Remove controversial scene about Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj from filmTanhaji: The Unsung Warrior

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Pune, November 19, 2019: The right wing Maratha organisation Sambhaji Brigade has demanded that controversial scene about Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj be dropped from upcoming Hindi film ‘Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior’. The trailer for the film was released today.

In a statement, Sambhaji Brigade said that the trailer shows that Swami Ramdas throws something towards Shivaji Maharaj. This is wrong depiction of history to create rift in society. Therefore, Sambhaji Brigade has demanded that the scene be excluded from the film.

Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior is an upcoming Indian biographical period drama film starring Ajay Devgn, Saif Ali Khan, Kajol, Jagapathi Babu, Pankaj Tripathi and Sharad Kelkar in the lead roles.

Set in the 17th century, the Om Raut’s directorial is based on the life of Tanaji Malusare, unsung warrior of glorious Indian history and the military leader in the army of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, founder of the Maratha Empire.

Ajay Devgn, who stars in his 100th film, will be seen portraying the role of Subhedar Tanaji Malusare Koli. Principal photography commenced on 25 September 2018. It was scheduled for a worldwide release on 27 December 2019. Now the release date has been pushed back to 10 January 2020.

Know about Battle of Sinhagad

In 1670, Tanaji, who hailed from “Umrathe” near Mahad, Konkan, was busy making preparations for his son, Rayaba’s wedding when he was summoned by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj for a meeting. Tanaji put the wedding plans on hold and immediately left for the meeting. On hearing Shivaji Maharaj’s plan to recapture Kondhana (Sinhagad) fort, about 25 km from Pune, from the Mughals, Tanaji took charge of the campaign and started his preparations.

Upon reaching the foot of the fort, Tanaji and his detachment of 300 troops were said to have scaled the fort from the western side on a dark night with the help of a domesticated monitor lizard (called ghorpad in Marathi) named Yashwanti to which they were said to have tied ropes and sent crawling up top to the precipice of the fort. After two failed attempts, Tanaji and his men successfully scaled the steep hill fortress.

Once inside and after opening the Kalyan Darwaza, Tanaji, his men and another detachment of 500 troops headed by Suryaji (his younger brother) attacked the army holding down the fort. The fort was controlled by Udaybhan Rathod, a Rajput officer appointed by Mughal Ggeneral Jai Singh I.

A fierce combat took place between the forces of Tanaji and Udaybhan. During the battle, Tanaji broke his shield but he continued fighting by tying his upper garment over his defending hand in order to ward off Udaybhan’s blows. The fort was eventually conquered but in the process, Tanaji was gravely wounded and died fighting on the battlefield.

Upon hearing the demise of Tanaji, Shivaji Maharaj was struck with grief and expressed his sorrow by famously saying, “Gad ala, pan sinha gela” (“Got the fort but lost the lion.”)

As a tribute to the bravery of Tanaji, the fort was renamed, Sinhagad (lion’s fort) by Shivaji Maharaj.