Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior

TANHAJI:THE UNSUNG WARRIOR

1.          Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior is a 2020 Indian Hindi-language biographical period action film starring Ajay Devgn, Saif Ali Khan and Kajol. It is directed by Om Raut and produced by Ajay Devgn, Bhushan Kumar and Krishan Kumar.^[4] Set in the 17th century, the story revolves around the life of Tanaji Malusare, depicting his attempts to recapture the Kondana fortress once it passes on to Mughal emperor Aurangzeb who transfers its control to his trusted guard Udaybhan Singh Rathore.  Principal photography commenced on 25 September 2018 and the film was released in India in 3D and conventional theatres on 10 January 2020. It received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised the action sequences, cinematography, performances, and visual effects, but criticised it for its predictability, nationalism, religious bias and historical inaccuracies.Tanhaji has grossed ₹367.58 crore (US$52 million) worldwide.

Plot

The film begins with the opening scene of India, also called "Sone ki chidiya" (the golden bird). However, this golden bird was destroyed due to several invasions.

The introduction follows up with a young Tanhaji Malusare learning sword fight under his father. After winning a sword fight and a duel between his father, the plot thickens.

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj has escaped from the house arrest of Mughals had to hand over his precious forts to Aurangzeb. Kondhana (Sinhgad) is included too. Aurangzeb thus appoints Udaybhan Singh Rathod, a Rajput, to be the Killedar or fort keeper of Kondhana with the intention of making Kondhana the capital of the South. Shivaji Maharaj prepares to take back Kondhana, Tanhaji Malusare, unaware of the situation comes to Rajgad to invite the Maharaj for his son's - Raina's - wedding. He eventually finds out due to the treacherous intentions of fellow ministers in the Maharaj's council and decides that Kondhana is more important than his son's wedding.

After thorough planning, Tanhaji Malusare decides to attack Udaybhan before he can reach Kondhana. The attempt fails and Udaybhan along with Naagin, a fictional long canon, reaches Kondhana. Thus begins Tanhaji Malusare actual battle of reconnaissance of the Kondhana fort, it's secret doors and the actual war. After taking 300 mavalas with him, he climbs the Kondhana fort and Suryaji Malusare (brother of Tanhaji Malusare) and Shelar Mama (uncle of Tanhaji Malusare) along with 400 mavalas waits at the Kalyan Darwaja. A group of Marathas opens the Kalyan Darwaja and the Marathas rush into the fort. Tanhaji Malusare and the mavalas enter through the Pune Darwaza by sheer bravery and battle begins with Udaybhan single handedly destroying the Marathas. After the battle and exhilarating background music, the duel between Uday Bhan and Tanhaji starts. While Tanhaji Malusare cuts the fire to the Naagin canon in mid-air, Udaybhan cuts his fore-arm. After wrapping his turban around his fore-arm he pushes Udaybhan along with Naagin down the fort. Shivaji Maharaj rushes onto Kondana and Tanhaji dies in his presence.

The movie ends with Tanhaji Malusare wife welcoming him in bridal attire, as she had promised him that she would grant any of his wishes if he won Kondana and his wish was for her to come to him dressed up as a bride.

Cast

• Ajay Devgn as Tanaji Malusare
• Saif Ali Khan as Udaybhan Singh Rathore
• Kajol as Savitribai Malusare
• Sharad Kelkar as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj
• Luke Kenny as Aurangzeb
• Vipul Gupta as Jagat Singh
• Padmavati Rao as Rajmata Jijabai
• Shashank Shende as Shelaar Mama
• Devdatta Nage as Suryaji Malusare
• Neha Sharma as Kamla Devi
• Ajinkya Deo as Chandraji Pisal
• Yuri Suri as Mirza Raje Jai Singh
• Jagannath Nivangune as Kaloji Malusare
• Trisha Patil as Parvatibai "Parvati" Malusare
• Hardik Sangani as Gondya
• Nissar Khan as Beshak Khan
• Prasanna Ketkar as Sarnaik
• Kailash Waghmare as Chultiya
• Harsh Sharma as Young Tanhaji
• Ranav Sharma as Young Suryaji
• Arush Nand as Raiba Malusare
• Dhairyasheel Gholap as Shrubhau
• Nilesh Lalwani as Tatya
• Pramod More as Leader of Gondia
• Bhagyashree Nhalve as Surya's wife
• Devendra Gaikwad as Raiba's father-in-law
• Rajesh Ahir as Raja Sangram Singh

Critical reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, Tanhaji has an approval of 70% with an average rating of 8.2/10 based on ten reviews.

Anupama Chopra of Film Companion noted it to be an un-nuanced retelling of history right out of Amar Chitra Katha comics, that blended historical spectacles, nationalism, and hyper-masculinity. The storytelling, soundtracks, costumes, and individual performances were specifically praised. Rahul Desai noted it to be a slick work which was but marred by an extensive saffronisation which sought to exploit the political climate in India.

A review over The Hindustan Times noted it to be a magnificent work, which had exceptional individual performances, a captivating story-line and excellent video-effects. Namrata Joshi of The Hindu noted of the film to have started off well, before floundering in the middle but gaining brilliance at the end, delivering a catharsis and adrenaline rush. Uday Bhatia of The Mint noted it to be a silly cartoon history, which borrowed its physics from Prince of Persia but nonetheless consisted of fluent actions and interesting individual performances.

Poulomi Das over Are noted Tanhaji to be a funnily hyper nationalistic action thriller, that purveyed a uni-dimensional revisionist history and sophisticated Islamophobia. Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV noted it to be a historically inauthentic work that ironed out any and all nuances in its portrayal of a saffronized Hindu-Muslim binary; however, he noted the overall production to be crisp and backed by powerful individual performances. Tanul Thakur of The Wire noted it to be a work that had excellent cinematography but was intensely buoyed down by its ahistorical religio-nationalist propaganda, catering to the overall saffronisation of India.

Shubhra Gupta over Indian Express noted it to offer a "simplistic, dressed-up slice of the past" that painted hyperbolic tales of Maratha bravery with a Hindu fervor. Sukanya Verma of Rediff noted it to be a mythical retelling of history with a bout of saffron fervor; individual performances and choreography of combat sequences were praised. Rajeev Masand noted it to be a dubiously stereotyped fictional work, which appealed to the hyper-nationalistic climate but had robust filmography, visceral battle scenes, and superb individual performances.Stutee Ghosh of The Quint noted it to be a visually stunning film with strong individual performances, despite its broad liberties with historical accuracy and problematic prejudices.

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