Marathi warrior vs Ayutthaya oarsman

Marathi warrior vs Ayutthaya oarsman

The most anticipated period pieces of 2015 are now showing, but who does it better? 

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Marathi warrior vs Ayutthaya oarsman
Pongsakorn Mettarikanon in Pantai Norasingh.

History need not be boring. Tales of two historical heroes have hit cinemas: Bajirao from India and Pantai Norasingh from Siam, and as rosy (or muddied) as they get upon shape-shifting into films, they are hype-worthy cinematic goodies that rival the dominance of the Force.

You haven't seen anything until you've seen Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Bajirao Mastani -- the sort of epic historical romance that will stun you for life with its visual might. Closer to our hearts and home, Pantai Norasingh gives a human depth and enjoyably comical look at the 17th century figure most Thais equate with sacrifice and royal barges.

Pantai Norasingh, or oarsman Norasingh, is the first non-royal main character to be featured in MC Chatrichalerm Yukol's roster of historical epics; thankfully, this one is encapsulated in one three-hour sitting instead of six parts. The titular bargeman's story won't take another decade to tell: Sin (played with a chummy, boy-next-door touch by Pongsakorn Mettarikanon) has country beginnings as a humble villager adept at fighting and steering vessels. Unknowingly, he becomes friends with the king of Ayutthaya, who is in disguise, and gets appointed as the king's oarsman, under the name of Pantai Norasingh. We all know how this one ends so this is no spoiler: after Sin accidentally drives the king's barge into a tree, he insists on his own execution in attempt to preserve public respect for the law. As Pantai was intended originally to be made as a prime-time television series, we're left with emotionally-loaded scenes that although give a thorough look at different relationships, leaves out the meet-cutes and trashy drama. All the better.

Lt Col Wanchana Sawasdee, best known as King Naresuan, plays another monarch here, as King Sanpetch VII, commonly known as Pra Chao Sua (the Tiger King). This time, he gets to play a cheeky ruler who just wants to go fishing and boxing with the villagers. In fact, King Sua's hilarious adventures while trying to court Sin's love interest Nual (Pimdao Panichsamai) and even his act of swearing to become blood brothers with Sin (on the bluntest-looking sword ever) are actually fun to watch, as opposed to the predictably preachy dialogues or throat-slits far less bloodier than real-life paper cuts. Our relatively fresh and Smurfy leads Pongsakorn and Pimdao convincingly revive the torments of a darker age we'd rather forget-- one rampant with rape, pillaging and slavery. 

Sin is disarmingly cute in his wide-eyed act when entering the capital for the first time, even when there isn't much to be awed at. We're a third world country both in reality and on screen, with the palace hall and royal quarters (as seen in every Thai historical miniseries/movie/lakorn) recycled to death. That's probably the biggest contrast when you visit the Indian epic Bajirao Mastani, which flaunts an unforgettable hall of mirrors set that makes Thai epics look 20 years behind the times. History is full of songs too in the subcontinent, and the jaw-droppingly beautiful number that takes place in that hall, Deewani Mastani, along with other thundering background scores that maketh the movie, bring to light how Indians are light-years ahead of us when it comes to grandiosity and music. 

Walking amid glorious mahals and wearing lavish headgears and dazzling jewellery (all real, gasp), Bhansali's returning trio of A-list darlings are looking even more majestic and gorgeously enthralling than their last outing together in Ram-Leela. Ranveer Singh, radiating a regal charisma, seems born for the role of Peshwa Bajirao -- a military genius who is credited with expanding the 18th century Maratha empire. When warrior princess Mastani (Deepika Padukone) seeks his army's help to save her Bundelkhand kingdom, they fall in love and she is passionately determined to be with him, despite humiliating hostility from the Brahmin priests, Bajirao's family and his first wife, Kashi (Priyanka Chopra). 

Filled with the theatrical flavour of allegorical lines and larger-than-life gestures (like unintelligibly braving a raging sea during a storm all in the name of love), the epic Game Of Thrones-esque fight sequences are also picturesquely hyper-slow or hyper-fast to mirror the heart's chugging desires. The slow motion feeds into the gravity of the action: Bajirao purposely misses throwing the dagger into his brother's condemning face, to which he says, "Sometimes relationships get into the way".

The acting prowess that Bollywood's heavyweights possess, using only a mere glance or flex of the face, sears you through the heart, even if with old-worldly and poetic dialogue. In between the 10 perfectly-plotted dance numbers and majestic fluff, there too is a darker decoy, as Mastani's Muslim faith in a predominantly Hindu society becomes the excuse for demeaning put-downs and even murder attempts. Yet, she is level-headed and calmly weathers through every threat -- her graceful resolve a timely salve to the atrocities in the name of religion.

While one film is clearly steeped in opulence and the other in grit and grime, two memorable movies do shine through, when not weighed down by fake CG climaxes and preaching. Whether the directors realise it or not, the light of their messages, be it honesty or love, are seen best through mere conversations between characters rather than declamatory declarations. Thanks to the able fighting and acting muscles the cast in both films have, they manage to deliver lines, which belong more in dusty tomes than on lips of actors, that linger in your mind long after the movie is over.

Pongsakorn Mettarikanon and Pimdao Panichsamai in a scene from Pantai Norasingh.

Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra in Bajirao Mastani. 

Deepika Padukone in the song Deewani Mastani.

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