Prithviraj: The Akshay Kumar film, the controversy, and the legend explained

Home Minister Amit Shah will watch a special screening of Akshay Kumar-starrer Prithviraj on 1 June, two days ahead of the film’s theatrical release. The film depicts the life of legendary warrior king Prithviraj Chauhan, played by Akshay. Film’s director Chandraprakash Dwivedi shared the news on Tuesday. “It is our honour that the Honourable Home Minister of our country, Shri Amit Shah ji, is going to witness the epic saga on the glorious life of one of Bharatmata’s bravest sons, Samrat Prithviraj Chauhan, who sacrificed his life for the country,” the filmmaker said in a statement. What is the film all about? Largely based on medieval poet Chand Bardai’s epic poem Prithviraj Raso, the period drama sees Akshay playing the erstwhile king of Ajmer with former Miss World Manushi Chhillar as Sanyogita. The film marks Manushi’s Bollywood debut. Written and directed by Chanakya-fame Chandraprakash Dwivedi, the film’s research took him about six months to check every single fact multiple times, he said in a report by The Indian Express. The film will portray the life and heroism of the fearless king as he valiantly fought against Muhammad of Ghor. The trailer of the film was released earlier this month. Later, Akshay Kumar talked about the same and mentioned how he feels humbled that people want to connect to the most ‘glorious tribute’ to the brave warrior. Also read: Prithviraj trailer Review: Akshay Kumar's upcoming historical biopic is riddled with generic CGI shots “I’m thrilled with the response to the trailer of Prithviraj. We wanted to give a glorious and the most authentic tribute to the incredibly valiant Samrat Prithviraj Chauhan and I’m so happy that the trailer has resonated with the audience. It’s amazing to see how people want to know more about the valour of the mighty king and we are humbled that we have been able to make people across the world want to know more about the Samrat,” he said. Prithviraj also stars Sanjay Dutt, Sonu Sood, Manav Vij, Ashutosh Rana, Sakshi Tanwar, and Lalit Tiwari. Also read: Akshay Kumar on Prithviraj: ‘I didn’t make director Dr Chandraprakash Dwivedi feel that I am a superstar who has done 150 films while this is his third directorial’ What is the controversy? The historical action drama has already courted controversy as Rajput and Gurjar communities have laid claim to the king’s caste. As reported by E-Times, Akhil Bharatiya Veer Gurjar Mahasabha has said that Prithviraj was a Gurjar and therefore he should be presented in the film not as a Rajput, but as a Gurjar. The Mahasabha also said that they will not allow the release of the film if Prithviraj is presented as a Rajput. The entertainment portal also reports that Mahasabha’s Rajasthan state president, Manish Bhargad, claimed to have met the film’s producer last year when he showed ‘historic evidence’ to the makers to avoid factual errors. On the other side, the Karni Sena, which represents the Rajput community, also demanded a title change for the film. Reportedly, Karni Sena wanted the makers to name the film, ‘Samrat Prithviraj Chauhan’. “We have met Akshaye Widhani, the CEO of Yash Raj films and they have promised to make the change to the title. They have agreed to honour our demand," Karni Sena member Surjeet Singh Rathore told E-Times. In December last year, protests broke out in Rajasthan’s Ajmer as some representatives of the Gurjar community threatened to stop the screening of the film if they don’t remove the term ‘Rajput’ from it. According to Koimoi, leaders from the Rajput community strongly rejected the claim and said that Gurjars were initially ‘gauchar’, who then converted into Gujjars and then Gurjars. They basically come from Gujarat and hence got this name, claimed Shri Rajput Karni Sena national spokesperson Vijendra Singh Shaktawat. What is the legend? The film is based on Prithviraj Raso, an epic poem written in Brij language. It is attributed to Chand Bardai, who was a court poet of the king, according to the text. Even though the earliest existing copy of the poem dates back to the 16th century, its actual date of being written has remained contentious. Some scholars date its oldest version to the 13th century. Most modern scholars are of the belief that Prithviraj Raso was composed after the king’s time, since the language points to a date much later than the 12th century when the king ruled. It is also believed that Chand Bardai was indeed Prithviraj Chauhan’s court poet and he composed a text that forms the basis of the present version of Prithviraj Raso. The epic poem depicts Prithviraj’s rise to the court of Delhi ruler Anangpal Tomar, who, devoid of a male heir, appoints Prithviraj as the king of Delhi. Prithviraj’s appointment is contested by king Jaichand of Kannauj who decides to conduct a Rajasuya ceremony to proclaim his supremacy. By refusing to participate in the ceremony, Prithviraj refuses to acknowledge Jaichand’s claim as the supreme king. Meanwhile, Jaichand’s daughter Sanyogita falls in love with Prithviraj after hearing about his heroic exploits, and declares that she would only marry him. After a battle with the Kannauj army, in which two-thirds of Prithviraj’s soldiers are sacrificed, he elopes with Sanyogita. In his newly married life, Prithviraj starts ignoring the state affairs, including the threat from the invader, Muhammad of Ghor. Defeated and captured in the battle, Prithviraj is taken to Ghazni, the invader’s capital, where he is blinded by the king. Chand Bardai travels to Ghazni and tricks Shihab ad-Din, Muhammad of Ghor, into watching an archery performance by the blind Prithviraj. During the performance, Prithviraj shoots the arrow in the direction of Muhammad Ghori’s voice and kills him. Prithviraj and Chand Bardai kill each other shortly after. With inputs from agencies Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.