"War in the name of beauty."
Hello everyone!
Honestly, I'm pretty pleased with myself.
A while ago I made a list of movies I really want to watch, and I've so far managed to trim it down to only a few left!
Of course I also keep adding new ones as Netflix adds them to their movie library, but that's obviously a problem for another day LOL.
Still, when the streamer gave me advance warning that THIS particular movie was about to launch on their service, I was stoked.
It was definitely on my list! And now I could watch it with subtitles and not have to worry about sync and whatnot.
So hold on to all you hold dear, lest someone take it: it's time to head back to historical India in tonight's epic, Padmaavat.
The movie tells the story of legendary queen Padmavati, said to be so beautiful that she might have made even Helen of Troy weep. And to be honest, her story follows a similar course, although I kind of prefer the depiction of her morals and backbone more.
Padmavati is out hunting when the visiting ruler, Ratan, manages to get in the way of her arrow (listen, when someone's hunting, you don't sneak up on them, especially when they're armed with something sharp, alright?) and she shoots HIM instead of the deer she was planning on. She then nurses him back to health and the two fall in love, despite the fact he's got a wife back home, but then again these rulers COULD take multiple wives.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the continent, the Khilji dynasty is making a powerplay for Delhi, and the ruler's nephew, Alauddin, marries into the family by taking the current ruler's daughter to wife. However, he's a bit of an animal, sleeping with anything that goes, killing anyone who witnesses it, and his new wife is properly horrified.
He also has this personality defect that makes him believe anything precious and beautiful should belong to him and only him, which is how he decides he'll take the current sultan's head, since he wants the shiny crown he has.
His reign begins, and meanwhile, the newlyweds arrive back to Ratan's homeland, where he introduces the new queen to the head priest, who isn't above earthly desires and spies on the two later during an intimate moment.
This causes his banishment, and he goes straight to Alauddin with tales about Padmavati's beauty, so the guy who thinks anything beautiful is his goes: HEY! Imma go get her. It'll be a piece of cake, and she'll love being with me.
Spoiler alert: it's neither of the above.
Alauddin first attempts trickery by inviting the rulers to visit him, which they decline; the Khilji army then lays siege to Ratan's capital city, but because said city sits on a high cliff, has an endless water supply, and also its warriors actually like their rulers, it doesn't go all that well.
Alauddin sits there for six months with zero success to show for it other than his mounting obsession with having Padmavati, so in the end, under the pretense of it being Holi and all, he feigns peace and is admitted into the city, although Padmavati warns Ratan against it. He's still not allowed to actually see the queen, who shows herself only briefly and her face is obscured by smoke.
To return the favor he then invites Ratan down to the encampment, but we all know how this goes, right? Right, he takes the king captive and drags him to his capital. Ratan's first wife wails and moans and curses and wants Padmavati to just go ahead and give herself up, but Padmavati is made of stronger stuff, and she also knows there's no guarantee Alauddin would leave their kingdom alone even if she DID go.
Still, she eventually agrees to see him, but she has a few conditions: she'll see her husband first, no man will be present for that, and oh also she wants the head of the treacherous priest while she's at it.
The priest laughs when reading the letter, thinking Alauddin would never; Alauddin, however, is like yeah sure, priests are a dime a dozen, Padmavati's only one.
The conditions met, Padmavati then travels to meet with him, but she has a bloodthirsty plan of her own, and it's one that makes her rise in the eyes of her generals: she dresses warriors as her female attendants (how very Mulan of her), and goes to meet the king. The sultan's wife, who knows Alauddin's obsession with Padmavati is unhealthy, helps the couple, while above Alauddin is made aware of the treachery and his warriors engage the convoy.
Padmavati's escorts all perish to enable their rulers to escape, but of course Alauddin is now pissed off and returns for another siege. This time, however, Ratan goes to meet him in single combat, thinking his own code of honour applies to the Khiljis as well.
Another spoiler alert: it doesn't, because he gets shot in the back even as he tries to deliver the killing blow to Alauddin.
Up in the city, Padmavati refuses to be the Moaning Myrtle that Ratan's first queen is, and decides she's never going to allow Alauddin to lay hands on her. She leads the other women into the fire, literally: they perform Jauhar, which is to say, they literally throw themselves into the flames to avoid a fate they couldn't bear.
Alauddin, thinking that, score! Padmavati will finally be his, and she'll be SO happy he got rid of her beloved husband she'll drop at his feet in gratitude! can only watch in horror as the queen he's chased after forever decides death is much better than living in his cage.
So while Alauddin manages to destroy a dynasty, he doesn't get what he wants. In the end, Padmavati beats him regardless.
The movie is a grand epic on a scale not easily seen today even in Bollywood, and the sets are spectacular, for one. The costumes, as well, are top notch. I suppose the acting is also brilliant, although whether Singh was given specific direction on how to play Alauddin as this insane dude or if it's just his way of acting, I can't tell.
In any event, Kapoor is the standout in this movie for me next to Padukone, no matter how everyone seems to be raving about Singh. Anyone can play a lunatic, honestly; playing someone so strict in his moral code he won't strike down a wounded enemy with no weapon in hand is much more difficult.
All in all, I'm glad I got to watch this movie, even though I probably won't go back for a rewatch. It's beautiful, sprawling, and interesting in its depiction of historical alliances and political tensions.
I do wonder why Netflix seems to have forgotten to add subtitles to the song portions of it, though. Maybe it's a glitch?
xx
*images and video not mine
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