Kshatriya

About the film

Kshatriya (transl. Warriors) is a 1993 Indian Hindi-language epic action drama film directed and written by J. P. Dutta. It stars an ensemble cast of Dharmendra, Vinod Khanna, Sunny Deol, Sanjay Dutt, Meenakshi Seshadri, Raveena Tandon, Divya Bharti, Rakhee Gulzar, Sumalatha, Kabir Bedi, Puneet Issar and Prem Chopra, with Sunil Dutt in a special appearance.

It was released worldwide on March 26, 1993.

Plot

This is a story about two warring royal Rajput families in Rajasthan, India, based in Surjangarh and Mirtagarh. The Mirtagarh family is headed by Maharaj Bhavani Singh, his wife Maheshwari Devi, their daughter Divya, and his younger brother Jaswant Singh. The Surjangarh family is headed by Maharaj Prithvi Singh, his wife Suman, his brother Devendra Pratap Singh, and Devendra's son Vijay Pratap Singh.

Vijay falls in love with Divya, but both families are against the marriage. The situation is made worse by Mirtagarh's diwan (bookkeeper), Ajay Singh, and his son, Shakti Singh. When Vijay comes to meet Divya, he is killed by Shakti, even though Bhavani never wanted him dead. On seeing Vijay's body, Divya commits suicide. Overwhelmed, Prithvi shoots and kills Bhavani in revenge, and is arrested by police officer Ganga Singh. While Prithvi is in prison, Jaswant returns from England with his newly wed English wife, Jenny. When he learns about the past events, he kills Devendra in revenge. Horrified by this bloodbath, Jenny, who is pregnant, leaves him for her native England, saying that she will give birth to their child at a place where there is love and peace. Both Prithvi and Jaswant vow to kill each other once Prithvi is released from prison. To get them away from the bloody feud, Prithvi's son, Vinay, and Bhavani's son, Vikram, are sent to England as children.

Twenty years later, Vinay and Vikram are the best of friends, living in London, England. Neelima, who is Vikram's cousin and Jaswant and late Jenny's daughter, also lives in London. Vinay and Neelima fall in love and want to marry, which could signal the end of the Surjangarh and Mirtagarh feud. Meanwhile, Ganga's daughter, Tanvi falls in love with Vikram. After completing their education from Oxford, the three youngsters – Vinay, Vikram, and Neelima – return to their families in India, with Tanvi to arrive a few days later.

Music and soundtrack

The film's music was composed by Laxmikant–Pyarelal and the lyrics of the songs were penned by Anand Bakshi.

Controversy and theatrical withdrawal

Kshatriya is considered a rare anomaly in Indian cinema: a high-budget, multi-starrer blockbuster that didn't fail due to poor filmmaking, but was instead dismantled by the volatile political climate of its era. While the film had a record-breaking opening, its theatrical run was cut short due to the legal crisis surrounding one of its leads, Sanjay Dutt.

The timing of the incident – Kshatriya was released on March 26, 1993. This was just two weeks after the 1993 Mumbai Serial Blasts (March 12). In April 1993, while the film was still playing in all of the originally allocated theatres, Sanjay Dutt was arrested under the TADA Act for the possession of illegal firearms. The public sentiment shifted instantly. The actor, loved by masses at the time, saw his popularity vanish overnight as he became an object of public scorn due to the severity of the charges. Following the arrest and the subsequent public outcry, the atmosphere in Mumbai and many parts of India became extremely volatile.

Several political groups and activists protested against the film's screening. Fearing violence at cinema halls and damage to property, theatre owners and distributors chose to pull the film from screens just as it was entering its peak weeks. The focus shifted entirely from the film’s grand scale (it featured an ensemble cast including Sunil Dutt, Dharmendra, Vinod Khanna, Sunny Deol and Sanjay Dutt) to the legal drama surrounding one of its stars.

Key details