Panipat

About the film

Panipat is a 2019 Indian Hindi-language period drama film directed by Ashutosh Gowarikar. Starring Arjun Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt and Kriti Sanon, it depicts the events that took place during the Third Battle of Panipat. The film was theatrically released in India on 6 December 2019. The film was a box office failure.

Plot

By 1758, the Maratha Empire had reached its peak under the leadership of Peshwa Balaji Baji Rao aka Nana Saheb. Maratha commanders Raghunath Rao, Peshwa's brother, Shamsher Bahadur, Peshwa's half-brother, and Sadashiv Rao Bhau, Peshwa's cousin, defeat the Nizam of Hyderabad and his commander of artillery Ibrahim Khan Gardi. Sadashiv inducts him into the Maratha Army as their commander of artillery. They return home to the Empire's capital at Pune. Due to pressure from his wife Gopika Bai, the Peshwa appoints Sadashiv as the Empire's finance minister in favour of Peshwa's son Vishwas Rao, which he reluctantly accepts.

Sadashiv lists the defaulters who failed to pay Chauth to the Maratha Empire on time, and notes that the Rohillakhand's House Chief Najib ad-Dawlah has the largest amount of due taxes. Najib, fearing the Marathas, invites Ahmad Shah Abdali to Delhi. News of this alliance reaches Pune, along with the news of Maratha general Dattaji Shinde's murder by Najib when he came to collect Chauth from him.

The Peshwa appoints Raghunath Rao as the commander of the Maratha forces to fight Abdali and defend Delhi. Raghunath asks for a large amount of money, which Sadashiv denies, citing the treasury's condition after consecutive battles. Raghunath, therefore, refuses to march north, which leads the Peshwa to appoint Sadashiv as the commander-in-chief of the Maratha army, under the lordship of Vishwas Rao. The army, along with a large number of women, children and pilgrims begin their long and arduous journey north.

Production

Art Director Nitin Chandrakant Desai recreated Shaniwar Wada at ND Studios, Karjat. Neeta Lulla designed the costumes. Padmini Kolhapure joined the cast in October 2018 as Gopika Bai. In June 2019, Zeenat Aman joined the cast to portray Sakina Begum.

On 30 November 2018, Gowariker and the cast tweeted a promotional poster to announce the beginning of principal photography. On 30 June 2019, Sanon wrapped up the shoot by posting pictures and notes for Gowariker and Kapoor.

Soundtrack

Ajay–Atul were the composers of the music for the film. The songs were written by Javed Akhtar.

Release and reception

The film was released on 6 December 2019 in theatres and on 14 February 2020 on Netflix.

The film received mixed reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film scored 43% by critics. Monika Rawal Kukreja of Hindustan Times wrote "Panipat is an honest attempt at recreating the war that we only read in history books until now. It’s a tribute to the Maratha community in its truest form and even it was shorter by an hour, it could have had the same impact".

The Times of India gave 3.5 out of 5 stars stating "Panipat delves into a significant chapter in history and is a war drama that lauds the unshakable bravery, courage and the strong principles of the Maratha's".

Controversies

BBC News and Al Jazeera reported that the film received criticism from different parts of the world, especially from Afghanistan since Ahmad Shah Abdali is the national hero and the founder of modern day Afghanistan. Afghan viewers pointed that the film's portrayal of Abdali was that of an Arab, rather than an Afghan. Critics linked the rising number of Bollywood films with negative Muslim characters, such as the portrayal of Alauddin Khilji as a cruel and vicious ruler in the film Padmaavat (2018), as an attempt by the industry executives to align with India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, a Hindu nationalist party led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Panipat trailer depicted Ahmed Shah Durrani as a ruthless and brutal ruler and Afghans as 'battle-hardened, blood-thirsty savages'. While the film presented Marathas as "sophisticated and righteous". Consul General of Afghanistan in Mumbai, Naseem Sharifi, said that 'Afghans would not tolerate any insult to Ahmad Shah Durrani'. Afghan journalists stated that the film will create more Islamophobia and racism towards Afghans. The Telegraph India reported that films like Padmaavat (2018), Kesari (2019) and Panipat have stereotyped and vilified Afghans as brutal, cold-blooded and treacherous. Afghanistan's Ambassador to India, Tahir Qadiri, claimed that he was in contact with Indian officials and have shared the Afghan concerns with them. Ajmal Alamzai, the cultural attache at the Afghan embassy in New Delhi, claimed that he had made several unsuccessful attempts to contact the director of the film. Pajhwok Afghan News reported that the Panipat film trailer depicted the Maratha Empire as victorious in the Third Battle of Panipat despite the fact that it was Ahmad Shah Durrani, who had won the battle. Khaama Press, another Afghan newspaper, reported that some Afghan social media users have welcomed the film as reality while others criticised it and claimed that parts of history have been forged in favour of specific groups.

Key details