Mohe Rang Do Laal (Bajirao Mastani)

I have been so obsessed with this song, 'Mohe rang do laal', based on one of Pandit Birju Maharaj’s own performance on Avadhi Brijwasi thumri, “Balma Re Chunaria Maiko Lal”, that every time i watch it i find something intriguing, like the symbolic use of the color RED & how it changes throughout the course of the song, the red here is never flamboyant or loud (unlike Madhuri's, the courtesan's 'kahe ched ched mohe' piece of Devdas), its subtle, soft, just smeared in holi's color (aabir as we say in bengali, not the aalta ) or like the gesture (kathak hastak!) where she sprinkles just a dash of the 'laal' coz the subsequent rhyming 'nand-laal' (krishna) in the beginning of the song is gestured with his 'makhan chor' childhood image. Check out how brilliantly Maharaj ji didn't let her stretch her fingers on the lips to denote the redness unlike Chandramukhi in Devdas, here..again, just a touch!

 She smears Peshwa with that redness with her hand in one slight let go of her hand & her eyes courses through passion, to request to flaming red in the madness of love! It's not a courtesan's number but an act in order to thank Bajirao for his help & the love that brews in her.Even the tinge of redness in the fringes of the pearl white costume with golden border stands out against the co-dancer's olive green costume, mirrors, extravagant fountains, opulent fort & the huge green canvas in the background. It is said that Mastani had albaster skin so that when she ate a paan, you could see the red through her skin. From elegantly holding her braid in the beginning to letting her hair go loose at the end, see her transformation from her coyness to her openly proposing the Peshwa her love and her hand for marriage.

In a recent interview Birju Maharaj ji said that Deepika's background in Bharatanatyam was a tad difficult to undo, but by the end of the song she had mastered the gestures so well that even in “Pinga” song she holds a perfect Kathak hastak, despite the fact that the song was essentially Maharashtraian folk, says Pandit ji ''Humne itna zyada use Kathak ke rang main rang diya hai!''. Birju Maharaj found Deepika one in the late Madhubala whom he had choreographed in a song for 'Jhumroo', 'Bhola bhola mann mera kahin re sajan'. The 1961 film had Kishore Kumar opposite Madhubala. He told Deepika to think of Ranveer as her Kishore and like Madhubala had danced to his tunes in Jhumroo, she should dance the same way for her Bajirao.

Shreya Ghoshal fantastic voice meanders around ragas like Purvi and Puriya Dhanashri, given the tune’s allegiance to older songs like 'Mohe panghat pe nandlal' from Mughal-e-azam, Pt. Ravi Shankar’s ‘Karuna suno shyam mori’ from Meera & Laxmikant-Pyarelal’s ‘Bandhan toote na’ from Mome Ki Gudiya.