‘Won’t act again in a historical biopic, ever’: Actor who played king Shivaji in controversial movie ‘Har Har Mahadev’
Har Har Mahadev, touted as the first pan-Indian Marathi film on Shivaji, continues to stoke controversy although it has been nearly two months since its theatrical release — which was scuttled at many places due to protests — and has finally had its television premiere on December 18. On Sunday, protesters claiming to be ‘Shiv-Bhakts’ (devotees of Chhatrapati Shivaji), had met prominent actor Subodh Bhave, who played the Maratha king in the movie, in Kolhapur and demanded that the ‘objectionable scenes’ from the movie be removed in the television broadcast. The film without the ‘objectionable scenes’ was telecast the same night.
During his meeting with the protesters at his hotel in Kolhapur, Bhave assuaged them by promising that the film has been re-edited for its television run.
He also made a surprise announcement. “My love for (Shivaji) Maharaj will remain until I die. The things that I learnt while playing him in the movie will remain with me. But I will not do a historical biopic in my life, ever!” Bhave said with folded hands in the video that has gone viral on social media.
In the video, he is seen having a calm conversation with a delegation of protesters which was led by actor Harshal Surve. Bhave said that presently he was shooting for a film on Sant Tukaram and that will be his last film on a historical personality.
Directed by Abhijeet Deshpande, the film stars Sharad Kelkar who essays the role of Baji Prabhu Deshpande, a soldier of Chhatrapati Shivaji who laid down his life to protect his king.
Subodh Bhave during his meeting with the delegation of protesters at his Kolhapur Hotel on Dec. 18.
The film was released in Marathi, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada languages. Soon after the release, however, several organisations in Maharashtra including the vociferous Sambhaji Brigade took out protests objecting to the alleged ‘distortion of history’ in the film. Soon, other political parties, including the Nationalist Congress Party, the Indian Youth Congress, and Shiv Sena (UBT) joined the protests. In some places, the protesters disrupted the screenings. Shivaji’s descendant Sambhaji Raje was also active in the protests.
After plans for the film’s television release on Zee Marathi were made public, protesters met Bhave, who is shooting for his next film, in Kolhapur and threatened to disrupt the shooting of the film if Har Har Mahadev director did not provide them with a written apology. Following this, Bhave told the team that he was a mere actor in the film and that he has decided to not work in historical biopics anymore.
