Ashutosh Gowarikar’s latest movie – Panipat is scheduled to release on December 6, but the trailers of the movie have created a furore on the social media. Panipat is based on the third battle of Panipat between the Marathas and Ahmad Shah Abdali, the founder of modern Afghanistan.
Sanjay Dutt who plays Ahmad Shah Abdali in the movie tweeted a number of posters before the official release of the trailer. Dutt described the Afghan ruler as: “Ahmad Shah Abdali – Death strikes where his shadow falls.”
The trailer shows blood literally oozing out from the eyes of Dutt aka Abdali as he plans to conquer India, while the Marathas are presented as sophisticated and righteous akin to Rajputs in the movie Padmavat.
The Afghans according to the trailer of the movie are depicted as battle-hardened, blood-thirsty savages, similar to the role played by Ranveer Singh who played Alauddin Khilji in Padmavat.
Angry Reactions Over Movie – Panipat
Dr Shaida Abdali, who for long served as the Ambassador of Afghanistan to India tweeted: “Historically, the Indian cinema has been extremely instrumental in strengthening the Indo-Afghan ties – I very much hope that the film “Panipat” has kept that fact in mind while dealing with this important episode of our shared history!”
Naseem Sharifi, Consul General of Afghanistan in Mumbai, tweeted an old article that showed high approval rating of India among Afghans, adding, “Afghans cannot tolerate insult to our founding father Ahmad Shah Abdali.”
Dear @duttsanjay Ji: Historically, the Indian cinema has been extremely instrumental in strengthening the Indo-Afghan ties – I very much hope that the film “Panipat” has kept that fact in mind while dealing with this important episode of our shared history! https://t.co/8HKLei2ce1
— Dr Shaida Abdali (@ShaidaAbdali) November 4, 2019
Journalist Emran Feroz Tweeted: “I guess this will be just more Islamophobia and racism towards Afghans. Unfortunately, Afghans are the biggest Bollywood fans and some leading actors in the industry have Afghan roots themselves.”
