Some of the more interesting Bhansali tropes add to the film's impact and appeal. But it's the trajectory and transformation of the two women that is worth noting.

The grandiosity wears off. You long for a genuinely moving, exciting story, featuring all these beautiful people, all actors able to pull off characters, but buried under their mounds of clothes, mouthing dialogue.

The film feels overly ceremonious, purposefully epic and, in places, a little exhausting. But hang in there. Because slowly and skillfully, Bajirao Mastani transports you.

You know a director is worth his or her title when, largely, their later work is their better work. If Ram-Leela was visceral, this one was quite simply ferocious.