A passion project eleven years in the making, this epic redefined Indian historical cinema.
In short: Sanjay Leela Bhansali spent over a decade in development hell to bring the story of the Maratha Peshwa Bajirao I and his warrior-princess wife, Mastani, to the screen. The result was a visually opulent, award-winning masterpiece that demanded extreme physical and emotional commitment from its stars and production team.
Conceived as early as the 1990s, the film was officially announced in 2003 but faced repeated delays due to casting changes and the project being deemed jinxed by industry professionals. Bhansali, who viewed the film as a personal passion project, finally revived it in 2014. The screenplay, adapted from Nagnath S. Inamdar’s 1976 novel Rau, required extensive historical research to depict the 18th-century romance between the Hindu Peshwa and his Persian Muslim consort, a relationship rarely documented in history books.
The production was defined by its scale and attention to detail. Over nineteen months, the team constructed twenty-two elaborate sets in Film City, including a massive replica of the Shaniwar Wada palace and an Aina Mahal featuring over 30,000 square feet of mirrors. To maintain authenticity, the crew utilized 30,000 oil lamps for lighting and crafted 500 suits of armor, with headgear weighing up to two kilos. Costume designers Anju Modi and Maxima Basu created 300 outfits for the leads alone, drawing inspiration from Raja Ravi Varma’s paintings and ancient museum artifacts to recreate the period’s aesthetic.
The actors underwent rigorous training, including sword-fighting, horse-riding, and learning the Kalaripayattu martial art. Ranveer Singh, who played Bajirao, famously isolated himself and insisted the crew address him by his character’s name to maintain his immersion. Released in December 2015, the film was a major commercial success, grossing over ₹356.2 crore. It received widespread acclaim, winning 7 National Film Awards and 9 Filmfare Awards, cementing its status as a landmark achievement in Indian cinema.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Bajirao Mastani
- Also: Wikidata — Bajirao Mastani · CC0
- Also: Wikidata — Bajirao Mastani · CC0
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