Tanhaji the Unsung Warrior: How the Battle of Sinhagad in Ajay Devgn, Saif Ali Khan’s Movie Might Have Inspired a Hrithik Roshan Film in the Past!
Meanwhile, we are eagerly waiting for how the real battle was recreated in Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior, when it comes out on January 10, 2020. That too in 3D!
The first trailer of Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior has landed and it had left with a feeling of goosebumps. Mounted on a large scale and boosted by a rousing background score, the film blends in well with the spirit of Hindu pride that has caught our nation in recent times. Or in the case of Tanhaji, Maratha Pride. Directed by Om Raut, Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior stars Ajay Devgn, Saif Ali Khan and Kajol in the lead. Ajay Devgn is playing the eponymous Tanhaji Malusare, the Maratha general in Chatrapathi Shivaji's army, who was hailed as a 'Lion' by the king. Kajol plays his wife, Savitribai Malusare. Tanhaji the Unsung Warrior Trailer: Ajay Devgn and Saif Ali Khan Take You on an Epic War Which Glorifies Marathas.
Saif Ali Khan plays Uday Bhan Rathod, a Rajput general who is assigned by the Mughal Emperor, Aurangzeb to protect the fort of Kondana. It is the siege of Kondana by the Marathas from the Mughals that forms the crux of Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior.
The movie is basically set in 1670 where Tanhaji led 300 Maratha warriors to capture the heavily protected Kondana fort. As per historical sources, Uday Bhan had put canons and most of his unit members in nearly all nooks and corners of his fort, so attacking the fort from the front was not a possibility for the Marathas. But one side of the wall was less protected because there was a steep wall beneath it, and the Mughal army thought that accessing the fort through here, would be impossible. And that, presumably, was their mistake.
For as the story goes, Tanhaji and his men scaled this side of the wall using domesticated monitor lizards, called in Marathi lingo as ghorpads, which is also used in the film. Another set of historians claims that Ghorpads, mentioned during the battle, weren't monitor lizards, but a sect of warriors, adept in climbing walls. Tanhaji the Unsung Warrior Trailer: Is the Background Music in Ajay Devgn, Saif Ali Khan’s Film Inspired by Vijay Sethupathi, R Madhavan’s Vikram Vedha Tune?
Whatever the truth is, using this tactic, Tanhaji managed to climb the walls of the fort to battle Uday Bhan, and then losing his life valiantly in the process. The Marathas capture the fort, and Shivaji Maharaj renames it as Sinhagad to laud the memory of the fallen hero, Tanhaji.
Watch The Trailer of Tanhaji here:
Interestingly, the tactic that Tanhaji used in the real battle had also inspired the climax of another Bollywood film, also set during a real war, but in more recent times. The movie was Lakshya, directed by Farhan Akhtar and starring Hrithik Roshan in the lead. Set during the Kargil war, Lakshya is a fictional coming of age tale of Karan Shergill, a youngster who becomes an army man, involved in the war between India and Pakistan. 15 Years of Lakshya: Why Amitabh Bachchan, Hrithik Roshan and Preity Zinta’s Movie Remains the Best War Movie in Bollywood by Not Being One!
The climax of the film revolves around the capture of Point 5179, a peak in Kargil that Pakistani army had taken over. When Karan's unit try to attack the peak from the front, they are heavily attacked by the enemy forces with their artillery stationed at the peak, and suffers huge casualties.
When the usual approach doesn't work for them, Karan leads a small unit to scale the peak from the steep backside slope, that the enemy unit didn't bother to protect. Yes, there were no monitor lizards involved in this climbing, instead, the soldiers rely on their mountain climbing and rappelling skills. This leads to one of the best scenes in the film, that is expertly shot and enhanced by an incredible piece of BG score.
Watch it below:
We don't know if the real Battle of Sinhagad had inspired Farhan Akhtar for this climax scene. But it surely looks like there was some inspiration.
Meanwhile, we are eagerly waiting for how the real battle was recreated in Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior, when it comes out on January 10, 2020. That too in 3D!
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 19, 2019 05:24 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).