Ajay Devgnâs 100th movie Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior had built up huge anticipation among fans. Based on the life of Maratha warrior Tanaji Malusare (Tanhaji in the film), who was the Subedar in the army of Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, director Om Raut's film takes you back to one of the most important historical events, The Battle of Sinhagad.

It was a night battle that took place on February 4, 1670, in the fort of Sinhagad, near the city of Pune, Maharashtra, India. It was fought between Tanaji Malusare, a commander of Maratha ruler Shivaji and Udaybhan Rathod, fort keeper of Kondana Fort.

The strategic location of the Fort of Kondana would have allowed Aurangzeb to rule the southern part of India and thatâs why he had sent Udaybhan - to conquer the fort and win against Maharaja Shivaji. The movie has tried to repeat the history on the big screen with Ajay playing Tanaji and Saif playing Udaybhan.

Well, the movie is surely a visual delight considering the efforts that have gone into the VFX and creating the perfect 3D effect. Itâs an added treat for viewers to see the great battle on screen with such compelling visual effects. But, Om Rautâs directorial film is a little exaggerated when it comes to showing the heroism of Ajayâs character on the big screen. The movieâs focus, as the title suggests, is Ajayâs character Tanhaji, but when you are literally in every frame of the movie, there's a scope to explore different shades of the character which the film lacked in my opinion. Undoubtedly, there were scenes that captured his valour as Tanhaji. If you have seen Singham, you might agree that Om Rautâs Tanhaji was the 17th century Singham.

Tanhaji is a loving husband to his wife Savitribai (Kajol) and their scenes do add freshness to the script. Itâs after a decade that we are getting to see the real-life couple on the big screen. Kajol, as she said in the interviews that she would be seen playing a wife whoâs devoted to her husband, is mesmerizing in every frame and does a great job in the screen space she got. 

Saif is then left to do most of the job to elevate the screenplay and he doesnât disappoint at all. For many of the critics attending the press show yesterday, Saif was channelizing his inner Ranveer Singh, but I beg to differ here as I felt Saif was his own infectious self and did a great job with his facial expressions. In fact, he is the one who actually added some much-needed weight to the screenplay. But yes, his claim of the character being 20 times better than Jon Snow is obviously an exaggeration. 

So, Sharad Kelkar (Maharaja Shivaji) who is known for his craft is merely reduced to a caricature which I felt was unfair to the actor that he is. Luke Kenny (as Aurangzeb) and Neha Sharma (as Kamal, Uday's love interest) are there in the movie too, but donât have enough screen space to stand out. 

Despite its perfunctory narrative which is slow-paced, the movie stands out for its 3D effects, VFX and the action scenes that were put brilliantly together. The use of bamboos to scale the outer walls of the castle was indeed innovative and does deserve a mention. The background score was the real deal and did elevate the pace of the movie somewhat.

The real highlight of the movie was obviously the face-off between Ajay and Saif and seeing it in 3D is a visual treat. All said and done, there were historical inconsistencies but keeping that aside, itâs a delightful experience to see the movie on the big screen. In a nutshell, you should go watch the movie for the sheer efforts that have gone into bringing to life this epic battle, with stellar 3D effects.

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