The Love Story of Sultan Baz Bahadur and Rani Roopmati

Let me tell you the love story of the Sultan of Malwa, Baz Bahadur, and the singing shepherdess Roopmati who should become his queen. It’s not only a story of a royal wedding without motives like lust or a political alliance, but also of a tie between Hindus and Muslims.

It’s a wonder that there’s no movie with Deepika and Ranveer yet. I guess death by fire was more dramatic than poison, otherwise, Padmaavat might have become Roopmati instead. So let’s get started!

It was love at first sight (and tune) for the sultan: while out hunting, he heard a woman singing in the woods and followed the captivating voice. Simple as men are sometimes, Baz Bahadur fell instantly in love with the beautiful Roopmati, who had just been hanging out with her friends, singing them a song. I do hope for her that he wasn’t so bad either, otherwise, she would’ve wished to have kept her mouth shut that day.

Anyways, he asked her to be his wife and to accompany him to his capital in Mandu– which was quite a big deal for that time. Others might have just forced themselves on her there and then and got done with it. As a shepherdess, she wasn’t really in any position to say no but at least laid her own condition: he had to construct a palace for her from which she could see her beloved river Narmada – the Roopmati Pavilion as well as the Rewa Kund reservoir. I hence assume she wasn’t as love-struck with him initially when her first thought was to have her own place.

However, she fell in love with him too, most likely after realising that they shared the same love for music and poetry. His lyric writing and music skills came quite handy for her, being a singer and all. After the construction of her palace, they finally got their big fat Indian wedding in both Muslim and Hindu styles. They became so inseparable that Baz Bahadur soon found himself being more of a musician and lover than a Sultan – who else feels reminded of Mark Anthony and Cleopatra here?

He became quite negligent towards his kingdom which didn’t go unnoticed by the Mughal emperor Akbar AKA Akbar the Great, who had also heard tales of Rani Roopmati’s beauty. Akbar sent his General and Foster brother Adham Khan there to attack them with a huge army.

The showdown between Baz Bahadur and Adham Khan happened in 1561 in Sarangpur. Baz Bahadur soon realised that his small army couldn’t possibly win and decided to flee from Mandu rather than being defeated and killed. He somehow forgot his lover in the middle of events and left without Roopmati. Musicians are useless, I tell you!

When poor faithful Roopmati got to know and realised that Adham Khan would soon come for her and disgrace her, she poisoned herself before he could lay hands on her. Thanks, Baz Bahadur! Our chicken hero, however, survived the entire episode for some time. There are two different accounts of his fate: one, that he died during a second attack, and the other is that he submitted himself to Akbar and got some military rank in his government.

Curious to see the place where all this took place? Explore Mandu Fort with me and dive into its rich history!