Tanhaji- the unsung warrior
Hiyaa people!
How’s this chilly, hide-n-seek playing winter treating you?
We are destined to meet - you and me at Page-3 - whenever Bollywood, or for that matter Hollywood too, decide to make a movie with a depth either on the plus or the minus side.
This time in Indian cinema, which is smitten lately by the fad of making biopics; its the biopic of an unsung Maratha hero, Tanhaji Malusare, ‘Tanhaji- the unsung warrior’.
You see, after the likes of Manikarnika, no offence, but the overwhelming hamming and farce had me scared of period dramas & elevated the threshold manifold, that now needed to be overcome for me to comfortably decide on willingly be an audience to any such venture for more than two whole hours.
Eventually, when Tanhaji came along, I found myself stuck. It was decided to be a family movie-watching day even before looking into the available options. Finding myself with no better stake, I reluctantly rummaged through the reviews on net which did nothing but discourage me further. I sighed in surrender and there I was, sitting in the theatre equipped with my fully charged cellphone, ready to play my ongoing game in it all through the expected torture of watching the movie.
The movie started and to my surprise I put the phone in the innermost pocket of my handbag, where it lay cosily till I reached back home.
Yes, I loved the movie besides myself.
As a child, I was addicted to reading Amar Chitra Kathas. I was reminded of them all through the viewing process.
A story usually has two major components, a Hero & a Villain. Tanhaji too was no exception. The only problem here was that in the efforts to concentrate and highlight these two integral components, the makers immaturely sidelined those who were much higher in cadre to them in reality. Lemme explain.
Tanaji, no doubt a valiant warrior was but a subedar or military head, that’s all, the real hero being Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj himself. But in the process of glorifying the protagonist, the sequences got flawed big time. For example a subedar masquerading as the Guru, blatantly throwing a wooden staff at the King, while rajmata looks on and he cleanly gets away with it.
Sharad Kelkar was superb as Shivaji Maharaj and lessened the blunder to a great extent but not enough not to cause discomfort in the audience.
Similarly Udaybhan Singh Rathod was just a fort guard. What was he in comparison to The Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb himself who ruled major part of Indian subcontinent for no less than forty nine years? But in the movie Luke Kenny on screen looked like a caricature of the real Alamgir and you become too shocked even to laugh.
I read in social media that in his movie, Laal Kaptaan, Saif resembled Captain Jack Sparrow and Jon Snow of Game of thrones in Tanhaji. But honestly to me, Udaybhan’s mannerisms and character resembled that of Jack Sparrow to a large extent. Jon Snow was in no way this vicious nor had this scheming glint in his eyes that both Jack Sparrow and Udaybhan shared in those kohl-lined deeply dangerous eyes.
Having said that I admit, the screen presence of Saif was more consequential than Devgan. Somehow we are tired of seeing him in his stereotyped role of a superhuman like Singham, while the treatment of Udaybhan’s character with his antics take his villainy to a different level, including his peculiar dance moves [may be inspired by Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker]. His lost love even make us empathise with him at a certain point.
I remember the time in 1991-92, when the media aired that two star kids were about to make their debut in Bollywood in one movie called, Bekhudi. You are right, it was Saif and Kajol. Oh what anticipation and excitement prevailed then. Unfortunately, Saif backed out and the flick came with Kajol and Kamal Sadanah. It was only in 1994 that they came in one movie Yeh Dillagi, with Akshay Kumar. Looking back now, how long and how far they have both travelled to reach where they have today.
All said and done, the best part in rediscovering and telling the story of Tanhaji opens us to one very important aspect of the personality of the King justifying his being Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Its a lesson on leadership. Any King can fight his own battles but a King for whom his subedar, his subjects are ready to casually sacrifice their own lives, is a quality to reckon with.
So friends, do shun all your hitches and go watch this cinematic extravaganza, and I promise you won’t regret it. Only request is, do remember, its not a History lesson, its a movie, an entertainer. If you can do that, you’ll love it as I do.
With that I pen off, leaving you folks with your exclusive and singular experiences to your own. Do share them with me.
Till then its bye bye, tata, shabba-khair, from me here at Page-3! :)
