Tanhaji: The unsung warrior

‘The fort is captured, but the lion is dead’ 

This is what Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj uttered when he got the news of conquest of Kondana fort. Unfortunately the success of Kondana’s capture came at a very high price. Chattrapati Shivaji had lost his childhood friend and his most trusted military general – Tanaji Malusare. Tanaji attained martyrdom while undertaking the most daring mission of capturing fort Kondana which was strategically essential to strengthen the dream of Swarajya and overthrow the Mughals. Memorials are built in honor of brave warriors like Tanaji but are they really honored? A soldier or a warrior doesn’t die by the wounds of sword or a bullet from a gun; he really dies when we forget him. The dry chapters from history textbook didn’t justify his dare devilry act. Students mugged the chapters only to score marks. I got familiar with Tanaji’s story through Amar Chitra Katha book which told about his courage and sacrifice in detail.

 Tanaji’s courageous feats may have been faded from the memories of younger generation, but his legendary tale is coming in a new form through an upcoming biopic – Tanhaji: The unsung warrior starring the versatile star Ajay Devgan as the brave Maratha warrior ‘Tanaji Malusare’. I was happy that at least a biopic on Tanaji is been made when I saw the trailer but was equally sad to discover that it took so many years to make a movie on the great Maratha warrior. Capturing Kondana fort was not an easy task. With just a handful of 300 soldiers under his command, Tanaji scaled high peak mountain to free Kondana fort from the grip of Mughals. Legends say that not a single warrior had that guts to reach Kondana fort and resist the force led by the corrupt, greedy and evil general Udaybhan. Only Tanaji had the leadership, courage and will power to undertake such dare devilry mission. He not only took the enemy by surprise, but also killed many enemy soldiers of cruel Udaybhan. Tanaji was pitted against a mighty enemy like Udaybhan. Despite all the odds, Tanaji fatally wounded Udaybhan even when his hand was cut off due the fierce sword fight. Though Tanaji breathed his last in line of action due to severe wounds, he had fulfilled the promise by capturing Kondana for Shivaji Raje and Jijamata (Mother of Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj)

Tanaji’s handful of soldiers had to face a mighty elephant named ‘Chandravelly’ which was a biggest challenge during their mission. The Maratha soldiers led by Tanaji not only killed the might elephant, but also slayed several Mughal soldiers. Capture of Kondana fort was the first surgical strike made by the armed forces of Shivaji Maharaj during dark night. The courageous feats of Tanaji will be relived in movie – Tanhaji: The unsung warrior. Before the Kondana capture plan was about to be executed, Tanaji was making preparations for his son’s marriage. He cared more for his nation than his personal priorities. He immediately met Shivaji Raje and chalked out the plan to capture Kondana fort with his team of 300 brave soldiers. Rest was history. Ironically Tanaji couldn’t survive to see his son getting married. 

Very less is written about Udaybhan the antagonist who crossed sword with Tanaji. The role of Udaybhan will be played by actor Saif Ali Khan who will be displaying his grey shades as corrupt Mughal official. Actor Sharad Kelkar will be portraying the role of Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj. The movie boasts of a good star cast which includes Kajol, Ajinkya Deo, and Neha Sharma. Tanhaji: The Unsung warrior is been directed by Om Raut who gave us a powerful biopic - Lokmanya – Ek Yugpurush. The visuals in the movie trailer are high octane. The action sequences have the feel of a Hollywood action movie like ‘300’.  Power-packed with inspiring dialogues and mind blowing performances, Tanhaji – The Unsung warrior promises to be one of the awaited movies of 2020. If you want to get a glimpse on Tanaji’s life, I highly recommend readers to read Amar Chitra Katha book on Tanaji or watch ‘Farzand’ and ‘Fatehshikast’ which are connected to Tanaji Malusare’s life.

Tanhaji – The Unsung warrior is scheduled to release on 10^th January 2020.