Tanhaji

Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior is a 2020 Indian Hindi-language biographical period action film directed by Om Raut and produced by Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar and Ajay Devgan under T-Series Films and Ajay Devgn FFilms. This film was also released in Marathi-language following popular demand.[4] Tracing the life of Maratha warrior Tanaji Malusare, it stars Ajay Devgn in the titular role along with Saif Ali Khan and Kajol in the lead roles. It also features Sharad Kelkar and Luke Kenny in the pivotal roles.[5] Set in the 17th century, it revolves around Tanaji's attempts to recapture the Kondhana fortress once it passes on to Mughal emperor Aurangzeb who transfers its control to his trusted guard Udaybhan Singh Rathore.[6]

Tanhaji
Theatrical release poster
Directed byOm Raut
Produced byAjay Devgn
Bhushan Kumar
Krishan Kumar
Written byPrakash Kapadia
(dialogue)
Screenplay byPrakash Kapadia
Om Raut
Story byPrakash Kapadia
Om Raut
StarringAjay Devgn
Saif Ali Khan
Kajol
Narrated bySanjay Mishra
Music bySongs:
Ajay-Atul
Sachet–Parampara
Mehul Vyas
Score:
Sandeep Shirodkar
CinematographyKeiko Nakahara
Edited byDharmendra Sharma
Production
company
Distributed byAA Films
Release date
  • 10 January 2020 (2020-01-10)
Running time
135 minutes[1]
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi
Budget₹150 crore[2]
Box officeest. ₹367.65 crore[3]

Principal photography commenced on 25 September 2018,[7][8] and the film was released in India in 3D and conventional theatres on 10 January 2020.[9] The film received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the action sequences, cinematography, performances, and visual effects. The film received heavy criticism over its hypernationalistic tone, Islamophobic messaging and pandering to the political climate in India. [10] Tanhaji grossed ₹367.65 crore (US$52 million) worldwide.[3]

Plot

In 1647, Tanhaji's father, Kaloji Malusare trains him in sword-fighting, later succumbing to a Mughal plunder in Umrat. 17 years later in 1664, a now-adult Tanhaji with his younger brother Suryaji, commands Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's Maratha Army to attack an intruding Mughal cavalry.

In 1665, the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb dispatches Jai Singh to contain Shivaji fearing his rapid imperial expansion in Deccan, thus annexing his 33 forts. Later, the Mughal general Beshak Khan orders a quick vacation of the strategic fortress Kondhana, insulting Jijabai, who swears to remain barefoot until the Marathas recapture the fort. Tanhaji is informed about the treaty as well. Five years later, Shivaji's spy informs him about Aurangzeb's plan to assign the Kondhana fort to his Rajput general Udaybhan Rathod and to use it as a base for Aurangzeb's southern imperial expansion. Shivaji plans to recapture Kondhana, considering himself to lead the campaign as Tanhaji, though an able general, can't be employed due to his son Rayba's upcoming wedding. Meanwhile, Tanhaji celebrates Holi with his family. Marathas begin their war preparations and Shivaji warns his generals to keep Tanhaji from knowing about the campaign. Tanhaji arrives at Rajgad for inviting Shivaji to Rayba's wedding. Chandraji Pisal, a Maratha general, reveals Tanhaji about the secret plan at his nephew Chultya's recommendation. Tanhaji convinces Shivaji and Jijabai to permit him to lead the campaign and postpones Rayba's wedding.

Elsewhere, Udaybhan reaches Burhanpur while the Marathas discuss his route possibilities. Tanhaji coins an attack plan but Pisal sends Chultya to warn Udaybhan about this. Udaybhan is also bringing an imprisoned Kamla Devi en route, the sister of his Rajput general Jagat Singh. Chultya informs Udaybhan about Tanhaji's attack plan and he tricks Tanhaji into attacking Maratha soldiers disguised under Mughal attire. Elsewhere, Udaybhan reaches Kondhana and aims a huge cannon at Rajgad, threatening Shivaji's safety. Dejected, Tanhaji reaches Kondhana alone to learn about a secret thief-entrance inside. Udaybhan kills a guard for disobeying the security protocol. Tanhaji recovers his dead remains and motivates the villagers to betray/fight Udaybhan. He is recommended to participate in a Shivratri event on Kondhana where he kills Chultya for betrayal. Tanhaji is imprisoned and tortured by Udaybhan. Jagat Singh secretly releases Tanhaji, revealing Udaybhan's plan to marry his sister. Tanhaji promises to release them from Udaybhan's clutches. Tanhaji escapes from the thief-entrance and returns to Umrat.

