Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior Movie Review & Full Movie, Story

 Cast: Ajay Devgan, Saif Ali Khan, Kajol, Sharad Kelkar
Director: Om Raut

A treatment for the eye, if not for the mind, Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior, co-produced by lead actor Ajay Devgan, is a 3D period biopic that chronicles historiography with an elaborate berth and pieces of 17th-century Marathas A dramatic enactment of victory provides the construction of a strategic fort under the control of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. The producers of the film accept more and more in an upfront disclaimer to cover their tracks and assimilate any outrage that may be due to the freedom they have taken.


Tanhaji has two major stars: The Unsung Warrior, Devgan and Saif Ali Khan, under the guise of a savage Rajput fort keeper, who is undeniably trusted by Aurangzeb. It is another matter that the Warriors play with shrug authenticity.

Neither Nayak Tanaji Malusare, an eminent Maratha military general who served Shivaji as Chhatrapati, nor Udaybhan Singh (Saif Ali Khan), a ferocious warrior, was a human. The former is an antagonist of magnitude and valour, a man so fearless that he holds his son's wedding to lead an attack on the hill fort at Kondhana. The latter is Devil Internet, a ruthless taskmaster who grandly declares that there is no choice in his court, only punishment. Consequently, any fine-grained images of fierce confrontation are rejected.

Director Om Raut, making his Hindi language debut, confuses the scale with cinematic ingenuity. To his credit, however, Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior scene is not devoid of flourishing. Most of them are the result of the work of CGI technicians and 3D cinematography by Japan-born, US-trained Keiko Nakahara. Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior is impressively cavalier and the climactic sequences are first-rate. But too much artistic and too little authenticity is the film's ban.

The story, taken from a chapter in the history of the Maratha Empire and run through a blender prepared by Nimish Bollywood, is simple. The proto-nationalist is a Hindu, a devout, God-fearing family man who thinks nothing of putting the empire (equally equipped with the nation) before himself. The antagonist is also a Hindu but fights on behalf of a Muslim emperor, which makes him worse, a traitor beyond redistribution. Udayabhan is a Rajput, but the film makes it a point not to show him as someone who has nothing to do with worship and prayer. He is Godless and therefore, beyond salvation.


Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior started from the mid-17th century. Tanaji is a boy but he is already a skilled swordsman and fighter. There is no end to his father. The aged man dies in battle, leaving his prized scissors with his son. Jump in 1664. Under the Treaty of Purandar, Shivaji handed over 23 of his forts to the Mughals. The ruler's mother, Jijabai (Padmavati Rao), vows to walk barefoot until Kondana returns to the fort.

Four years later, Shivaji planned an attack on the fort, but the information from Tanaji was concealed by his most trusted aide, as the latter was preparing for the wedding of his pre-teen son in the village. This is child marriage, but this is the 1660s, so let's avoid saying anything to questions.

Another warrior in the Maratha court, Chandraji Pisal (Ajinkya Dev), who encircles Tanaji's clot, kills Beans when his wife Savitribai (Kajol) later travels to Raigad to offer a wedding invitation to Shivaji. Tanaji confronts Shivaji and requests him to allow him to lead the attack on Fort Kondhana. First the fort, then my son's wedding, the general proclamation. Shivaji is forced to.

Uday Bhan Singh, the former chief bodyguard of Aurangzeb, is now in charge of the impregnable fort which stands atop a steep rocky hill. Here she holds a young widow Kamala (Neha Sharma) captive after she is taken out of her dead husband's funeral pyre, but in no way compels him to surrender to her advances. I will wait till your 'No' changes to 'Yes'. Udayabhan is a wicked man, but here we have done two amazing feats of astonishing 'nobility': not only does he prevent a Rajput woman from being a sati, but he also decides matters of that consent.


But that aspect of the villain's personality is drowned out in his portrayal of a bad guy who cuts an elephant's trunk, pushes a minor to a blow for a lapse and kills his opponent in the blink of an eye. Alauddin Khilji of Saif's Udaybhan Ranvir Singh has been revisited. In one scene, he feasts on a crocodile that is slow-roasting on fire, meaning to underline how perverted the man is.

The impulse to project Tanaji Malusare as a morally infallible figure makes Swaraj easy to understand in light of the vibrancy of the Hindu-Muslim binary-pushing historical saga that a section of Bollywood is in for a thrill these days.

The emphasis on the colour saffron (saffron) is understandable - that Maratha was the colour of the flag of the Confederacy - but the constant reference to the opponents of the Marathas serves as the devil (devil and Dorinda (beast of prey)) 350 years ago. A simplistic tale that ignores the historical realities achieved in this vast, diverse land.

Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior, written by longtime Sanjay Leela Bhansali's collaborator Prakash Kapadia with Om Raut, makes a badly dull voice over the audience to guide them through a distorted history text. The best thing that it can manage through an introduction is the lines in the mid-17th century to the effect that India was a "son's bird" who was terrified by a wave of invasions. Bring something new, for God's sake!


On the positive side, for a sword-and-spears costume drama, Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior is very crisp. The performances breathe some action when the show threatens to be overly stuffy. While Devgan and Khan throw some clean colours on the way to the final face, the supporting cast, especially Sharad Kelkar, as Shivaji, Luke Kenny as Aurangzeb and of course, Kajol give themselves a great account Huh.