The genre of historical/period films like 'Samrat Prithviraj', 'Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior' and 'Panipat' are popular among storytellers more than ever. However, by picking and presenting only certain events on the big screen, is history being re-written?
Actor Akshay Kumar's recent film Samrat Prithviraj presented the story of the celebrated Hindu king. While the film's box office collections since its release on June 3 has been poor, the movie did stir a handful of controversies before its big day. One of them was Kumar's comment on Indian school textbooks not having enough context on Prithviraj Chauhan.
In an interview, Kumar had said, "Unfortunately, our history textbooks only have 2-3 lines about Samrat Prithviraj Chauhan, but a lot has been mentioned about the invaders. There is hardly anything mentioned about our culture and our Maharajas. Nobody is there to write about it in our history books. I would like to appeal to the Education Minister to look into this matter and see if we can balance it. We should know about the Mughals but know about our kings also. They were great too."
The film is said to be based on Prithviraj Raso, a Braj language poem about life of the ruler from Chahamana dynasty. In the last few years, there has been plenty of historical films which have mixed history with drama and presented on national screens.
Films such as Manikarnika, Panipat, Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior, promised to show historical facts but only used selective parts to suit a particular narrative. So, has Bollywood really taken the liberty of rewriting history?
Film critic Taran Adarsh tells us, "I think this can be best answered by people who make historical films, but having said that, you cannot take cinematic liberties or to add something on your own to make a film. Not many people have done that because it would be a huge injustice to the protagonist or the person who is playing that on the screen. There are many people who know about this subject and it would look very bad if something like this is done."
Filmmaker Ashutosh Gowarikar was criticised by the audience when his film Panipat released. The movie, which revolved around the third battle of Panipat, starred actor Arjun Kapoor as Sadashiv Rao Bhau. The film faced criticism from audience as well as actor Randeep Hooda, who complained of showing Jat ruler Maharaja Surajmal in poor light.
Hooda tweeted, "To glorify one community, one doesn’t need to show others down.. it mostly has an adverse effect .. hoping for a more mature understanding in the future. To the offended - it’s just a movie, don’t attach your ancestors’ legacy to a piece of pure entertainment #MaharajaSurajmal".
While there have been multiple attempts in the past by Bollywood filmmakers to tell the story of Indian rulers and wars won by them, some filmmakers have claimed to present the unknown to the current generation of audience, taking the liberty of presenting history in a new way.
On the other hand, films such as Jodha Akbar and Padmaavat, which have strong commercial value attached to them, never claimed to present the 'real truth' to the audience. Films such as these might have selected chapters from lives of rulers and history, but no tall claims were necessary of presenting a historical figure in new light.