Sher Shivraj (2022) :
Movie Review -
Historical is one of my favourite genres in the movies. You don't have to write anything fictional because many historical stories make better scripts than fiction. Even in Hollywood, magnus opus like "Birth Of A Nation" (1915), "Ben-Hur" (1925), and the talkie version of 1959, "The Ten Commandments" (1923), and the talkie version of 1956, stand the test of time because of historical references that aren't fictional. In India, we have "Maya Bazaar" (1957) and "Mughal E Azam" (1960) that have remained iconic for years and will remain evergreen forever. Ashutosh Gowariker's "Jodha Akbar" (2008), SLB's "Bajirao Mastani" (2015), "Padmaavat" (2018), and Om Raut's recent blockbuster "Tanhaji" (2020) are good examples of historical dramas. In Marathi cinema, there was Bhalji Pendharkar's super hit "Chhatrapati Shivaji" (1952) that set the benchmark, and to name one good film from recent times, I'd like to add Om Raut's Lokmanya (2015) for its experimental storytelling. Interestingly, Lokmanya also had Chinmay Mandlekar playing one of the most important parts. The same man is on board for an 8-part series of Digpal Lanjekar based on the glorious tales of the legendary Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. These stories of brave Maratha warriors are better than Baahubali, but unfortunately, Digpal Lanjekar couldn't match the level with this much budget, but I guess more than the budget, the major thing he lacked was presentation. Whether it was Farzand, Fatteshikast, or Pawankhind, all these films had great stories but couldn't make great films. The commercial success of those films is a different thing, so let's just not get into that argument. The films weren't critic-proof. That's what I'm worried about. Like I said, it wasn't just about budget, but storytelling too. Om Raut's vision, which made Tanhaji hold your breath, wasn't just about budget. I mean, the climax was all about setting those scenes in the right manner. That hand-cutting scene has visuals, but the slow motion graphics make it incredible. Om Raut had that vision, while Digpal missed it with the previous three films in the franchise. Now, the fourth one, Sher Shivraj, comes as a celebration because Digpal has surpassed those films and finally cracked the right formula.
Sher Shivraj is based on the most popular chapter from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's history book, "The Slaughter of Afzal Khan." This is the first film in the franchise that is completely based on Chhatrapati Shivaji's bravery and also has the most amount of action. Farzand was about Kondaji Farzand, a lesser-known story. Fatteshikast was about Shayistekhan's finger cutting, a less action-driven film. Pawan Khind was about Bajiprabhu Deshpande, a very popular chapter, but it wasn't fully focused on any one man. Sher Shivraj is about Chhatrapati Shivaji versus Afzal Khan, probably the most dangerous and powerful enemy the Maratha king ever faced. This story has everything, I mean, it easily beats Bahubali or any other historical tale of bravery, and thankfully, Digpal understood that while making it. Sher Shivraj gives the most detailed analysis you will ever see of the Afzal Khan slaughtering story. What we know from the school books, TV series, and YouTube videos is that Adil Shah's Begum announces a prize in the courtage for finishing Raje Shivaji, and then a tall, strong, and ferocious commander, Afzal Khan, takes the challenge. He goes on to destroy temples, rape women, kill children, and then finally arranges a friendly meeting with Shivaji. However, his main plan is to kill Shivaji by treachery. On the other side, Raje Shivaji knows it already and sets up his own plan to kill the evil guy. We've all heard this story, but Sher Shivraj provides a fantastic extension and detailing of it. We didn't know that Afzal Khan had killed Shivaji's elder brother and humiliated his father, Shahaji Raje, too. The entire trap of Shivaji is much more than just that meeting. The film shows you that. From adding spice and sweetness to his food, only to arrange his anger accordingly, that Ayurveda's reference, the planning for the special weapon, and which part of the body should be struck. Digpal's writing tells you small small details like this and many more.
Chinmay Mandlekar seems to have fixed everything that was needed for the role of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. What a king-size entry he has in this film. Certainly, the best - even better than Farzand. I must say, this man is on a riot! Absolutely riot. Pawan Khind in February, The Kashmir Files in March and now Sher Shivraj in April. Three powerful performances in three straight months. A rare achievement for an actor. Mukesh Rishi makes a perfect Afzal Khan for you. He has those scary eyes and stalwart physics to match the evilness of that cruel character. His accent, too, works in his favor. Almost every actor shines in a supporting role. Mrunal Kulkarni as Jijau, Ajay Purkar as Tanhaji, Digpal Lanjekar as Bahirji, Sameer Dharmadhikari as Krushanjiraje, Dipti Ketkar as Deepai, Isha Keskar as Saibai, Madhvi Nimkar as Soyrabai, Dynanesh Wadekar as Krushnaji, Vaibhav Mangle as Bokil, Atad Kale as Vishwas, Akshay Waghmare as Gole and Varsha Usgaokar as Begum amongst others have done good jobs. Sher Shivraj gets full marks for the visual spectacle it offers. The entry scene of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is so beautiful to watch. First they introduce you to other pals one-by-one, and every single person has action to do in those 10-second entry scenes. A popular folk song about God is playing, and then comes the King, Raje Shivaji, in that yellow smoke. That's metaphor at its massy best. The action scenes in the film are much better than in the previous three films by Digpal Lanjekar. In Farzand, we never saw the troops of 2000 people as mentioned. The same happened in Fattehshikast, while Pawan Khind had its own different issues. But Sher Shivraj is an improvement over those. Music plays an important role here. The entry scene song, one more folk song, and that popular Garjana from Nitin Chandrakant Desai's Raja Shivchhatrapati in the climax, will give you goosebumps.
Unfortunately, the film has a few technical glitches that could have been repaired, but Digpal doesn't seem to have noticed them. The same glitches you saw in the previous films, and Digpal has to be blamed for that. Some of the funny dialogues look spoofy and spoil the mood. One or two songs appear on the wrong occasions, and why is this film so loud sometimes? I mean, was it trying to challenge Rocky Bhai's KFG Chapter 2 in loudness? There are some flaws that can't be forgiven, but let's be happy that the amount is less this time. I have grown up from reading this story in 4th grade to watching YouTube versions of it. Every time I think about it, it makes me nostalgic. Watching that nostalgia on screen easily puts the cinematic mistakes behind. Despite the faults, the way Digpal has tried to make it different is really commendable. The film starts with Hiranyakashyapu's tale, but who would have thought that it could be connected to Shivaji vs. Afzal Khan? That emotional speech Shivaji makes after Tanhaji Malusare is forced to slash explores the love and friendship he shares with his warriors. Also, that Goddess' dream sequence, even though it comes with bad VFX, is so good on-paper. Digpal has truly surpassed the previous films and has finally shown improvement in his storytelling. Sher Shivaraj is by far the most glorious chapter in the Digpal Lanjekar's historical series on legendary Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, and by god's grace it came for the most popular chapter too. Just don't miss it!
RATING - 7/10*
