani Padmini (an ethereal and breathtaking Deepika Padukone), who defends her honour against a Muslim invader, Alauddin Khilji (Ranveer Singh), Padmavati also features Shahid Kapoor as Ratan Sen, a Rajput ruler, who marries the queen and brings her to Chittor. Khilji, a ruler from a neighbouring state who's also enamoured by Padmini’s beauty, subsequently attacks Chittor in an attempt to obtain her, and it is around this drama that the plot unfolds.

Ranveer-Deepika are no strangers to the SLB camp having chalked up two successes with the maestro filmmaker, but it will be interesting to see how Shahid does here since it’s both the first time he’s working with Bhansali and being paired with Deepika. They seem to share an intoxicating chemistry in the few seconds they appear in the trailer together though, so let's wait and watch to see how that comes across in the final product. It’s also Ranveer’s first time as an antagonist and he seems to have pulled out all the stops for his Machiavellian character – hopefully he’s restrained it a bit though, as there’s always a risk of going overboard with these kinds of extreme characters.

Shahid stars as Emperor Ratan Sen who marries Rani Padmini

Padmavati is the biggest film this season, and the hope is that it will bail the industry out of what feels like a never-ending slump, on the back of dozens of duds. It’s also Ranveer- Deepika’s first film this year and hopefully it might help Shahid bounce back from the huge setback that this year's earlier Rangoon eventually turned out to be.

What are your expectations from Padmavati? Are you looking forward to the film?