Rau (also referred to as Rauu) is a 1972 Marathi historical fiction novel by N S Inamdar.

The story revolves around the fictionalized romance between real-life historical characters of the Maratha General Peshwa Baji Rao I and his second wife Mastani (born of a Hindu father and Muslim mother).

The novel revolves around the outrage caused by the relationship among Baji Rao's family members and the orthodox priests.

[1] Rau was adapted into a feature film in 2015 as Bajirao Mastani, it was directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali and starred Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra in lead roles.

[2] The novel has also been used as a basis for several other films and TV series in both Hindi and Marathi since its publication.