After courting controversy for a couple of dialogues that the Censor Board found offensive, the much-awaited trailer of the movie ‘Thackeray’ has been released. The film stars Nawazuddin Siddiqui as the unequivocal nationalist Balasaheb Thackeray, Rajesh Khera as the controversial politician cum PM Morarji Desai and actress Amrita Rao as Balasaheb Thackeray’s wife Meena Thackeray in principal roles.
The film is co-produced by Viacom 18 Motion Pictures and Carnival Pictures, and the movie is all set to release on 25 January, making it a huge clash between more than four movies just before the Republic Day. Directed by Abhijit Panse, and produced by Shiv Sena politician Sanjay Raut, the movie covers the entire life of Balasaheb Thackeray, from his humble beginnings as a political cartoonist to the times when he was unofficially the ‘ruler’ of entire Maharashtra.
To be frank enough, the trailer is extremely impressive from the start. While most of the Bollywood projects as of late have been criticized for being overtly Hinduphobic, demonizing anything even remotely associated with the Sanatan Dharma, the movie trailer has no such intentions.
From the beginning to the end, each dialogue is carefully penned with finesse. Also, the background score, as composed by ‘Sarkar’ fame Amar Mohile induces goosebumps with each passing second, something that had made ‘Sarkar’ a surprise hit in 2005. Going by the way the trailer has shown us, it looks like director Abhijit Panse has given attention to every detail associated with Balasaheb Thackeray, from his stint in regional politics of the 1960s to the turbulent India of the 90s.
For those unaware, Balasaheb Thackeray was the founder of the Shiv Sena, who used to work earlier as a cartoonist for ‘The Free Press Journal’. Following creative differences, he left the newspaper to form his own political weekly ‘Marmik’, which later laid the foundation for the Shiv Sena party. A fierce critic of communism, Balasaheb Thackeray was a staunch believer in the policy of ‘tit for tat’, which attracted followers and critics alike.
Nawazuddin Siddiqui is, without doubt, the star of this trailer. With his straightforward approach and a tough look, he has apparently done full justice to the legacy of the great nationalist Balasaheb Thackeray. In a time, when excessive minority appeasement is considered by many opportunists in Bollywood as a solution to India’s problems, ‘Thackeray’ has thrown appeasement to the winds, being completely unapologetic in its approach.
Interestingly, the movie came into controversy hours before the release of the trailer, as the Censor Board found some of the dialogues offensive, especially those in connection with Shiv Sena’s policies towards the South Indians. As a result, the trailer was released with a few cuts.
However, even the trimmed trailer is enough to make most of the left-liberals uncomfortable, thanks to the unapologetic approach of the makers towards the subject. Be it his criticism for minority appeasement following the demolition of Babri Masjid, or his criticism for the resumption of cricket ties despite the deaths of thousands of soldiers on the border, the trailer is certainly not going to be digested well by the left-liberals.
When Thackeray addresses his real intentions to the then PM Indira Gandhi, it is completely reflective of the nationalist attitude that Balasaheb Thackeray sported throughout: ‘Nothing at the cost of my nation.’ Never the one to support minority appeasement, the makers of ‘Thackeray’ have seen to it that Balasaheb is portrayed in his true spirit, which is quite contrary to the current policies of the political outfit.
Moreover, we are now set for a mega clash on 25th of January. As Emraan Hashmi’s ‘Cheat India’ clashes with Kangana Ranaut’s ‘Manikarnika’, and possibly Hrithik Roshan starrer ‘Super 30’, the release of ‘Thackeray’ gives a signal that Bollywood is changing. We hope that Balasaheb Thackeray is depicted without any adulteration to his personality and a noble tribute is paid to his legacy.