Kashi - The tale of a vilified wife - Page 2

Originally posted by: amritat

In the past few days, I have observed something. They are butchering Kashi!!

What the hell!!

Her insecurity and innocence was looking cute in the initial days. But now they are portraying her as a spoilt brat, insensitive and spineless, who does not understand her husband one bit, and has nothing else to do all day long except whining about her husband. And to show it as contrast, they are portraying Mastani as the great thinker, intelligent warrior and selfless princess!

What are they trying to show? That Kashi is a dumb wife, not upto Baji's standards. And so Mastani will come and save him!

Now now, CVs. Your bias towards Bajirao-Mastani affair doesn't have to be so obvious! We all know Bajirao loved Mastani, and she was a talented woman. But to justify that romance, you dont need to pull down Kashi in this manner. Let her be. Kindly dont take us for fools. We understand exactly what you are doing there.

Kusum Chopra in her novel 'Mastani' did the same thing. She portrayed Kashi as a shallow, dumb, insecure character to make the reader feel for Mastani. Otherwise, why else will the general public side for the 'mistress'?

I will give a million likes to Bhansali in this regard. He didnt degrade the first wife to justify the so-called 'epic romance'. He showed all three of them with dignity, and let the audience choose their favourite. Needless to say, most preferred Kashi over Mastani, as her love and pain were more palpable than Bhansali-Mastani's 'Ibadat' (read husband-stealing).

I have nothing against the historical Mastani though. I understand she lived in an era where such relationships were normal. I am not sure whether the real Mastani willingly seduced a married Bajirao or her relationship with him was more like submission to fate and eventually love. I do not know whether she indeed was his wife as Kusum Chopra tries to prove in her book, or his mistress. Either way, it makes not much difference to me, bcoz the mode of her relationship doesnt change the fact that her entry in Bajirao's life (whether as a wedded wife or mistress) brought a turmoil into the family, and strained Bajirao's equation with his wife - the major reason why I am not a fan of hers. And if she had been his wedded wife, it is unlikely that her son would be called Shamsher Bahadur!

But those are historical debates. I do not know the exact details as historians are still arguing on this. So, I'll give the real Mastani the benefit of doubt. She may have been a willing seductress or a pawn in political alliances.

But HERE, in this show, the character sketches are going haywire. Though Sony-Mastani is being portrayed as an ultra-perfect woman, which is, IMO, nothing but glorification, what is really bothering me immensely is the shameless butchering of Kashi! That is such a typical, cliched and below-standard way of glorifying such kind of affairs!

Why not show the story as it is? Why not dare to show the truth? We all know the basic crux of this tale. We will happily accept it as history. Why distort it to suit the one man - one woman romance ideologies of 21st Century? If that had been the condition, then what was the point of making a show on ancient history!

And Bhiu! The less said about her, the better! Ok, her husband is a jerk. For that she deserves utmost sympathy. But why does she keep taunting Kashi at the drop of a hat? Kashi, in her own grown-up days, never taunted her. The only thing she said is, Bhui, you are lucky! That is bcoz she is probably not fully aware of the equation between Bhui and her husband behind closed doors. And secondly, she is judging their relationship through the lens of her own. For her, husband's physical presence is of utmost importance as that is what she lacks. Granted she didnt understand Bhiu's turmoil, bcoz of her inexperience, but what is Bhiu doing?

Taunting her at the drop of a hat without provocation! Aap mere bhau ko nahi janti! Aap mere bhau ke pasand ko nahi samajhti! Aapko mere bhau ke baare mein kuch nahi pata! What the hell!! I am pretty sure, she will be the first one to root for Bajirao-Mastani when the time comes.

P.S. - Apologies to my fellow members for the rant, but the narrow-minded bias of the creative team compelled me to write this. 😭

Originally posted by: poemssyndrome

I am new here as I just saw a few latest episodes of the show. And from watching that I have sensed that they are trying to show Kashibai immature & self-centered as bhiu pointed out so wonderfully to us. Similarly I see how they are showing Mastani as a intelligent warrior princess. Now if we do some research, we would find out that when Peshwa Bajirao( indeed a intelligent man, as he was one of the most successful Peshwa)went for his battles, Kashibai was the one who looked after the governance.

It is impossible to happen if she was as she is shown in the show, that the state would have florished so much under her governance when the true ruler was away.

Secondly Mastani was a gift to Bajirao by her father as he helped him in the war. So she wasn't some psycho lover as the movie puts out. We cannot say how they are going to show it in the show. That is to be seen.

But I totally agree with your point. All we are expecting is better writing. It is completely possible to not villify anyone of the trio & still make us feel their emotions. It's just that the writers will have to work very hard & the actors will have to reinvent themselves. And for all the glory they are going to get if the show turns out to be a hit, I don't think it is a lot to ask.

They would just have to keep their bias aside. I feel no matter how much they try to villify her, it is very difficult not to sympathise with Kashi. For what we know, while watching a movie named Bajirao Mastani, it was Kashi who stole most of our hearts.

Originally posted by: kahiliginger

Love triangles are confounding to explain because they polarise opinions. And public opinion can be crucial to the fate of such relationships when the individuals involved are public figures.

Everyone understands why Bajirao fell for Mastani, an exquisite and accomplished beauty. There are countless legends about her charm and her romance with Bajirao.

Bajirao-Mastani are not the only example of forbidden love made famous by controversy. No matter how hidebound it makes them seem each society enforces its own rules for class and religious adherence. Edward VIII of England was forced to abdicate his throne when he fell for the American socialite and divorcee Wallis Simpson. He was succeeded by the rather unlikely Geroge VI.

A much married Charles' marriage to the iconic Princess Diana ended due to his dalliance with the not so popular Camilla Parker-Bowles. Even after he married Camilla a highborn royal like Charles has not been able to mitigate public opinion because his British subjects still love Diana more than he did.

Closer to home a successful film producer of North Indian origin invited intense scrutiny when he willingly left his wife and young children for a famous South born actress whom he had been mentoring for a few years.

Even if the Peshwa's family disapproved of Mastani they chose not to oppose Bajirao's relationship with her for nearly a decade, irrespective of her caste, faith or the circumstances of her birth. But as Bajirao defied caste rules by eating meat, drinking alcohol and openly consorting with Mastani he provoked the ire of the community. Public opinion is a formidable force to reckon with in any age. The stubborn Bajirao overestimated his clout when he insisted on making Mastani his preferred companion. The furore he caused led his family to separate him from her in an attempt to appease the public.

Most young viewers simply do not grasp the socio-political climate prevailing in 18th century Maharashtra.Had the Peshwa's family not intervened in the Mastani matter they would have been ostracised. Bajirao had not expected the outrage to mount to this extent. Following a stalemate he moved to Patas a few miles away while Mastani remained under house arrest in Pune. Had Bajirao tried to rescue her forcefully it could have led to civil war. Such is the power of public opinion. And in that age it went in Kashi's favour because she was seen as the wronged wife.

Likewise in each era Mastani has found ardent supporters who saw her as a victim of prejudice. Actually the whole Peshwa family was caught in an unfortunate web whether or not anyone understands their predicament.

Serial makers cannot present such complex facts without disenchanting fans. So they do what they are best at, they reinvent the story to suit themselves. Sometimes they succeed, sometime they do not. TRPs are already plummeting. If the show is taken off air after 25th August any argument about the show's content is moot.