Deepika Padukone had to do her own bit of research to play the role of Mastani in the eponymous film. She shares that Sanjay leela Bhansali is a ‘very demanding director’. By Rupinder Kaur
The transformation of stunning actress Deepika Padukone from her character in Piku to her dauntless role in the forthcoming film Bajirao Mastani is what we would term as epic. The actress was recently in the city for the launch of Sanjay leela Bhansali directed Bajirao Mastani's song Deewani Mastani and also walked the ramp for designer Anju Modi at the Blenders Pride Fashion Tour 2015.
Terming the song as “nasheela”, she shared, “It inspired by Mughal-e-Azam in a sense. We’ve tried to recreate the Aaina Mahal and it’s also Sanjay’s contemporary version of a song where Mastani is completely besotted with Bajirao. It is almost nasheela in a sense because it doesn’t matter to her where she is or who’s watching. She’s like a horse with blinkers. She has eyes for no one else but this one man who is sitting in front of her.”
Sanjay leela Bhansali, who is known for his elaborate and grand sets like those we saw in Ram-leela, Guzaarish, Saawariya, et al., has once again gone great lengths to create a magnificent visual.
Even thePiku actress agreed. “The song Deewani Mastani is probably the grandest thing we’ve done. We had the maximum number of visitors on this set and it had almost become like a museum. There was so much of effort that has gone into creating the set. We finished shooting the song after ten days and didn’t have the heart to break it down. At one point of time, we considered that why don’t we just turn it into a museum. It is in the heart of Filmcity and to show what goes into making films,” the 29-year-old actress said while adding, "I've been part of some iconic songs but this one is really the icing on the cake."
She called her characterMastani “inspiring” and equated her with the woman of today. “I think there was a lot more to her just than the fact that she was a warrior princess. She was someone who came across as deeply determined, sensitive and emotional and at the same time someone who can take on any challenge that she’s faced with. She was also a nurturer. She was beautiful and there was nothing she could not do. In today’s time, I believe that every woman in that sense is complete. Every woman is a warrior, a nurturer, a lover, she’s a mother and a friend. Women often have these traits and it is amazing for me as an actor to incorporate all of it and to be able to portray that on screen,” Padukone said during the conference.
Calling it her “toughest film of my career so far,” It was physically, mentally and emotionally draining. Sanjay is very very demanding at every level. He’s never happy with what he sees for the first time. He is very clear about what he wants and in the process he pushes you to discover something within yourself that you probably didn’t even know.
photo Sanjeev Kumar