Bajirao Mastani

A passion project for director Sanjay Leela Bhansali since the 1990s, even before he made his directorial debut, Khamoshi: The Musical (1996). The film was first announced in 2003. Bhansali initially wanted to cast Salman Khan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, his lead pair from Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999), as the lead actors, with Bhoomika Chawla playing Kashibai, but his plans fell through when the real-life couple had a messy, highly-publicized breakup. Bhansali kept Khan on and approached Kareena Kapoor to play Mastani and Rani Mukerji to play Kashibai but shelved his plans and moved on to other projects after Khan and Kapoor both signed on to star in Kyon Ki... (2005), as he had wanted to be the first director to unite the pair, as he stated on the talk show Sanjay Leela Bhansali & Aishwarya (2004). Over the following decade, Bhansali kept expecting the project to be his next film, with several major actors being approached or rumored to be linked to the project, including Shahrukh Khan, Ajay Devgn, Hrithik Roshan and Katrina Kaif, while some in the industry believed it would never be made, calling it jinxed. The project was finally properly revived in 2014 when Bhansali finally decided on his lead actress from Mary Kom (2014), Priyanka Chopra Jonas, and his lead pair from Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-leela (2013), Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone.

When Mastani meets Bajirao, he's on the way to Sironja on urgent business. However, he goes to Bundelkhand with her, does battle, and then apparently returns to Poona, Sironja forgotten.

Featured in 61st Britannia Filmfare Awards (2016)