Bollywood Movie – Panipat has created quite a storm ever since the release of its official trailer. The film, based on the Battle of Panipat, sees Arjun Kapoor as Sadashiv Rao Bhau and Sanjay Dutt as Ahmad Shah Abdali.
Afghans Unhappy With Movie Panipat Over Vilifying Ahmad Shah Abdali
Many netizens have called out the director Ashutosh Gowarikar for distorting history, one of them being loudmouth Pakistan minister – Chaudhry Fawad Hussain.
Hussain was replying to a tweet by Reema Omer in which she had criticised Bollywood’s lazy depiction of Muslim history and its rulers.
“With Panipat, Bollywood’s troubling (and painfully lazy) trope for depicting Muslim rulers/invaders as barbaric savages continue,” she wrote. “Also, if the trailer is anything to go by, the film really couldn’t have come at a worse time (or day: December 6, when Babri Masjid was demolished).”
With #Panipat, Bollywood’s troubling (and painfully lazy) trope for depicting Muslim rulers/invaders as barbaric savages continues
Also, if the trailer is anything to go by, the film really couldn’t have come at a worse time (or day: 6 Dec, when Babri masjid was demolished) pic.twitter.com/GdtZsm1N7j
— Reema Omer (@reema_omer) November 11, 2019
To this, Hussain added his own thoughts. “When idiots try to rewrite history under RSS influence, this is the minimum one should expect.
When idiots try to rewrite history under RSS influence this is minimum one should expect, agay agay deikheiye hota hai kiya….. https://t.co/IecnORvomx
— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) November 11, 2019
Ashutosh Gowarikar’s movie – Panipat is scheduled to release on December 6 and 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!”
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
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.”
