Ajay Devgn’s ‘Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior’ Is Based On A Man Who Challenged The Mughal Empire
News
oi-Lekhaka
By Lekhaka
Tanhaji:
The
Unsung
Warrior
is
an
upcoming
period
drama
film
starring
Ajay
Devgn,
Saif
Ali
Khan
in
the
lead
roles.
Directed
by
Om
Raut,
the
film
is
based
on
the
life
of
legendary
Tanaji
Malusare.
The
posters
of
the
film
has
been
loved
and
the
trailer
will
be
released
on
19th
November
2019.
While
most
of
us
know
Tanaji
as
the
person
who
fought
alongside
Shivaji
Maharaj,
but
there
was
more
to
him
apart
from
this.
Let's
take
a
look
at
the
man
who
challenged
the
Mughal
Empire.
Born
in
the
1600s
in
Godavli,
Javali
Taluka
(Satara,
Maharashtra,
India)
Tanaji
was
a
brave
and
fierce
warrior.
He
was
a
commander
of
Maratha
ruler
Shivaji
Maharaj.
The
legendary
warrior
fought
alongside
Maratha
leader
Shivaji
Maharaj
in
various
battles
throughout
the
years.
In
1670
when
Shivaji
Maharaj
summoned
him
for
a
meeting,
Tanaji
put
the
wedding
plan
of
his
son
Rayaba
on
hold
and
went
to
meet
him.
On
hearing
Shivaji's
plan
to
recapture
Kondhana
fort
near
Pune
from
the
Mughals,
Tanaji
took
the
uphill
charge
of
the
campaign
and
started
his
preparations.
The
then
Kondana
fort
was
controlled
by
Udaybhan
Rathod,
a
Rajput
officer
appointed
by
Mughal
general
Jai
Singh
I.
With
the
will
to
recapture
the
fort
under
any
circumstance,
Tanaji
with
an
army
of
800
people
marched
on
to
conquer
Kondana
fort.
The
ace
strategist
along
with
a
troop
of
300
were
said
to
have
scaled
the
fort
from
the
western
side
on
a
dark
night
with
the
help
of
a
domesticated
Bengal
monitor
lizard
(called
ghorpad
in
Marathi)
named
Yashwanti
to
which
they
were
said
to
have
tied
ropes
and
sent
crawling
up
top
to
the
precipice
of
the
fort.
After
two
failed
attempts,
Tanaji
and
his
men
successfully
scaled
the
steep
hill
fortress.
Once
they
were
inside
and
after
opening
the
Kalyan
Darwaza,
Tanaji,
his
men
and
another
detachment
of
500
troops
headed
by
Suryaji
(his
younger
brother)
attacked
the
army
holding
down
the
fort.
Fierce
combat
took
place
between
the
forces
of
Tanaji
and
Udaybhan.
During
the
battle,
Tanaji
broke
his
shield
but
he
continued
fighting
by
tying
his
upper
garment
over
his
defending
hand
in
order
to
ward
off
Udaybhan's
blows.
After
a
lengthy
fight,
Tanaji
Malusare
lost
his
life,
Shelar
Mama
avenged
Tanaji
by
killing
Udaybhan.
Suryaji
defeated
the
remaining
garrison
and
took
over
the
Kondana
fort,
now
known
as
Sinhagad.
When
Shivaji
Maharaj
heard
about
the
valor
and
demise
of
his
close
friend
and
commander
Tanaji,
the
Maratha
chief's
said
"gad
alaa
pan
sinha
gelaa" which
translates
to
"the
fort
is
captured
but
the
lion
(Tanaji
Malusare)
has
died."
Shivaji
Maharaj
then
renamed
the
fort
from
Kondhana
fort
to
Sinhagad
in
the
name
of
his
former
commander
and
as
a
testimony
of
his
sacrifice,
his
statue
stands
tall
at
the
fort.
Such
was
the
valor
of
Tanaji
that
Ajay
Devgn
decided
to
produce
a
film
on
the
brave
Maratha
warrior
whose
story
needs
to
be
told
to
generations.