India is one of the oldest civilizations in the world with a colourful variety and rich cultural heritage. Today we will talk about another freedom fighter who brought battle with ruthless the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. Yes, you guessed it right, its none other than Bundelkhand Kesri Maharaja Chhatrasal who was Bundeli warrior and planned to establish his own kingdom in Bundelkhand. He was born in Kachar Kachnai on the 4th of May in 1649, to Champat Rai and Lal Kunwar.
His father was the first person to raise the spirit of freedom from the Mughals but was killed in battle with the Mughals post himself killing the favourite of the emperor, Abu Fazl. Chhatrasal started his revolt with Mughal at the young age of 22 years, along with an army of 5 horsemen and 25 swordsmen, in 1671. During the first decade he and his troops conquered area between Chitrakoot and Panna on the east and Gwalior on the west. Post which stretched from Kalpi in the north to Sagar, Garah Kota and Damoh in the south. He also went to defeat few of the accomplished Mughal generals such as Rohilla Khan, Kaliq, Munawwar Khan, Sadruddin, Sheikh Anwar, Sayyid Latif, Bahlol Khan and Abdus Ahmed.
Chhatrasal was trained by Pran Nathji and accepted him as his teacher as well as Pranami Dharma. The feud between Bundelkhand and Mughal began when the people of Bundelkhand refused to submit ‘Jizyah’ tax and started the revolution and with the sole purpose of freedom. The battle lasted for over nearly fifty years, each consecutive assault brought with it the desecration of Hindu temples and population, including cold-blooded murder of unarmed civilians, the rape of women and slavery for captured women and children. This only intensified the Bundela strength for the fight for freedom and retaliation.
The Mughal emperor, Aurangzeb led a huge expedition vs Bundelkhand to smash the ‘idol worshippers’ in 1684 but was forced to retreat without achieving any lasting successes, leaving behind trails of horror and destruction but still failing to subdue Chatrasal and the Bundala’s.
Today’s generation will get to see the journey of Great warrior King Bundelkhand Kesri Maharaja Chhatrasal as MX Player’s launching a show on the legend. The show is titled Chhatrasal featuring Ashutosh Rana, Jitin Gulati and the historical drama will be narrated by Neena Gupta. Post watching the trailer we get to see that its heavy dependency on visual effects for re-creating historical drama. Also, the show is relying heavily on Rana’s image of playing the bad guy successfully over the years.
Ashutosh Rana is essaying the role of Aurangzeb and was quoted saying “Aurangzeb is one of the most feared & powerful emperors in history. While I have played negative characters in the past, to play a character like this was daunting, but at the same time, it allowed me to explore a different genre of acting. I hope that the audiences relive the bravery of Maharaja Chhatrasal with this web series. It is through stories like this that our rich history and heritage prevails. I hope viewers are inspired by the tale of this unsung warrior,” said Jitin Gulati, who plays the titular role.
The show has been directed by Anadii Chaturvedi, also featured Vaibhavi Shandilya, Manish Wadhwa, Anushka Luhar and Rudra Soni who are playing an integral role. MX Player’s upcoming historical series Chhatrasal is set to premiere on July 26.
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