Panipat Movie Review

Back in 1994, Sanjay Khan directed The Great Maratha for Doordarshan. For most of us, this was the first visual depiction of a battle that could not be won with lightning-emitting arrows, as we saw in BR Chopra's Mahabharata or Ramananda Sagar's Ramayana. He and the queen of Jhansi, Varsha Usgaonkar-starrer, who also ruled in the 90s.

Nearly 25 years later, the story of Ashutosh Gowariker's Panipat is based on those naughty stories. He has everything we saw in The Great Maratha, which could have been an advantage, as we finished everything in the 90s these days. However, the problem is that our eyes are also 25 years old. And now, Gowariker's presentation seems to be lacking, Borderline cartoonist due to terrible CGI work, and ultimately, not just enough.

All comparisons with Bajirao Mastani and Padmavat's Panipat trailer had to be corrected only after release. But in defense of Gowarikar, Maratha warriors dressed alike, so Ranveer Singh's Bajirao and Arjun Kapoor's Sadashiv Rao Bhau's look were the same (also, Sadashiv was Bajirao's nephew). Kriti Sanon's Parvati Bai will remind you of Priyanka Chopra's Kashibai. For he can't be seen wearing Alexander McQueen, can he?

But when Sanjay Dutt's Ahmed Shah Abdali reminds you of Ranveer's Alauddin Khilji, your eyebrow comes to the crease. You eventually forgive it because Dutt is the master of the character and at no point does he allow Khilji to sneak into Abdali.

The streak of insanity by all the Mughals, Afghans and by extension, the Muslim rulers of Yor are sketched in Bollywood, however, still remains. Abdali is barbaric like Khilji when he crushes his own brother's skull as he plots to kill him and usurp the throne. Afghan soldiers are crude, they make awkward faces, and seem to be suffering pain in the battlefield, as we have also seen in Padmavat or Kesari.

The Marathas are brave, needless to say. They are defenders, not just combatants. He has a Code of Honor. Never do they stab an untrained Afghan soldier in the back, while the Afghans do it at random until the enemy, Sadashiv, collapses. The Maratha is martyred in the Sadashiv war. He is fighting for his country.

Arjun tries but fails to accomplish what was expected of him. He falls short forever. Such as his trapezoid breastplate which is reduced by his broad (actually wider) torso. His speeches fail to incite any emotion, even though Sadashiv Rao Bhau was historically known as a charismatic leader, second only to Bajirao.

Kriti Sanon also shines in a relatively minor role. His eyes speak in both sorrow and joy. She is strong and draws strength from the sanctity of her love for Sadashiva. Even if it means picking up a sword in an hour of need and searching for a casual warrior among yourself. She flinches, almost conceding defeat and is eventually surrounded by a sense of guilt, fear, and despair at the same time as she stares at the bodies in which he manages to slaughter.

The third battle of Panipat was fought on January 14, 1761, which has been used in history due to war strategies. Abdali's camel-mounted canoes, called zamburak, had by then gone unheard and were effective in destroying the Maratha line-up, as the weapons were not stationary. Sadashiv, on the other hand, under the expert leadership of Ibrahim Khan Gardi, played to perfection by Nawab Shah, managed to topple Abdali's detachment, the European style of cannon fighting and use. All of this is clearly shown, and where Gowariker's craftsmanship as a filmmaker is shown. He cannot do Sanjay Leela Bhansali as well as grandeur, but he can fight.

However, Panipat has two villains, and none of them is Abdali. It is language and history. Ranveer had a Marathi twin in Bajirao who was honored by the actor. Arjun is the boy from all over Bandra, save some "ho," "me yet" and "Maiti mala". However, none of this is Arjun's fault, as Abdali's limited Urdu is barely Lakhnawi, forget Afghani.

And then the history there. It is not possible to say that the Marathas won the third battle of Panipat (yet, but soon, perhaps), but it is possible to depict the Har-Kar-Jane-wale-Maratha-Kehte-Chitra. And this is what Gowariker did. We saw that in Bhansali's Padmavat, Rajput bravery was glorified in the face of death at the hands of Khilji last year.

In Panipat, Abdali is shown falling under pressure, trembling his feet in fear of these illustrious warriors, who make music with their swords, their troop running away only to pull them back, some heads both of their own. Along with bloodstains, it also bites to help release his frustration. Sadashiv died, we knew Abdali wins, we also knew. But we have no way of ascertaining whether he wrote a letter of appreciation for Sadashiva addressed to Balaji Baji Rao Peshwa (Mohnish Bahl). And suddenly, Gowariker's Panipat became a happy ending film