The pro-Maratha Sambhaji Brigade has taken strong exception to scenes in the upcoming film Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior and has said it will not permit its release unless these “objectionable” scenes are removed from the movie.
The film is based on the 1670 Battle of Sinhagad and Tanaji Malusare’s legendary exploits in capturing the till then impregnable Kondhana fort. “While we appreciate the filmmakers’ and actor-producer Ajay Devgn’s [who plays Tanaji Malusare] efforts in bringing to the screen a biopic on this renowned Maratha warrior, we have issues with some scenes which falsely depict history,” Santosh Shinde of the Sambhaji Brigade said.
The outfit has raised objections to the scene showing a bearded person (allegedly the form of Shivaji’s spiritual guru, Samarth Ramdas) hurling a stick at Chhatrapati Shivaji.
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“We wonder what the objective of the filmmakers was in depicting such a scene, which is downright apocryphal. We condemn Ajay Devgn for such phoney depictions, and we request them to delete these scenes,” Mr. Shinde said.
The outfit has also taken strong objection to the scene in which actor Kajol, who portrays Tanaji’s wife, Savitribai, is heard saying that Chhatrapati Shivaji’s sword is meant to safeguard a woman’s veil and a Brahmin’s sacred thread.
“King Shivaji safeguarded all castes and communities and not only Brahmins. This seems an attempt on part of the filmmakers to erase Shivaji’s inclusive and secular image. We urge the filmmakers to remove these scenes,” Mr. Shinde said.
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The brigade’s objections echo those of NCP MLA Jitendra Awhad, who earlier this week accused the filmmakers of stretching cinematic liberty to depict “ahistorical” incidents and distorting history.