Ashutosh Gowariker gives five reasons for basing his next film on the third battle of Panipat
Roshmila Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; December 3, 2019)

There were three battles at Panipat, but, as Ashutosh Gowariker points out, we tend to address them collectively, as one. The filmmaker’s upcoming historical showcases the third battle in an engaging way, with songs, romance, drama and action, and Arjun Kapoor locking horns with Sanjay Dutt. In Ashutosh’s words, “when you have an audio-visual medium to reach out with, it takes you beyond school books”. Three years of research has gone into the project, and here’s why he believes this battle deserved a cinematic spectacle:

1. The most inspiring thing about the third Battle of Panipat was that an army of 40,000 left Pune to travel up North, covering a distance of 1,000 km to stop an invading Afghan army of a lakh. Nowhere in the world, be it in Europe or South-East Asia, has an army travelled such a distance. Most of the battles were at sea or on borders.

2. My protagonist Sadashivrao Bhau was a Maratha general, a man of brute strength and military acumen. He was bullish and an on-the-spot decision maker. Of course, he was a great warrior, but he was also a compassionate man who knew how to treat the enemy when a battle was won. He single handedly led this entire expedition, amassing support from various kings en route, so the Marathas could show their strength to the Afghan king Ahmad Shah Abdali.

3. My antagonist, Ahmad Shah Abdali, was also a strong military strategist. Whenever an outsider invaded India, he had to cross five rivers on the way and upon returning. This needed a certain expertise because each time, he had to build a bridge over the rivers. That Abdali led eight invasions showed his mastery. A chase happened between the two armies along the Yamuna river which is important to this battle.

4. What made this battle unique was that it was fought in a single day. It started in the morning of January 14, 1761, at Panipat and ended at sunset. The loss of lives on both sides was a lakh. In this it was next to the battle at Kurukshetra, the difference being that the Mahabharata is mythology while the third Battle of Panipat happened 200-300 years ago and changed perceptions across India.

5. Had we been more united, this invasion may never have happened. But the Marathas fought with such intensity, that Abdali never returned to Hindustan. So, even though the battle was lost, it was a victory of different kind because the invasions stopped.