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Originally posted by: lovely_lady
Firstly, I think using our current present-day lens while viewing this story is wrong. What was normal then is not as normal today. Child marriage was the norm back then. In fact, Kashi and Bajirao had a child marriage. Was that right? No. But in the context of the time and era, it worked. Regarding Mastani, I think it's similar.
Secondly, I think Mastani's character was the least developed throughout the film. I think most of her scenes got cut and as a result, she got shafted in the characterization part. Kashi had many scenes that displayed her growth from childlike bride to mature lady of the house while Mastani basically stayed the same warrior consumed by passion.On that note, I could contextualize some of Mastani's actions. In that time and era, especially in Mastani's surroundings, multiple marriages were super common. Hell, she was the product of one, her mother wasn't her father's only wife. So to begin with, she probably did not see anything wrong with her being married to Bajirao while he already had a wife. It was the Maratha's who had a problem with her. Even then, it wasn't necessarily her they had a problem with, it was her religion. The fact that she was muslim really really pissed off the super brahmin Marathas. If Bajirao had kept Mastani as a mistress or anything, they wouldn't have minded. It was the fact that he wanted to make a muslim his second legal wife that they had a problem with.Thirdly, considering her background, Mastani didn't want to come between Bajirao and Kashi. That wasn't her intention. She wanted to live like perhaps her mother or other women. She just wanted to be with the man she loved at any cost. In fact, Mastani herself claimed that when Bajirao warned her of the terrible life she would have if they married. Mastani didn't want to take over Kashi's position. In fact, she liked Kashi. She called her "didi" and respected her and thought of her in good terms. She wasn't jealous of Bajirao's respect for her or even the way Kashi was respected by everyone. All she wanted was to be with Bajirao. She didn't even want to be queen or even ask for more respect. It was Bajirao who did and as a result, she was the one punished and took it silently.In a similar vein, she also didn't complain when they put her into a courtesan's place, despite how insulting it was. Even when she was living alone, she didn't complain. She was happy that she was with Bajirao. That was all that mattered to her. She didn't want to take Kashi's place or anything. She just wanted to live with Bajirao and if that meant co-existing with Kashi, she was happy to do so. Remember, she even brought gifts for Kashi-Bajirao's son out of good will. She thought of them as one big unit.Also, right from the beginning, Mastani was displayed as this determined go-getter warrior who did not accept defeat. She freaking fought her way inside Bajirao's tent to get him to listen to her plea. She freaking refused to entertain the Maratha king and asked him to give her Bajirao. Mastani was a fearless warrior who loved Bajirao and wanted to be with him. When she was with him, she didn't complain. She didn't tell him to leave Kashi and just stay with her. She didn't force him to spend time with her, in fact it was the other way around. There's a scene where Bajirao comes to meet Mastani on Eid and she's just happy to see him. She doesn't mention anything about him staying. But after hearing the way his mother insulted her, it was Bajirao himself who decided to stay with her longer and join in Eid celebrations.In fact, it's implied in the film (or at least I interpreted it this way) that it's Mastani's complete devotion and determined warrior personality that attracts Bajirao. I think it was even mentioned in the film, Mastani inspired Bajirao. She was fearless and he liked that.I'm not saying that Mastani was the best women or that she was fully justified in her actions. It's just easy to understand some of her decisions when contextualized. This also isn't to say that she's completely understandable. Compared to Bajirao and Kashi, she had the least amount of character development so as a result, she's also the least formed character. A lot of what we think about it is dependent upon interpretation and imagination to fill in the blanks. In that sense, I didn't find her to be this evil homewrecker determined to break Bajirao-Kashi marriage. I just found her to be this passionate woman who desired to be with the man she loved and didn't expect anything else in return from him except the man himself.Also regarding the whole you can't go for anyone you develop feelings for, in her eyes, in Mastani's viewpoint, Bajirao basically made the first move (he cauterized her wound in a very intimate way) and married her (with the dagger). She didn't go around following just someone she developed feelings for. She went to go follow her husband. It's different.Also, Bajirao doesn't forget Mastani. He remembers her twice when with Kashi and looks affected whenever he remembers her. He definitely had some feelings for Mastani. I agree that he didn't fall madly in love with her until later, but he definitely did have initial feelings. It was those feelings that expanded to the point of love after the way his family pushed him toward Mastani with their hostility toward her and her unflinching devotion towards him and refusal to complain. He didn't even know his mother was bullying Mastani until later and I also think that made him respect her.All in all, I think the film actually did a pretty good job of humanizing all the characters. Some like Kashi were obviously more easier to understand sympathize with, but others like Bajirao and Mastani were also somewhat easy to understand and sympathize with.
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