Film
Bajirao Mastani
A sweeping historical romance about a Marathi military leader torn between duty to his wife and passionate love for a warrior princess. Visually sumptuous, emotionally charged, and unafraid of melodrama. For anyone who loves epic period drama with genuine romantic tension and gorgeous production design.
If you liked this
Padmaavat2018
Another Sanjay Leela Bhansali epic about impossible love across enemy lines, with the same lush visual language and willingness to let romance drive the narrative. Deepika Padukone is extraordinary.
But At 163 minutes it demands patience, and the historical liberties are significant. The film was controversial on release, which some find distracting.

Devdas2002
Bhansali's masterpiece of tragic romance in period India—same director, same commitment to beauty as visual storytelling, same theme of love that cannot survive the world around it. Utterly absorbing.
But It's relentlessly bleak. If you need your romance to end hopefully, this will devastate you in ways that linger.

Kabali2016
A Tamil-language epic about a man of honor caught between family loyalty and personal conviction. Different culture, similar emotional heft, and the lead performance has real gravity beneath the spectacle.
But The pacing is deliberate and the style is maximalist. Some sequences feel indulgent, and subtitles require focus.

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The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela2013
Sanjay Leela Bhansali using identical narrative architecture (lovers against impossible odds, families at war) in radically different historical and cultural contexts to test what makes tragic romance timeless.
The same director (Bhansali) but in contemporary Mumbai, reimagining Romeo and Juliet through gang warfare and passionate young love. Proves the Bajirao emotional formula—star-crossed lovers, family opposition, doomed passion—works across any era or setting.
But It's aggressively stylized to the point of artificiality. The violence is graphic and the sexual content explicit, which some find uncomfortable.

More like this (7)
Jodhaa Akbar2008
Historical romance between a Mughal emperor and a Rajput princess learning to love each other across cultural divides. Gorgeous cinematography and genuinely moving on the theme of finding humanity in an enemy.
But Nearly three and a half hours long with multiple musical interludes. The second half loses momentum compared to the first.

Mughal-e-Azam1960
An older Indian historical drama that influenced how Bollywood would later approach period epics. Watching it shows the lineage of what Bajirao Mastani became. A useful piece of cinema history.
But The production values are dated. It's more artifact than seamless entertainment, and finding it requires some searching.

Rang De Basanti2006
Though set in modern times, it shares Bajirao's moral theme: young men wrestling with duty, personal desire, and what they owe their community. The emotional climax is devastating and earns every tear.
But The tonal shift in the second half is jarring if you go in expecting a lighthearted ensemble film. Some viewers find the politics heavy-handed.

Hey Ram2000
Kamal Haasan and Ajay Devgn in a complex period drama about identity, honor, and love during Partition. Dark and uncompromising, with real thematic weight beneath the romance.
But It's deliberately difficult cinema. The structure is fragmented and it refuses easy answers. Not a comfortable watch.

The Legend of Bhagat Singh2002
Another Rajesh Khanna film about a historical figure navigating impossible choices. Serious, well-acted, and genuinely interested in the person beneath the legend rather than just the spectacle.
But It's a biopic of a freedom fighter, which means it's inherently political and didactic. The romance is secondary to the ideology.

Hilda2018
Both are fundamentally about capable fighters discovering that strength means nothing without someone to protect, and that love becomes a vulnerability that either destroys or redeems.
An animated series that, like Bajirao, centers on a young woman warrior navigating complex loyalties between love, duty, and the people who need her. Same emotional maturity, but in an entirely different medium and tone. Surprisingly moving.
But It's animated for children, which some audiences dismiss. The first season is slower than what follows, and commitment is required.

The Decameron2024
Both ask whether love between people from different worlds justifies the destruction it causes, and answer: maybe, but not without cost.
Netflix's adaptation of Boccaccio: a group of privileged people isolated during plague discover forbidden love and betrayal across class lines. Different era, different register, but identical moral question: what does honor demand when passion and duty collide?
But It's explicit and morally ambiguous in ways Bajirao never attempts. If you need characters to be heroic, this will frustrate you.

People
Cast
Ranveer SinghPeshwa Bajirao Ballaad
Deepika PadukoneMastani
Priyanka Chopra JonasKashibai
Tanvi AzmiRadhabai
Vaibhav TatwawadiChimaji Appa
Mahesh ManjrekarChhatrapati Shahu
Milind SomanAmbaji Panth
Aditya PancholiShripatrao Pratinidhi
Ayush TandonNana Saheb
Rudra SoniYoung Nana Saheb
Raza MuradQamar ud-Din Khan- Benjamin GilaniKing Chhatrasal
Directing
- Rahul Singh AgnihotriAssistant Director
- SharvariAssistant Director
- Sanjay Leela BhansaliDirector
- Sharmin SegalSecond Assistant Director
Writing
- Garima WahalLyricist
- Siddharth SinghLyricist
- Nagnath S. InamdarNovel
- Nagnath S. InamdarOriginal Story
- Prakash R. KapadiaScreenplay
- Prakash R. KapadiaStory
Production
- Parag MehtaCasting Director
- Shruti MahajanCasting Director
- Ashish TandelExecutive Producer
- Chetan DeolekarExecutive Producer
- Shobha SantExecutive Producer
- Arvinder GillLine Producer
- Kishore LullaProducer
- Sanjay Leela BhansaliProducer
Recommended by
Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela, Padmaavat, Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy, Mohenjo Daro, Rudhramadevi, Umrao Jaan