Panipat - 2019

Introduction

Panipat is a 2019 Indian historical action-drama film directed by Ashutosh Gowariker, well known for his hit historical films like Jodhaa Akbar and Lagaan. The movie features an ensemble cast with Arjun Kapoor, Kriti Sanon, and Sanjay Dutt in the lead roles. Sunita Gowariker and Rohit Shelatkar produce it.

Also known as The Great Betrayal, Panipat is a war epic set in 1761 and narrates the famous third battle of Panipat between the Maratha Empire and the army of the Durrani Empire. The movie received mixed reviews upon its release and was praised for its grandeur locations and the climax battle scene, but it was ultimately a box office flop. 

Table Of Contents

• Details

• Story

• Release Date

• Reviews

• Cast

• Crew

• Character Analysis

• Songs

• Behind The Scenes

• Controversy

• Box Office Collection

• Interesting Facts

• Conclusion

Details

Story

The movie begins in 1758 when the Maratha Empire was prospering under the able leadership of Peshwa Balaji Baji Rao (Mohnish Bahl). Peshwa’s cousin, Sadashiv Rao (Arjun Kapoor), returns to Pune after defeating the Nizam of Udgir. Due to pressure from his wife, Gopika Bai (Padmini Kolhapure), the Peshwa appoints Sadashiv as the Finance Minister. 

In his new role, Sadashiv starts tracking the people who have not paid taxes to the Maratha Empire on time. Among these people is the head of Rohilla, Najib-Ud-Daula (Mantra), who is the biggest defaulter. Najib decides to teach the Maratha Empire a lesson and allies with Ahmad Shah Abdali (Sanjay Dutt). Upon receiving the news of this alliance, the Peshwa appoints Raghunath Rao, a Maratha commander, to command the Peshwa armies and defeat Abdali. Raghunath, however, refuses to fight after Sadashiv refuses to give him a large sum of money in exchange for his services. As a result, the Peshwa appoints Sadashiv as the new commander and his son and heir, Vishwas Rao, as the overlord. The army departs to the north.

Upon arriving in Dholpur, they start forming alliances with other kingdoms, including Nawab Shuja-ud-Daulah and Maharaja Suraj Mal. After Nawab’s betrayal, Sadashiv decides to march to Delhi and capture it first. By the time Abdali realises their plan and follows them, Sadashiv has already captured Delhi. He further carries out a massacre at the Kunjpura Fort, killing several Afghanis, which enrages Abdali into crossing Yamuna and cutting off their food and resources. Sadashiv camps at Panipat with his army and eventually gets ready to confront Abdali and his forces.

After an unsuccessful attempt to stop the war, both sides prepare for a final confrontation. Parvati Bai, wife of Sadashiv, and the civilians stay towards the back as the battle starts. During the final battle, the casualties are high on both sides. However, the unexpected death of Vishwas Rao lands a massive blow to the morale of Marathas. Slowly, all the chieftains are either killed or badly injured, leaving only Sadashiv standing. He fights bravely but finally dies after sustaining several injuries. Parvati Bai, too, dies of grief. 

While Abdali wins the war, he realizes the high cost of the victory. He sends a letter to the Peshwa praising Sadashiv’s courage and never returns to India. 

Release Date

Panipat was released on 6 December 2019 on 2,395 screens. It was released on Netflix on 14 February 2020. Reliance Entertainment distributed the film.

Reviews

PlayIMDb Rating: 5.2/10

Rotten Tomatoes: 65% Audience Score and 43% Tomatometer

Despite an ensemble cast, a well-known directory, and stellar source material in the form of one of the greatest battles in Indian history, the movie could not perform well at the box office. 

Panipat was an ambitious project with a running time of 3 hours and 30 minutes. It was also Ashutosh’s dream project. While it accurately depicted the grandeur of the period with lavishly mounted sets and spectacular locations, it failed to leave its mark on the people. The movie received massive criticism for the portrayal of Maharaja Surajmal, lackluster cinematography, terrible CGIs, and twisting truths. Arjun Kapoor’s performance in the movie and the long runtime also failed to impress the critics or audience. 