Udaybhan hangs the guards responsible for Tanhaji's escape and Jagat Singh agrees to marry his sister to Udaybhan on Ashtami's eve, thus convincing her to fake the marriage preparation until Tanhaji arrives. Tanhaji now plans to directly attack Kondhana during Ashtami night on February 4, 1670. He scales the fort through various entrances and attacks the Mughal army. The confusion allows Jagat and Kamla Devi to escape. Udaybhan is alerted and Tanhaji dies in the ensuing battle, although he captures Kondhana before killing Udaybhan. Shivaji arrives at Kondhana to praise a visibly dying Tanhaji for his heroic act. He declares in Marathi, "Gad aala pan sinha gela" (We won the fort, but my lion is dead.) He personally oversees Rayba's marriage while Aurangzeb's dream of winning southern India remains unfilled. The film ends with Savitribai fulfilling her promise of grandly welcoming Tanhaji from his return.

Cast
  • Ajay Devgn as Tanaji Malusare– Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's military leader and friend, Savitri's husband, Raiba's father
  • Saif Ali Khan as Udaybhan Singh Rathore– Aurangzeb's royal guard
  • Kajol as Savitri Bai Malusare– Tanaji's wife, Raiba's mother
  • Sharad Kelkar as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj
  • Luke Kenny as Aurangzeb– Mughal Emperor
  • Vipul Gupta as Jagat Singh– Kamla's brother
  • Padmavati Rao as Rajmata Jija Bai– Shivaji's mother
  • Sanjay Mishra as Narrator
  • Shashank Shende as Shelaar– Parvati's brother
  • Devdatta Nage as Suryaji Malusare– Tanaji's brother
  • Neha Sharma as Kamla Devi– Jagat's sister, Udaybhan's love interest
  • Ajinkya Deo as Chandraji Pisal
  • Yuri Suri as Mirza Raje Jai Singh
  • Jagannath Nivangune as Kaloji Malusare– Tanaji and Suryaji's father
  • Trisha Patil as Parvati Bai Malusare– Tanaji and Suryaji's mother
  • Hardik Sangani as Gondya
  • Nissar Khan as Beshak Khan
  • Prasanna Ketkar as Sarnaik
  • Kailash Waghmare as Chultiya
  • Harsh Sharma as Young Tanaji
  • Ranav Sharma as Young Suryaji
  • Arush Nand as Raiba Malusare– Savitri and Tanaji's son
  • Dhairyasheel Gholap as Shrubhau
  • Nilesh Lalwani as Tatya
  • Pramod More as Leader of Gondia
  • Bhagyashree Nhalve as Suryaji's wife
  • Devendra Gaikwad as Raiba's father-in-law
  • Rajesh Ahir as Raja Sangram Singh
  • Angad Mhaskar as Pant
  • Nikhat Khan as Udaybhan's mother
  • Antima Sharma as Nafeesa
  • Niranjan Jadhao as Trimbak Rao
  • Elakshi More as Soryabhi
  • Shivraj Walvekar as Pratap Rao
  • Rajveer Ankur Singh as Khaibar Khan
  • Ramchandran Singh as Raja Kaka
  • Maira Dandekar as Raiba's wife
  • Tufali Khan as Munawar Khan
  • Mridul Kumar as Noor Khan Baig
  • Sandeep Juwatkar as Gujar
  • Ajay Kumar Nain as Rajput Vakil
  • Nitesh Kalbande as Divya Malusare
  • Tareeq Ahmed Khan as Mughal Soldier

Production

Pre-production began on 20 July 2017.[11] Principal photography commenced from 25 September 2018.[12]

