Pawankhind (Marathi)

 Saw Pawankhind (Marathi) recently on Prime Video.

Maharashtrians don't need any introduction to this. This epic story is imbibed on our minds.

For non-Maharashtrians: This was an epic battle between Marathas at a mountain pass near the fort of Vishalgad. The Marathas were providing cover for Shivaji Maharaj who was escaping from the fort of Panhala which was under siege by Siddi Jauhar. 

The unequal battle was fought between 300 Marathas led by Baji Prabhu Deshpande and Sambhu Singh Jadhav against the 10,000 strong Adilshahi forces (Bijapur Sultanate) led by Siddi Masud, son of Siddhi Jauhar.

The pass was previously known as Ghod Khind. After this battle it was renamed as Pawan (Holy) Khind. It was chosen because it was narrow, and only a few people could pass it at one time. This helped reduce the numerical advantage that the Mughals had.

A solider named Shiva Kashid resembled Shivaji Maharaj in appearance. He volunteered to dress like Maharaj and get captured. This bought some additional time due to the confusion over identity, before Siddi Masud realised the error and gave chase.

Baji Prabhu had told Shivaji Maharaj that he would hold on until he heard cannon fire 5 times from the fort of Vishalgad, an indication that Shivaji Maharaj had reached safely.

The forces fought for several hours, and held off a vastly superior force. Almost all of the 300 Marathas were killed, along with 1000 or more of the Adilshahi forces.

A gravely injured Baji Prabhu held on, only letting go of his hold on life after hearing the cannons from Vishalgad.

When you see the movie, there's one thing that you notice. All the characters seem to have been inspired by the greatness of whoever they were playing, and raised their level automatically. It's as if they know that they owe it to others to give their best. 

You can see why Shivaji Maharaj was (and is) revered - he not only was great himself, but inspired others to raise their level just by his presence.

Other than the blood and gore, there's a few scenes that make you emotional. The good bye that Shiva Kashid (Ajinkya Nanaware) says to Shivaji Maharaj, knowing that he is going to a sure death. The gentle chiding of Baji Prabhu to his King when Maharaj was refusing to leave them to fight without him is touching. 

It's a very good cast of actors. Chinmay Mandlekar as Shivaji Maharaj, Ajay Purkar as Bajiprabhu Deshpande, Sameer Dharmadhikari as Siddhi Jauhar, Aastad Kale as Siddhi Masud, Ankit Mohan as Rayaji Bandal, Mrinal Kulkarni as Maasaheb Jijau, Akshay Waghmare as Koyaji Bandal; all have done justice to their roles. Even the supporting cast is solid.

Liberties have been taken with the cinematic rendering of the story. But the crux has been retained. A bigger budget would have made this a grander film. Action scenes are sometimes technically jarring. 

But still this is a great effort from the director Digpal Lanjekar, and the entire team .

The smile on Baji Prabhu's face just before he dies in the film, grinning at the 3 main Mughal opponents, is worth a million words.

Totally worth watching.