The Arjun Kapoor, Kriti Sanon movie, Panipat, has not found favour with the Jat community of Bharatpur. And now, they are not alone. Many other communities have joined in the clarion call for Panipat's boycott.
The community says that the Ashutosh Govarikar film unfairly portrays Maharaja Surajmal of Bharatpur as a greedy king. Surajmal's descendant on Sunday demanded a ban on 'Panipat' movie for allegedly portraying him in a wrong light.
As The Free Press Journal's Sangeeta Pranvendra reported on Sunday, members of the community burnt an effigy of Govarikar and demanded that Panipat be banned.
The Rajasthan tourism minister too has demanded a ban on the movie. Vishvendra Singh, a direct descendant of the Maharaja, had earlier, on Sunday, taken to Twitter to call for a ban.
Now, they have found some unexpected allies.
Giriraj Singh Lotwara the President of Rajput Sabha Bhawan, the supreme body of the community today supported the call for boycott and "strongly criticised" the portrayal of characters.
He also extended his support to Vishvendra Singh.
"Ashutosh Gowariker may make films based on history, but when it comes to the protagonists in them...he plays with their characters," Lotwara can be seen saying in a video.
This sort of "disgusting" activities, he added, can only help the filmmaker win easy popularity.
Gurjar leader Himmat Singh Gurjar also tweeted his support to the Jat community over the Panipat controversy.
Deviating from history, the Maharaja of Bharatpur has been portrayed "very wrongly", he said.
The movie is based on the third battle of Panipat that was fought in 1761 between the Marathas and Afghan King Ahmad Shah Abdali. Historians refute claims made in the movie.
“Why would he demand Agra when the Red Fort of Agra was already under Maharaja Surajmal before the battle of Panipat?" asks Ramveer Singh Verma a historian.
"Sadashiv Rao had met Maharaja Surajmal who had laid down four conditions for his support. He had asked Marathas to leave their heavy artillery go into battle using light guns. Women who had come to fight in the battle would not be allowed to fight. They should be kept safe in Jhansi or Gwalior and if the distance was a deterrent they should be kept safe in Bharatpur, Deeg or Kumher forts. The battle would be fought on the guerrilla warfare and battle strategy decided by Surajmal.”
“After Sadashiv Rao was killed in battle the injured women and soldiers lived in Bharatpur under the protection of Maharaja Surajmal for over eight months and it was announced that they were state guests. They were then sent to Maharashtra under the protection of the Bharatpur kingdom’s army,” added Verma.
The BoycottPanipat initiative has received support from several other leaders too.
Rukshmanii Kumari, a member of the royal family of Chomu in Rajasthan and the Rajasthan President of All India Professionals Congress also tweeted her support.
"Film makers should do a profound research before making movies on India’s history. Distortion of facts will only create controversy. Gowariker should have studied about Maharaja Surajmal!" she wrote.
MP from Nagaur Hanuman Beniwal said, “Maharaja Surajmal is the only Hindu king who fought the Mughals and defeated them to win over Delhi and Agra. He is an ideal for the society and any effort to tarnish his image and distort history will not be tolerated.”
MLA from Khimsar, Narayan Beniwal added, “It is so unfortunate that while they show no respect for the state’s history and distort it for commercial interests. Scripts cannot be written to cater to box office. The government should decide on a policy for verifying facts about historical films. ”
BJP leader Vasundhara Raje also spoke out against the alleged portrayal in a wrong light.
"The incorrect portrayal of the noble, self-respecting, highly revered Maharaja Surajmal is condemnable," she wrote.
