Originally posted by: Meself
@Janu di. I hate when people make Kashibai as some poster woman for abuse and neglect. Polygamy existed back then so I don't understand why so much if hullabaloo around the same. I agree that Mastani's marriage couldn't be validated given she was not a Brahmin, a trend that existed all over India, but come on she was the co-wife and Kashibai had to deal with it at some point of time. I am pretty sure the real one must have, the fictional one never does.
And I hated Meghna as Mastani. I have seen her previous shows and she cannot act to save her life. She really destroyed all my hopes on Mastani.
While polygamy existed, it was more prevalent in the kshatriya class. For the Brahmin class, it was still taboo. The reasoning is that the kshatriyas remarried many times for political alliances, but as the Brahmins were mostly not warriors, they were expected to be faithful to one wife.
But yes, regardless of all that, I don't like seeing Kashi Bai as a victim either, because I feel that's an insult to the great woman she was. She never saw herself as a victim, and unlike what the show portrayed, she wasn't stupid and sidelined in the family. She had a major role in Bajirao's life and they both shared a happy and loving marriage, evident by the number of children they had even after Mastani's entrance into his life.
History itself writes that both Kashi Bai and Mastani were great women in themselves. Neither of them were mahaan, but in reality, no one truly is. They both had their faults, but they both also had their strengths and they contributed to Bajirao's life in different ways. Mastani was a skilled warrior and helped him in his battles, whereas Kashi Bai was shrewd and intelligent, and helped lead the business aspects of his day to day life.
In fact, I don't believe anyone in Bajirao's life was truly a villain. Even Radha Bai, Chimmaji Appa and Nana Saheb were all normal human beings with strengths and weaknesses. They all made mistakes, but none of them were pure evil. They were all simply a product of their times, and Mastani being a Muslim was the reason they did not accept her, not because she was the second wife, taboo as that might have been due to them being Brahmins.
If ever a show on Bajirao might do justice, it would be a finite series under the Sony Originals' brand. Only a finite series which would not have time for drama could do justice.
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