However, if you are a history buff and want to witness what the third battle of Panipat might have looked like, the movie won’t disappoint. The only qualm? Do not believe everything you see. 

Casting

Crew

Director - Ashutosh Gowariker

Producer -  Sunita Gowariker and Rohit Shelatkar

Line Producers - Rajesh Bhatt (Jaipur)

Executive Producer - Alok Sinha

Editor  -  Steven Bernard

Music -  Ajay Gogavale and Atul Gogavale

Singers - Ajay–Atul, Sudesh Bhosle, Kunal Ganjawala, Deepanshi Nagar, Swapnil Bandodkar, Padmanabh Gaikwad, Abhay Jodhpurkar, Shreya Ghoshal, and Priyanka Barve

Cinematography - C.K. Muraleedharan

Character Analysis

Sadashiv Rao Bhau

Sadashiv Rao is a brilliant and brave man. He made several military achievements and led the Maratha army in the third battle of Panipat. His courage and bravery were apparent to all and even impressed Abdali. 

Kriti Sanon as Parvati Bai

Parvati Bai is Sadashiv Rao’s love interest and wife. She is courageous and unafraid to follow her husband to battle. She was also present during the final confrontation of Marathas and Abdali. 

Sanjay Dutt as Ahmad Shah Abdali

Abdali is the tyrannical Afghan invader who comes to India to defeat the Marathas. He is cunning, terrifying, and intelligent enough to figure out all the ploys of Marathas during the battle. His character is well-layered as seen in the movie's last scene. He is humbled and impressed by Sadashiv Rao. 

Songs

Behind the Scenes

• The producer Sunita Gowariker posted pictures of the director, Ashutosh's birthday celebration on the set of Panipat on 15 February 2019. However, Sanjay Dutt and Arjun Kapoor were missing from the party.

• On 3 December 2019, Arjun Kapoor released a behind-the-scenes video revealing Sanjay Dutt's look as the movie's villain. 

Controversy

Panipat drew massive criticism and protests across India due to its portrayal of the Jat ruler Maharaja Surajmal. The movie shows Maharaja Surajmal in a bad light as he refuses to help Sadashiv at a crucial point of the war. For this reason, Jat groups and several political leaders demanded the ban of the film. There were reports of people from the Jat community burning the effigy of Ashutosh. 

The screening was stopped in several places, including Bikaner, Jaipur, and Jodhpur. In response to this severe criticism, the makers ultimately removed the scene from the movie. 

Overseas, the movie drew criticism for its portrayal of Abdali. The depiction of Afghan people as savages and treacherous affronted Afghan viewers. 

Box Office Collection

Panipat received mixed reviews from critics but ultimately was a box office flop. It gathered only ₹4.12 crore on its opening day. It was released on over 2,395 screens in India and over 600 screens overseas. The lifetime collection of the movie ended at ₹34.28 crores.

Opening Day: ₹4.12 crore

End of Opening Weekend: ₹17.68 crore

End of Week 1: ₹25.68 crore

End of Week 2: ₹31.96 crore

End of Week 3: ₹33.40 crore

Interesting Facts

• The costumes in Panipat were handled with great detail and attention. They were based on old paintings from museums.

• The song, Mard Maratha, was shot with 1,300 dancers for over 13 days. 

• Nitin Desai’s team made a 15-foot Ganesh idol for the Ganesh Darbar. 

• Nitin Desai recreated the Shaniwar Wada located in Pune at ND studios in Kajrat for the movie. 

• Panipat was Ashutosh Gowariker’s comeback film after Mohejo Daro. 

Conclusion 

Panipat: The Great Betrayal is a story of betrayal, love, revenge, and war. Ashutosh Gowariker does justice to the epic battle between the Marathas and Abdali but fails to deliver much during the rest of the movie. Despite this, if you love watching historical movies with mesmerizing details and do not mind sitting through a slow-paced movie with a long runtime, this might just fit the bill.