Marketing and release

Earlier marketed as Taanaji: The Unsung Warrior, it was revealed on Twitter by Ajay Devgn that the film will be known as Tanhaji.[5] In December 2017, the release date of Tanhaji was revealed as 22 November 2019 but was postponed to December 2019 due to shooting problems.[13] Amar Chitra Katha released the film edition comic book in 2019.[14][15]

The film was theatrically released in 3D and conventional cinemas on 10 January 2020.[9] The Akhil Bhartiya Kshatriya Koli Rajput Sangh has filed a petition in Delhi High Court, claiming that Om Raut, the director of Tanhaji has concealed the true lineage of the great warrior Tanaji Malusare in the movie.[16]

Critical reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, Tanhaji has an approval rating of 73% with an average score of 6/10, based on eleven reviews.[10]

Anupama Chopra of Film Companion noted it to be an un-nuanced retelling of history right out of Amar Chitra Katha comics, that blended historical spectacles, nationalism, and hyper-masculinity.[17] The storytelling, soundtracks, costumes, and individual performances were specifically praised.[17] Rahul Desai noted it to be a slick work which was but marred by an extensive saffronisation which sought to exploit the political climate in India.[18]

A review over The Hindustan Times noted it to be a magnificent work, which had exceptional individual performances, a captivating story-line and excellent video-effects.[19] Namrata Joshi of The Hindu noted of the film to have started off well, before floundering in the middle but regaining brilliance at the end, delivering a catharsis and adrenaline rush.[20] Uday Bhatia of The Mint noted it to be a silly cartoon history, which borrowed its physics from Prince of Persia but nonetheless consisted of fluent actions and interesting individual performances.[21]

Poulomi Das over Arre noted Tanhaji to be a funnily hyper nationalistic action thriller, that purveyed a uni-dimensional revisionist history and sophisticated Islamophobia.[22] Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV noted it to be a historically inauthentic work that ironed out any and all nuances in its portrayal of a saffronized Hindu-Muslim binary; however, he noted the overall production to be crisp and backed by powerful individual performances.[23] Tanul Thakur of The Wire noted it to be a work that had excellent cinematography but was intensely buoyed down by its ahistorical religio-nationalist propaganda, catering to the overall saffronisation of India.[24]

Shubhra Gupta over Indian Express noted it to offer a "simplistic, dressed-up slice of the past" that painted hyperbolic tales of Maratha bravery with a Hindu fervor.[25] Sukanya Verma of Rediff noted it to be a mythical retelling of history with a bout of saffron fervor; individual performances and choreography of combat sequences were praised.[26] Rajeev Masand noted it to be a dubiously stereotyped fictional work, which appealed to the hyper-nationalistic climate but had robust filmography, visceral battle scenes, and superb individual performances.[27][28] Stutee Ghosh of The Quint noted it to be a visually stunning film with strong individual performances, despite its broad liberties with historical accuracy and problematic prejudices.[29][30][31]

Soundtrack
Tanhaji
Soundtrack album by
Ajay-Atul, Sachet-Parampara and Mehul Vyas
Released8 January 2020[32]
Recorded2018-19
GenreFeature film soundtrack
Length16:25
LanguageHindi
LabelT-Series
External audio
Official Audio Jukebox on YouTube

The film's music was composed by Ajay-Atul, Sachet-Parampara and Mehul Vyas with lyrics written by Swanand Kirkire and Anil Verma.

Track listing
No.TitleLyricsMusicSinger(s)Length
1."Shankara Re Shankara"Anil VermaMehul VyasMehul Vyas3:31
2."Maay Bhavani"Swanand KirkireAjay-AtulSukhwinder Singh & Shreya Ghoshal4:18
3."Ghamand Kar"Anil VermaSachet–ParamparaSachet Tandon & Parampara Thakur4:42
4."Tinak Tinak"Anil VermaSachet–ParamparaHarshdeep Kaur3:54
Total length:16:25

Box office

Tanhaji earned ₹15.10 crore at the domestic box office on its opening day. On the second day, the film collected ₹20.57 crore. On the third day, the film collected ₹26.26 crore, taking total opening weekend collection to ₹61.93 crore.[3]

As of 13 March 2020, with a gross of ₹332.80 crore in India and ₹34.85 crore overseas, the film has a worldwide gross collection of ₹367.65 crore and became the highest-grossing Bollywood film of 2020.[33][3]

