Bollywood film preview --- Tanhaji; the unsong warrior.

The first full length film ever produced in India was the biographical drama film "Raja Harishchandra (1913)". It was produced and directed by the pioneer, "Dadasaheb phalke" who, after watching "the life of Christ (1906)", felt that, indian images should be seen on the screen. The film was based on the legend of Harishchandra and its success is what paved the way for the biographical drama films in India among other things.

Epic, adventure, biographical and period drama films are popular with indian cinema fans, and many of the highest-grossing indian films of all time have been of such genres.

For instance; Mugal-e-Azam a 1960 bollywood epic historical drama was the highest-grossing indian film of all time, and it retained the record for fifteen years--- untill sholay (1975). The Tollywood epic action film "Baahubali 2: the conclusion (2017)" also broke and set many film records. It was the first ever indian film to gross over ₹10 billion (Rupees). It also stands as the highest-grossing film in india and set a new pace for indian films.

After the release of Baahubali 2... in 2017, its Hindi version alone grossed ₹5.5 billion--- blockbuster indeed. Later, more than 50 Hindi films were released the same year, but only less than 10 of them got a superhit tag and less than 5 grossed ₹1 to ₹3 billion! Tiger zinda hai (2017), was the only big budget post baahubali film that succeeded that year because its makers  titivated it--- as baahubali set the pace; audience  now anticipate qualitative films of high standard.

More recently, another epic period drama bollywood film, Padmaavat, became a huge commercial success after its release in 2018. It broke the all time opening day records in Australia, surpassing the likes of dangal (2016) and baahubali 2: the conclusion (2017). It grossed ₹5.85 billion, making it one of the highest-grossing bollywood films of all time. Meanwhile, big budget films of other genres were failing woefully at the box office. A good example is "Zero (2018)" among other films.

Obviously, the aforementioned show the enduring popularity of the epic, adventure and biographical films and the need for producing them in larger quantities.

In response to that, Bollywood is coming up with yet, another biographical period drama film with lavish costume and ensemble cast of (mostly) A-list stars. Its tittle is Tanhaji: The Unsong Warrior.

The film follows the life of the military leader in the Maratha empire, Tanaji malusare (Ajay devgn), who is ordered by the emperor of the empire, Sivaji Maharaj (Sharad kelkar) to capture Kondahana, (a hill fortress) seized by the emperor Aurengzeb (Luke Kenny) of the expanding Mughal empire. Defensively, the Mughal emperor sends his trusted commander, Uday bhan (Saif Ali Khan), thus leading to a fierce combat between the forces of Tanaji and Udhay bhan. This is just the premise of the film since it is not released yet, only the trailer was unveiled on 19th November, 2019.

From what I have watched in the trailer, Tanhaji: the unsong warrior, posseses (almost) all that is prerequisite for it to appeal to a wide audience, such as thrilling story, spectacular setting, authentic period costume, dramatic stunt and action sequences e.t.c. therefore, it can be described as a potential, gripping blockbuster.

The film is slated for release on 10th January, 2020. We hope it will not disappoint us!

Habibu Maaruf Abdu