Perhaps one of the most glaring, disturbing symbols of the regressive patriarchy inherent in our traditions is our treatment of the Indian widow. She has been forced to end her life in her dead husband’s funeral pyre; she has been forced to shave her head and dress in the staidest colour of them all for the remainder of her condemned life. Even today, when so much of India has moved past these horrific customs, she’s still ostracized in society, often barred from actively participating in wedding rituals because she’s considered a bad omen.In Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Bajirao Mastani, at a crucial juncture in the film, our hero Bajirao Peshwa firmly conveys to his widowed mother, his decision to bring a second wife into their life and home; a woman who practices a religion different from theirs. In vintage Bhansali matriarch fashion, his mother rebuts his wish with equally firm disapproval.

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