Padmaavat (2018)

Since moving down to the Salt Lake area about 2 1/2 years ago I've been intrigued by the number of Indian films released here. Most weeks there is at least one showing in a local theater or two and I've been meaning to go and take a look. Last week I finally did so for Padmaavat, a film that has attracted a great deal of controversy on the subcontinent including riots in the city of Gujarat, an attack on a school bus in Haryana, and women threating to kill themselves in protest. The story is based on events that may or may not have happened in the Rajput kingdoms of Northern India in the 13th century. May or may not have happened in that some of the figures involved in the story are historically verified, and some, principally the Queen Padmaavat, are not and may have been added to the story later.

First a little about my experience of going to see an Indian film. I went last weekend, it was a 3D showing, and almost sold out even in matinee so I had to sit very close to the screen. I was the only white guy in the audience, which contained many families, some in traditional dress. The previews were a mix of western releases, Peter Rabbit, Black Panther, and Indian films, including one about a woman with turrets syndrome who teaches a class of unruly students (I kind of want to see that one). The film starts with some disclaimers about cultural sensitivities, and a statement that the film does not endorse the practice of Jauhar.

The story of course concerns Padmaavat (Deepika Padukone, gorgeous and one of India's biggest stars) a woman famed for her beauty and wife of the Rajput ruler Ratan Singh (Shahid Kapoor), both of these characters are Hindu's. Padmaavat's reported beauty attracts the interest of the Sultan of Delhi a Muslim played by Ranveer Singh (Padukone's real life boyfriend). In short Ranveer goes to war with Ratan to get Padmaavat, the Hindus manage to outsmart the Muslims a few times but in the end they lay waste to the city and kill Ratan, so Padmaavat and her ladies court commit mass suicide by burning, the practice of Jauhar, to avoid being captured. Add the controversy of this unpleasant practice along with the fact that the Muslim leader Ranveer is arguably depicted as bisexual and you have a recipe for unrest in India. As is customary with Indian films there are several musical numbers and the thing is really long, almost three hours, and there is not really three hours worth of story here. The scale of the thing is mighty impressive though, and the 3D's kind of interesting, especially the cinders that fall on the audience at the end. Padmaavat is a reasonabley good movie and I'm curious to see more Indian films theatrically in the future. **1/2