The release of Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior has caused some major heartburn among the left-liberals as the Maratha glory is in full display in the film. Ever since the launch of its trailer numerous attempts have been made to discredit the film because the left-liberals favourite, the Mughals, are shown in a poor light.
‘Historians’ like Audrey Truschke, backed by leftists, have tried to romanticise Aurangzeb, as they attempt to glorify the marauder and obfuscate the memory of who was a horrific tyrant. It didn’t take a genius to predict that the reviews from the left-leaning websites would not be too kind towards Tanhaji and The Quint, NDTV and the Indian Express have certainly not disappointed us by their biased reviews of Tanhaji.
Saibal Chatterjee in his review for the NDTV in his review titled ‘Ajay Devgn’s Film Is A Treat For The Eye, If Not For The Mind,’ gives 2.5 stars to the film and writes “The impulse to project Tanaji Malusare as a morally infallible man wedded to the cause of swaraj is easy to understand in the light of the glut of the Hindu-Muslim binary-pushing historical sagas that a segment of Bollywood is so in thrall of these days. The emphasis on the colour Bhagwa (saffron), too, is understandable – that was the colour of the Maratha confederacy’s flag – but the constant reference to the adversaries of the Marathas as shaitan (devil) and darinda (beast of prey) only serves to further a simplistic narrative that ignores the historical realities that obtained in this vast, diverse land of ours 350 years ago.”
Clearly, the fact that Marathas are portrayed in a good light is too much to digest for Chatterjee who seemingly had no problem with the portrayal of Shahid Kapoor and Ranveer Singh in Padmaavat.
Shubhra Gupta writing for the Indian Express whines that: “By now, we are so steeped in Bollywood’s patriots re-creating paeans to our glorious past, that to even bring up the fact that the bad guys are your Muslim ‘outsiders’, seems to belabor the point. For this film, it’s simple; either you are on our side, or theirs.” Yet again, the film has been reduced to a Hindu-Muslim issue as Gupta conveniently ignores the fact that in majority of the Bollywood films, the upper caste Brahmins are unfairly shown as the villains with the most recent case being the film ‘Mukkabaaz’.
Gupta expresses her dismay about the release of Panipat and Tanhaji as he makes her disdain known for the brutal display of the ‘Maratha Valour’. According to Gupta, Tanhaji must not be given the credit it deserves just because of the portrayal of Aurangzeb, who was nothing but a radical and a tyrant. Her grudge was so serious that she rated the film with only 2 stars.
Communist mouthpiece, The Quint has run two articles to discredit Tanhaji as it accuses the film to be Islamophobic. Stutee Ghosh for The Quint gives 3 stars to the film and writes that apart from the historical inaccuracies, the film is visually stunning. She then moves to label the movie as sexist as she writes, “It must be kept in mind that this is a testosterone-driven world where the women secondary roles. Kajol as Tanhaji’s devoted wife or Neha Sharma as the object of Udaybhan’s obsession hardly have anything to do.”
Meghnad Bose in his propaganda piece rests to claiming that Tanhaji is Bollywood’s latest Islamophobic period film. He writes that: “Ajay’s character talks about how their animals are stolen by “them”, how the way they are living (in servitude to outsiders) is equivalent to not living at all, and even mentions that “khul ke Jai Shri Ram bhi nahi bol sakte” (they can’t even chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’ openly). This Hindu-Muslim narrative for the war has been repeatedly reinforced through the film, both subtly and overtly. But was the Battle of Kondhana in 1670 (which is what the movie is mostly about) really fought on the basis of religion? Or was it a battle between (the armies of) two rulers over the territory under their dominions, with little to do about faith? After all, the generals on both sides of this battle (Udaybhan and Tanhaji) were Hindus themselves.”
He then proceeds to even label the film’s music as a means of portraying Ajay and Kajol’s characters as the ‘guys’. He writes: The underscoring of the characters’ religion however occurs most prominently during the songs. From ‘Maay Bhawani’ to ‘Shankara Re Shankara’, the songs picturised on Tanhaji and his wife Savitribai Malusare (played by Kajol) seamlessly integrate religious positivity with the side of the protagonists. By association therefore, Tanhaji and those fighting with him receive divine sanction in the minds of the viewers. They are the righteous. They are the ones fighting the good fight. This technique of tilting the scales in favour of one side in the war is particularly insidious because it also helps establish the religion-based nature of the conflict that is being portrayed on screen.” This is nothing but Communist propaganda in full swing, and you might even break into laugh to think how difficult it has been for such propagandists to watch a movie, based on history, which exudes a nationalistic emotion against a tyrannous Mughal rule under arguably the most dreaded (and indefensible) Mughal there ever was.
While The Times of India and Hindustan Times have showered their choicest of praises on the film, even the negative reviewers have conceded to the makers of the film on the counts of action, drama, performance and visuals. The real problem is with the story which happens to be based on a real chapter in Indian history. Their problem is political.
The only problem they have with the film is that they have made a Bhagwa vs Aurangzeb fight which it truly was and that this is yet another movie about Maratha glory, which bores the typical liberal, if it not enrages them. To say the least, the very predictable meltdown of left-liberals over Tanhaji is hilarious and a treat to watch