Raja Shivaji

Haven’t there been enough films made on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in the last few years? Yes. Will there be more in the near future? Most probably. Is Raja Shivaji different? Yes and no. For starters, this Riteish Deshmukh’s directorial traces the story of the warrior king from his birth to a pivotal chapter in Maratha history, the slaying of Afzal Khan. In doing so, it focuses more on the emotions and instances that shaped Shivaji Maharaj’s quest for Swarajya. The trailer shows scenes from some of his conquests where he took the enemy head on and simply put, that has become a requisite for a big screen action film of late. But the gory battle scenes are not the focus in Raja Shivaji. Riteish, along with his writers (Ajit Wadekar and Sandeep Patil) create a story that focuses on the strategic aspects, not on the brute force of a king’s army - something that many films in this genre have done exhaustively before.

I wasn’t the biggest fan of Bajirao Mastani and Padmaavat back when they divided audiences, but I miss them now. A decade ago, the prospect of a lavishly mounted period drama about an iconic Indian warrior or king felt loaded with possibility. These much-revered figures could be accessed through the human dimensions of their personality — and I like that genre specialist Sanjay Leela Bhansali often used love and romantic tragedy as his medium. These days, they can be accessed (if at all) from a space of love too: but only if this love is a form of nationalism. Nothing less than reverence — slow-mo praises, spotless courage and heroism — will do. As a result, most releases arrive with an air of caution and compliance. Reviewing the storyline, its inaccuracies and omissions can be akin to reviewing the country. Raja Shivaji is the latest critic-proof spectacle in this series.