Reflections

I normally review very few select movies which to me are best-in-class and elite; only those that I either find superlative {as one of my friends was noting on fb today}, or those with some kind of social message. The movie being reviewed today, Baghtos Kaay... Muzraa Kar , is one of the latter category;  a  Marathi movie. What makes this movie so different is this is a movie with a message, and is also simultaneously fun to watch; with two other factors also thrown in, which I shall get to by and by. THE PLOT The plot is simple – a sarpanch of a village of Malvans, the villagers whom The Chhatrapati recruited and turned into his army, laments the state of the forts of the great Maratha Kiing, Chhatrapati Shivaji; even as the great legend continues to hold sway over entire Maharashtra, and I daresay large parts of India as well. Most Indians will readily concede his greatness. Despite this, his forts lie in ruin or at least not as well cared for as they should ...

Chhattrapati Shivaji stands as one of the most celebrated medieval heroes in Modern India; it is a name that touches a chord in almost every Indian, and is a powerful force to reckon with even today, three centuries after his death. He is present everywhere you can see; he is one of the few to withstand the onslaught of naming everything in sight after the Nehru family. A Chhatrapati square her, a Shivaji Terminus there – many cities have honoured themselves with some landmark, statue, street or square in his name. Such is his current followership, and so powerful is his presence. This makes reviewing any book related on this personality a big responsibility, a tough task  – and not one to be taken with insincerity, or with bias,  or attitude. I had always thought of The Chhatrapati as a tall personality, a commanding and great Indian; but had never given a thought to the pull, the deep connect and the powerful influence this genius had on me; as I read the current boo...