Sanjay Leela Bhansali has at last found his Mastani for his film Bajirao Mastani
The forgotten saga of the romance of Bajirao-Mastani, the Peshwa king of Maharashtra and the exquisitely beautiful courtesan will be made into a film by Sanjay Leela Bhansali. By Vimla Patil
The forgotten saga of the romance of Bajirao-Mastani, the Peshwa king of Maharashtra and the exquisitely beautiful courtesan will be made into a film by Sanjay Leela Bhansali. He has finalized supermodel Shivani Kapoor, a cousin of Kareena Kapoor, who is doing the prestigious Lakme ad campaign this year, has been chosen for the historic role of Mastani. The film will reopen a colourful chapter of Maharashtra’s history, which has been hidden in the pages of research books until now. Aishwarya Rai was first chosen for this role. She refused to work with Salman Khan who plays the Peshwa. Priyanka Chopra and Kareena Kapoor were also considered but turned down for various reasons. Now Shivani Kapoor will debut in Bollywood through this major film!
Mumbai: Oct 25, 2005/Sawf News Service/ – The beautiful courtesan Mastani is an enigmatic figure of the eventful Maratha history of the state of Maharashtra. This beautiful woman – the heartthrob of Bajirao Peshwa – was a renowned beauty. She had such a fair and translucent skin, that when swallowed the juice of her paan beeda (betel leaf with nuts and spices), the red colour of the juice could be seen through the fair skin of her throat according to legend! But as Maratha history became eclipsed in modern India, historians and laypeople alike have forgotten Mastani completely.
Today, her grave stands – solitary and deserted – in front of an abandoned mosque on the Pune-Nasik highway. Her only known portrait hangs in the Menavali Palace of Nana Phadnis, the prime minister of the Peshwas. Menavali is a few kilometers away from the historic town of Wai, on the banks of the River Krishna. History also records that the Peshwa built the beautiful Mastani Palace for her in Kothrud near Pune. This palace stood in a dilapidated condition on a wasteland for a long time, until it was auctioned to industrialists for building a factory some years ago. Little knowing that the palace was a heritage building, the corporate house that bought it, allowed antique collectors from Pune’s Raja Kelkar Museum to buy the broken down, ancient wood carved features of the palace. The Kelkar Museum recreated the palace fully and it is now on view in Pune, in the museum.
Few portraits of the beautiful Mastani are available today. This portrait, taken from a painting, is a rare one.
Many centuries have passed since the legend of Bajirao Mastani fascinated people; and now, Sanjay Leela Bhansali has taken on the task of resurrecting this historical romance for the silver screen. He zeroed in on Salman Khan for his Bajirao and auditioned many leading ladies for the historic role of Mastani. His first natural choice was Aishwarya Rai, who promptly refused to work with Salman Khan! Then it was Priyanka Chopra or Kareena Kapoor. The former could find no dates and the latter got a heave ho when she signed for the film Kyun Ki, a film made by Priyadarshan which also has Salman Khan. Bhansali wanted the credit of teaming Salman and Kareena for the first time.
So, all said and done, Bhansali has now decided that supermodel Shivani Kapoor, a cousin of Kareena Kapoor, will play the role of the famous courtesan. Shivani, who confirmed the news, has been busy with modeling assignments in London when she was approached for the role. She is now in India and in talks with Bhansali to finalise her role. She will also do her Lakme modeling assignment while here, though she is presently based in London. She will soon make her debut in Bollywood as Bhansali’s Mastani! Others in the cast are Rani Mukherjee and the super-diva Rekha, who plays Mastani’s mother!