Explained: Controversy Over Marathi Film 'Har Har Mahadev' Depicting Chhatrapati Shivaji

The Marathi movie Har Har Mahadev has recently stirred up controversy in Maharashtra, leading to the detention of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLA Jitendra Awhad by the Thane police for forcibly stopping the film's screening in Thane's Viviana mall early this week.

The NCP MLA claims that in order to incite political outrage, the movie distorted Chhatrapati Shivaji's history.

The complaint alleges that Awhad and his supporters assaulted several of the spectators after they sought a refund and made remarks about the interruption.

PTI

The movie Har Har Mahadev

The real-life Pavan Khind battle, in which a small group of Baji Prabhu Deshpande's Mawlas (Shivaji's soldiers) battled against hundreds of troops from the Bijapur Sultanate, served as the inspiration for the movie Har Har Mahadev. Abhijeet Deshpande wrote and directed the sweeping historical action drama movie, which Zee Studios and Sunil Phadtare jointly produced under the name Shree Ganesh Marketing And Films.

The mawlas engaged in this battle for more than five to six hours, securing Shivaji Maharaj's safe arrival at Vishalgad. In this conflict, Deshpande died. One of the several warriors that aided Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in achieving his goal of "Swarajya" was Baji Prabhu Deshpande.

The movie's producers claimed that it will also be the first Marathi movie to be released in Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada.

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How did the controversy start?

A descendant of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj of the Kolhapur royal line, Sambhajiraje Chhatrapati, told reporters in Pune that any films that misrepresent the historical events of Shivaji's life will be condemned, and that every effort will be made to prevent their release.

It has been noted, there are several errors in the recently released film Har har Mahadev. Additionally, we are learning about the falsification of the truth in Vedat Marathe Veer Daudale Saat (an upcoming movie). If such a movie is produced, we won't just criticise it; we'll also block its distribution, Sambhajiraje warned.

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Jayant Patil, the state president of the NCP, declared that his party always defends the right to free speech. "However, creators must avoid distorting historical details. The events must be depicted exactly as they occurred. The NCP will not stand for any falsification of historical information about Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj¡±, he asserted.

Parties like the Sambhaji Brigade and others protested the movie, arguing that it distorted the truth. On Monday, NCP workers and NCP MLA Jitendra Awhad rushed a multiplex in Thane to halt the performance of Har Har Mahadev.

Objections to the movie

The film's producers have received a legal notice outlining a total of 14 objections. According to attorney Vikas Shinde, "We have sent the notice asking the director and production firm to present documents of the incidents featured in the film." On behalf of 12 parties, including people and organizations, Shinde sent the legal warning.

Among the criticisms are references to King Shivaji's empire as being Marathi rather than Maratha and a scenario in which Shivaji is depicted advising a British person to learn Marathi.

IMDB

It's similar to confining Maharaj by portraying him as a Marathis-only defender, that was never the case. One of the tribal chiefs, Bandals, is seen in another scenario defending a rapist. The basis for this representation has been sought after by the Bandals' descendants, according to Shinde.

One of the main concerns is that there is no historical record of a fight between Baji Prabhu Deshpande and King Shivaji, nor is there any record of Deshpande being present when Afzal Khan was killed. Khan is portrayed as being held on Shivaji's lap while he tears at Khan's stomach like Narsimha. The note questioned, "Do they wish to portray Shivaji as an avatar of Narsimha?"