Union Home Minister Amit Shah termed the reign of 12 th century ruler of Delhi Prithviraj Chauhan as a “padaav” or stage of Indian history which went for more than a thousand years till August 1947 when the country gained Independence, and also stated that the “cultural revival” taking place in the country since 2014 would once again take the country to great heights.
He was speaking at the pre-release screening of the film Samrat Prithviraj held in New Delhi on Wednesday evening. The film, directed by Chandraprakash Dwivedi under the Yash Raj films banner, stars actors Akshay Kumar and Manushi Chhillar in the main lead. The film is based on the long ballad “Prithviraj Raso” composed by the bard at Prithviraj’s court, Chand Bardai, and depicts the battles between Chauhan and Mohammad Ghori, notably the two battles of Taraori or Tarain as it is known in popular culture. The defeat of Prithviraj in the second battle of Taraori proved a turning point in ushering in the Delhi Sultanate.
Interestingly, the top brass of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh, including sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat and second in command Dattatreya Hosabele, will attend a special screening of the film on Friday evening. Clearly, the Sangh Parivar has extended its support for the film, which will be part of a trilogy by Akshay Kumar, the next two being on festival of Raksha Bandhan and on Ram Setu.
After the film, Mr. Shah, who attended the screening with his family (after a gap of 13 years, he said) made a short speech. “Prithviraj fought on every inch of land between Afghanistan and Delhi. The fight of 900-1000 has not been in vain and we won Independence in 1947. I can say with great conviction that cultural revival since 2014 will once again take the country to those heights,” he said.
“Prithviraj Raso has been one stage of a long fight that went on from 25 th September 1025 till 15 th August 1947. Many invaders have attacked our land, culture, civilisation, and its lode stars, and they were defeated many times, but the fight was never surrendered by the country. Sometimes Prithviraj fought, at another time Bhimdev, Dahir of Sindh fought, as did Kashmir’s Anangpal. All of them in the process of fighting, protected and allowed to flourish our civilisation which we have now as one of the best in the world. Globally, aggressors and invaders who had never been defeated had to admit that they drowned when they reached the mouth of the Ganga-Jamuna. They couldn’t defeat us,” he said.
“The story of Samrat Prithviraj is one that is not just of valour, but also tells us of the heights of our civilisation. Nowadays when we speak of freedom of women and their rights and empowerment, they must watch the film. Within the bounds of dignity, what this empowerment can mean is depicted very well in this film,” he said referring to the character of Sanyogita, consort of Prithviraj, who exercises her choice of partner in defiance of her father.
