Tanhaji The Unsung Warrior Review: Ajay Devgn And Saif Ali Khan's Performances Elevate This Riveting Historical Drama
Ajay Devgn ’s Tanhaji : The Unsung Warrior celebrates the life and valour of the Maratha army chief Tanaji Malusare whose bravery in the less talked about Battle of Sinhagad against Rajput fort keeper for the Mughals Udaybhaan makes a for a riveting tale from history. The film has been presented in the grandest way possible with an A-list star cast, top of the line special effects and cinematography and budget most filmmakers in the business would dream about.
The film will surely touch the sentimental nerve of the Marathi audiences. Especially because of the connection they feel with Chhatrapati Shivaji and his legacy. Keeping authenticity to its optimum the film also boasts of dialogues that were originally mouthed by Shivaji but what remains to be seen is whether the rest of the country will be able to connect with the emotions.
Om Raut kind of has done a decent job having earlier directed a historical drama based on the life of Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak. With this film Raut had the advantage of going bigger on his vision with the big-budget and technology leeway being given to him by the producers of the film. The first half is replete with voice-overs while trying to just establish the character which is kind of necessary for all the audience that is not aware of the context at all. However, becomes a bit too much when the voice-over continues till almost half the time of the first part of the film.
While the length of the film is almost two and a half hours, one big plus point of the film is it doesn't feel like an overkill and manages to hold on to your attention, barring the sudden disruptions by the song and dance numbers in the film. When telling a story based on a warrior like Tanhaji, writing undeniably plays a big role but in this case, it is not the strongest suit of the film and the dialogues are not as impactful as one would expect them to be. Apart from a few thrilling sequences here and there, Tanhaji managed to remind me of the many war films made in the past. What stood out was the second half though which was pretty gripping from the start to the end.
Ajay Devgn plays the role of Tanaji Malusare and he does it with an aplomb that is incomparable. His deep gaze, his dialogue delivery and the sheer weight in his demeanor collectively make him apt for the role. He has done full justice to part but again one disappointment is the feeling that he is Ajay Devgn and not the real Tanaji Malusare which just kept coming to me time and again through the film. That fact took me a little away from the full effect of Tanhaji’s tale.
Kajol is superb, even though as is the norm, she barely has any role to play in the film other than just being in the backdrop as Tanaji's wife. There are sheer moments of brilliance though. Having said that, with just six to seven scenes Kajol doesn't get any time to display her mettle on screen. You have Sharad Kelkar in the role of Chhatrapati Shivaji Raje and boy, did he look the role! His make up, costumes, his shapely beard everything was so meticulously done that he looked exactly like the Chhatrapati we all have grown up seeing in the various pictures of our history books. He has a good baritone anyway so working on the voice modulation part must have come easy to him.
Finally, it is Saif Ali Khan in the role of Udaybhaan Rathore who kills it. He is fabulous in his part and there is barely anything else to it. He is just too good. He looks menacing and his physicality too does perfect justice to the role.
The background music was poignant but again a bit too overdone. We have all seen films that use the background score as a leitmotif but in this one for some reason, that didn’t work out. For instance, in one scene, Tanaji ends up killing his own men and while he is killing them and is making one of the gravest mistakes of his life without even realizing once that he is being conned; in the background, we hear the same glorifying music. Trust me, it sounds misplaced in that scene. According to me, it could have been a much somber and a sinister kind of background music which could perhaps had given the audiences a slight inkling of the impending doom.
The music has been composed by Ajay-Atul of Sairat fame and this time, it is just plain disappointing. Firstly such random songs shouldn't have been in the film, it actually slowed down the pace of the film and the worst part is it wasn't pleasing to the ears either. The edit was pacy and managed to keep me intrigued. The special effects and the 3D effects used in the film are nothing new but it did elevate the viewing experience for sure. It wasn't as extraordinary as it was touted to be in the trailer launch. I have seen 3D films before and this was in the same league. The cinematography by Keiko Nakahara is extra-ordinary. It is beautiful and even though the film has visual effects in abundance, the camera work is just splendid.
The costumes were authentic and the production design was one of the best aspects of the film. In re-creating a whole different world from history, the work that goes on behind the camera stands out like nothing else and that is exactly the case with this one too. All in all a film that surely is a onetime watch and without a doubt a piece of craft that will strike the chords of sentimentality in the viewing public.