Sharad Kelkar proves why he was chosen to play the legendary Maratha King

Social media is replete with tweets and posts hailing the trailer of ‘Tanhaji: The unsung Warrior’. The trailer is being applauded by all, except leftists, for portraying the role of a truly unsung hero, and bringing it to the silver screen on such a large scale. Ajay Devgan, Saif Ali Khan, Kajol and Sharad Kelkar are among the lead artists of this movie. Directed by Om Raut, Ajay Devgan will bring to life the role of Maratha warrior, Tanhaji Malusare. Going by the opinions of viewers on YouTube and other social media, the movie is all set to be a blockbuster hit!

At a function marking the launch of the trailer, Sharad Kelkar, who is playing the role of Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj, showed a mirror to the leftists who have on expected lines, begun sulking about the movie and its trailer. A video of the same event has now gone viral on social media, in which a journalist is seen asking Sharad Kelkar a question in which he mentions Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj as merely ‘Shivaji’. The specific question was: “How are you feeling about having played the role of Shivaji?” Instantaneously, Kelkar interrupted the journalist and corrected him: “Say Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj!” Spontaneously, the audience broke into applause, and the journalist immediately apologised.

Sharad Kelkar is a famous television and voice-over artist. Sharad hails from Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh and comes from a Marathi family. He has an MBA in Marketing from Prestige Institute of Management, Gwalior. He started his professional career as a gym trainer, and then turned to modelling. Kelkar was a Grasim Mr. India finalist.

In 2004, he made his television debut with the show Aakrosh which aired on Doordarshan.  Thereafter, Kelkar entered the television and entertainment industry. After initial struggle, he got the lead role in the television serial ‘Saat Phere’. He also hosted the show Pati Patni Aur Woh on Imagine TV in 2009.

In 2007, Sharad hosted Rock-N-Roll Family along with former Hero Honda Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge 2007 contestant Mauli Dave. He then played the role of Thakur Digvijay Singh Bhadoria in Bairi Piya which even earned him critical acclaim for his performance.

In 2010, he participated in reality comedy TV series, Comedy Circus Mahasangram (2010) paired with Bharti Singh and Paresh Ganatra. In 2012, Kelkar played the role of Dr. Ashutosh replacing Mohnish Behl in the serial Kuch Toh Log Kahenge which aired on Sony Entertainment Television India. Sharad was also seen as Agent Raghav Sinha in his crime and mystery thriller Agent Raghav – Crime Branch which aired on &tv.

After an illustrious career in daily sops, Sharad Kelklar turned to the film industry. He proved his mettle in various movies and series, such as ‘Golliyon Ki Rasleela – Ramleela’, ‘The Family Man’, ‘Lai Bhari’, etc.

For the Hindi version of Bahubali, it was Sharad Kelkar who did the voiceover of Prabhas, for which he has been highly appreciated. Apart from this, Sharad Kelkar has dubbed many Hollywood blockbusters into Hindi, such as Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Captain Marvel, Furious 7, Exodus: Gods and Kings, Mad Max: Fury Road, among others.

Now, with his stern statement during the trailer launch of Tanhaji, Sharad Kelkar has not only maintained the respect and dignity of Chattrapati Maharaj, but has also shown the mirror to the left-liberal cabal. Only a few weeks ago, ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’ and its host, Amitabh Bachhann were caught in a soup for a similar ‘error’. In a question asked by the host, Aurangzeb was referred to as ‘Samraat’, while Chattrapati Shivaji was referred to as merely ‘Shivaji’. All the other options had respectable prefixes attached to them as well. This caused a huge uproar on Twitter, following which #BoycottKBC trended for two days. Ultimately, Sony TV and Amitabh Bachhann, both apologised for the ‘error’.

On one hand, the left-liberals continuously aim to reduce Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj to a ‘regional ruler’, instead of a national emperor. In the history books of India, the left-historians have successfully reduced the Maratha Empire to less than two paragraphs. Many warriors who fought along with Chattrapti Shivaji Maharaj are not even mentioned, such as Baji Prabhu Deshpande, Bahirji Naik, or Tanhaji Malusare.

In contrast to this, not only is Aurungzeb glorified to sick proportions, but he is also referred to as “Zinda Peer” and “Mughal Samraat”. These are all titles used to somehow whitewash the brutalities which he, his predecessors, and his empire inflicted upon the people of this country. In such times, Sharad Kelkar’s statement sets a precedent, that insults and whitewashing of our glorious kings and warriors will no longer be tolerated.

Kelkar is not new to the entertainment industry. His vast experience in the television as well as film industry has rightfully earned him the role of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in the upcoming film.