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References
  1. "Tanhaji (2020)". British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  2. "Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior is one of highest budgeted films of 2020". Republic. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
  3. cite web|url=https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/taanaji-the-unsung-warrior/box-office/#bh-movie-box-office%7Ctitle=Tanhaji Box Office|website=Bollywood Hungama|accessdate=14 March 2020}}
  4. DelhiDecember 6, India Today Web Desk New; December 6, 2019UPDATED:; Ist, 2019 13:28. "Tanhaji The Unsung Warrior: Ajay Devgn film to get a Marathi release". India Today. Retrieved 10 June 2020.CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. Ajay Devgn's Taanaji: The Unsung Warrior will now be called Tanhaji due to numerological reasons, 27 March 2019
  6. "Here's why Ajay Devgn's Taanaji: The Unsung Warrior will now be called Tanhaji". Hindustan Times. 27 March 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  7. Ajay Devgn's much-anticipated war film Taanaji finally goes on floors, 26 September 2018
  8. Singh, Mukeshwar (22 June 2018). "Taanaji The Unsung Warrior movie Wiki, News, Cast and Crew and Release Date". Movie Alles. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  9. "'Tanhaji': Ajay Devgn looks intensely fierce as the 'unsung Maratha warrior' on the first poster of the film". The Times of India. 21 October 2019. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
  10. Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior (2020), retrieved 4 August 2020
  11. "Ajay Devgn reveals first look of Taanaji: The Unsung Warrior". Hindustan Times. 20 July 2017. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  12. "TSeries on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  13. "Revealed! Ajay Devgn's ferociously intriguing look from Taanaji – The Unsung Warrior | Bollywood News". www.timesnownews.com. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  14. "TANHAJI - Taanaji The Unsung Warrior". Amar Chitra Katha.
  15. "Children's Day 2019: Kajol And Ajay's Tanhaji Gift - A Special Edition Of Amar Chitra Katha". NDTV. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  16. "Petition in Delhi High Court against Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior, hearing on Dec 19". India Today. 13 December 2019. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
  17. "Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior Movie Review - An Action Movie Rolled Into An Amar Chitra Katha Comic". Film Companion. 10 January 2020. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  18. "Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior Movie Review - A Slick Period Drama Marred By Its Saffronisation of History". Film Companion. 10 January 2020. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  19. "Tanhaji The Unsung Warrior movie review: Ajay Devgn's classic century, Saif Ali Khan goes bad in style". Hindustan Times. 10 January 2020. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  20. Joshi, Namrata (10 January 2020). "'Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior' movie review: Between fervour and fatigue". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  21. Bhatia, Uday (10 January 2020). "Film review: 'Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior' is cartoon history". Livemint. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  22. "Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior Review: A Pulpy Action Thriller that Needs a History Lesson". Arré. 10 January 2020. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  23. "Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior Movie Review - Ajay Devgn's Film Is A Treat For The Eye, If Not For The Mind". NDTV.com. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  24. "'Tanhaji' Review: Propaganda Weighs Down an Already Mediocre Film". The Wire. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  25. "Tanhaji movie review: A simplistic, dressed-up slice of the past". The Indian Express. 11 January 2020. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  26. "Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior review". Rediff. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  27. Mas, Rajeev (11 January 2020). "Find Out What Film Critic Rajeev Masand Has To Say About Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior". BookMyShow. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  28. "'Tanhaji' review: Spectacular CGI effects, crisp editing make it a must-watch". The Economic Times. 13 January 2020. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  29. "Historical Inaccuracies Aside, 'Tanhaji' Is Visually Stunning". The Quint. 10 January 2020. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  30. "Tanhaji wows with CGI but fails to engross". www.telegraphindia.com. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  31. DelhiJanuary 10, Jyoti Kanyal New; January 10, 2020UPDATED; Ist, 2020 12:43. "Tanhaji The Unsung Warrior Movie Review: Saif Ali Khan shines as anti-hero in Ajay Devgn and Kajol film". India Today. Retrieved 14 January 2020.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  32. "Tanhaji - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack". Jio Saavn.
  33. "Bollywood Top Grosser Worldwide". Bollywood Hungama. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
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