Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior is a 2020 Indian Hindi-language biographical period

action film starring Ajay Devgn, Saif Ali Khan, Sharad Kelkar, and Kajol.[4][5]
Directed by Om Raut, the film is set in the 17th century and based on the life of
Tanaji Malusare, who was the military leader of Shivaji, founder of the Maratha
Empire. The film depicts Tanhaji's attempts to recapture the Kondhana fortress once
it passes on to the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb who transfers its control to his
trusted guard Udaybhan Singh Rathore.

Principal photography commenced on 25 September 2018,[6][7] and the film was

theatrically released in 3D and conventional theatres in India on 10 January 2020.
[8] It received positive reviews from critics, who highlighted the action
sequences, performances and visual effects but criticised the filmmakers of
historical revisionism to pander to a right-wing Hindu nationalist political
climate. As of 21 January 2020, Tanhaji has earned ₹242.34 crore (US$34 million)
worldwide.[3]

Contents
1 Premise
2 Cast
3 Production
4 Marketing and release
5 Reception
5.1 Critical response
6 Soundtrack
7 Box office
8 References
9 External links
Premise
After losing his father in an attack, Tanhaji grows up to become Maratha Emperor
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's military leader. As Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb seizes
the strategic hill fortress Kondhana in order to make it the Mughal base of
Southern India from where he could extend his empire, Shivaji, who gave away the
fortress as the part of a peace treaty, tries to hide this from Tanhaji whose son
is going to get married. When Tanhaji discovers about this, he sets out to stop
Aurangzeb's trusted soldier Udaybhan Singh Rathore from reaching the fortress and
taking control of it as per his king's orders.

Cast
Ajay Devgn as Tanaji Malusare
Saif Ali Khan as Udaybhan Singh Rathore
Kajol as Savitribai Malusare
Sharad Kelkar as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj
Luke Kenny as Aurangzeb
Padmavati Rao as Rajmata Jijabai
Shashank Shende as Shelaar Mama
Devdatta Nage as Suryaji Malusare
Neha Sharma as Kamla Devi
Ajinkya Deo as Chandraji Pisal
Yuri Suri as Mirza Raje Jai singh
Vipul Gupta as Jagat Singh
Jagannath Nivangune as Tanhaji's father
Trisha Patil as Tanhaji's mother
Hardik Sangani as Gondya
Nissar Khan as Beshak Khan
Prasanna Ketkar as Sarnaik
Kailash Waghmare as Chultiya
Harsh Sharma as Young Tanhaji
Ranav Sharma as Young Suryaji
Arush Nand as Raiba
Dhairyasheel Gholap as Shrubhau
Nilesha Lalwani as Tatya
Pramod More as Leader of Gondia
Bhagyashree Nhalve as Suryaji's wife
Devendra Gaikwad as Raiba's father-in-law
Rajesh Ahir as Raja Sangram Singh
Production
Pre-production began on 20 July 2017.[9] Principal photography commenced from 25
September 2018.[10]

Marketing and release

Earlier marketed as Taanaji: The Unsung Warrior, it was revealed on Twitter by Ajay
Devgn that the film will be known as Tanhaji.[4] In December 2017, the release date
of Tanhaji was revealed as 22 November 2019 but was postponed to December 2019 due
to shooting problems. On 1 January 2019, director Om Raut released the first-look
image.[11] The official posters of the film were released throughout November 2019.
[12][13][14][15]

On 19 November, official trailer of the film was launched by T-Series.[16][17][18]

[19] On 16 December, T-Series launched the second official trailer of the film.[20]
[21]

The film was theatrically released in 3D on 10 January 2020.[8]

Reception
Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, Tanhaji has an approval of 86%
with an average rating of 8.5/10 based on seven reviews.[22]

Anupama Chopra of FilmCompanion noted it to be a un-nuanced retelling of history

right out of Amar Chitra Katha comics, that blended historical spectacles,
nationalism, and hyper-masculinity.[23] The storytelling, soundtracks, costumes,
and individual performances were specifically praised.[23] Rahul Desai noted it to
be a slick work which was but marred by an extensive saffronisation which sought to
exploit the political climate in India.[24]

A review over The Hindustan Times noted it to be a magnificent work, which had
exceptional individual performances, a captivating story-line and excellent video-
effects.[25] Namrata Joshi of The Hindu noted of the film to have started off well,
before floundering in the middle but regaining brilliance at the end, delivering a
catharsis and adrenaline rush.[26] Uday Bhatia of The Mint noted it to be a silly
cartoon history, which borrowed its physics from Prince of Persia but nonetheless
consisted of fluent actions and interesting individual performances.[27]

Poulomi Das over Arre noted Tanhaji to be a funnily hyper nationalistic action
thriller, that purveyed a uni-dimensional revisionist history and sophisticated
Islamophobia.[28] Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV noted it to be a historically
inauthentic work that ironed out any and all nuances in its portrayal of a
saffronized Hindu-Muslim binary; however, he noted the overall production to be
crisp and backed by powerful individual performances.[29] Tanul Thakur of The Wire
noted it to be a work that had excellent cinematography but was intensely buoyed
down by its ahistorical religio-nationalist propaganda, catering to the overall
saffronisation of India.[30]

Shubhra Gupta over Indian Express noted it to offer a "simplistic, dressed-up slice
of the past" that painted hyperbolic tales of Maratha bravery with a Hindu fervor.
[31] Sukanya Verma of Rediff noted it to be a mythical retelling of history with a
bout of saffron fervor; individual performances and choreography of combat
sequences were praised.[32] Rajeev Masand noted it to be a dubiously stereotyped
fictional work, which appealed to the hyper-nationalistic climate but had robust
filmography, visceral battle scenes, and superb individual performances.[33][34]
Stutee Ghosh of The Quint noted it to be a visually stunning film with strong
individual performances, despite its broad liberties with historical accuracy and
problematic prejudices.[35][36][37]

Soundtrack