‘Jis Tarah Mitti ke Har Kan mein Pahad Hota Hai, Har Beej mein Ped, aur Har Talvar mein Sena, Usi Tarah Har Maratha mein Chhupa hai Laakh Maratha!’
[The way in which every particle of the soil has the power of the mountain, every seed is like a tree, and every sword finds an army, in the same way every Maratha has the power of a lakh Marathas]
With such impressive dialogues in kitty, the trailer of the much awaited biopic starring Ajay Devgn, ‘Tanhaji – the Unsung Warrior’ finally streamed on YouTube and other online platforms. Directed by Om Raut, famous for his Marathi biopic ‘Lokmanya – Ek Yugpurush’, the movie, based on the exploits of Maratha braveheart Tanaji Malusare, stars Ajay Devgn in the titular role, apart from Saif Ali Khan, Kajol, Sharad Kelkar, Luke Kenny and Padmavati Rao in other principal roles.
How much people waited for the trailer is evident by the very fact that the movie trailer garnered a staggering 2.6 million views and counting in less than 24 hours on YouTube, along with more than 7 lakh likes. The trailer is also trending at No. 3 in the Indian YouTube videos trending list.
To begin with, we shall be ever grateful to Ajay Devgn and Om Raut for showing a promising glimpse of possibly a fitting tribute to the glory of the Maratha warriors. It is almost impossible to sum up the magnitude of this trailer in just one word.
For those unaware, brave Maratha warrior Tanaji Malusare, apart from being a close childhood friend of Maratha Emperor Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, was also one of his most trusted commanders. He was asked to reclaim the strategically important Kondhana fort for the Marathas. Though he was preparing for his son’s wedding, Tanaji not only agreed to perform his duty for the motherland, but also martyred himself in a fierce fight with the guardian of the fort and Rajput warrior, Uday Bhan Rathod, on the dawn of 4 February 1670.
However, his sacrifice didn’t go down in vain, and the Marathas, incensed by the martyrdom of Tanaji, went on to reclaim the Kondhana fort. Chhatrapati Shivaji was so pained by the martyrdom of Tanaji, that he was said to have remarked, ‘Gadh Ala Pan Sinh Gela’ [The fort is ours but our lion has departed]
Whoever has managed to survive the tragedy of the trailer of ‘Panipat’, ‘Tanhaji’ trailer would be nothing less than oxygen for them. Be it the charisma of Ajay on screen, or the marvelous acting of Saif as the Mughal loyalist Uday Bhan, most of the people can’t stop praising the different facets of the movie trailer. Many have praised the movie by comparing the trailer with the likes of the grandeur shown in movies like ‘Bajirao Mastani’, ‘Baahubali etc. From background music that induces goosebumps with every passing second, to the lavish sets, as well as the impressive VFX, there is nothing that the people liking ‘Tanhaji’ trailer haven’t praised about.
However, the X factor about this movie is the unapologetic praise of the ideals of Bharat, especially the Sanatan Dharma, or what the world knows as the Hinduism. It is very rare that a mainstream Bollywood film glorifies the ideals of Sanatana Dharma, as it actually is, without maligning for the sake of pseudo secularism. However, ‘Tanhaji’ doesn’t only include such ideals, it also makes us relive the era in which the Marathas fought for the liberation of India from the Mughal imperialism.