People’s misconceptions will be cleared after watching ‘The Battle of Bhima Koregaon’ says film’s director Ramesh Thete

Retired IAS officer Ramesh Thete, who is making his directorial debut with a film titled ‘The Battle of Bhima Koregaon’, has said that his forthcoming period action-drama film will clear misconceptions of people about the whole issue which revolved the controversial place in Maharashtra. He also announced that he will release the film in the second half of 2021.  

Ramesh Thete was interacting with the media at the poster launch of ‘The Battle of Bhima Koregaon’ along with film’s cast Arjun Rampal, Krushna Abhishek, Sunny Leone and Digangana Suryavanshi on Thursday in Mumbai.

The film is based on the controversial battle fought between the British East India Company and the Peshwa's faction of the Maratha confederacy on 1 January 1818 at Bhima Koregaon. The British forces, mostly comprising Mahar soldiers, beat back a much larger army.

The Mahars and others considered untouchable by the Brahmin Peshwas, so they celebrate the battle day as a symbol of their victory over upper-caste oppression. Every year on 1 January, a large number of Dalits visit Bhima Koregaon to commemorate the victory.

On the second centenary of the battle in 2018, there was tension between Dalits and people from the so-called upper castes in the area, resulting in violence. Since then, the battle of Bhima Koregaon has been embroiled in controversy.

Talking about controversy surrounding the subject, Thete said, “There have been several controversies related to this subject but I can assure that after the release of this film, misconceptions about this issue will be cleared and there will be an amicable atmosphere in the society and that is the takeaway of this film. In this film, we have tried to show that everyone in the society should be treated equally. We haven’t decided the release date of the film but I am sure that we will release it in the second half of 2021.”

Arjun Rampal is playing role of Sidhnak Mahar Inamdar who was a leader of Mahar Regiment in the film, talking about his experience being a part of the film, Rampal said, “Generally, when I do a certain film, I ask myself that why I am doing this film but when I heard story of this film, I thought that I should definitely be a part of this project and I shouldn’t stop myself from doing it. There are very few film scripts which come in your way which gives a really strong message. Ambedkar (Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar) ji once said that ‘if you don’t know your history, you can never create history’ and I think it’s very important knowledge that all of us should have.”

Rampal said that his dream of working in a great period drama film has been fulfilled with his upcoming film, he said, “I personally didn’t know about this particular incident, so I am thankful to Ramesh (Thete) ji for offering me this film. I didn’t know who Sidhnak (Mahar) was and what the battle of Bhima-Koregaon was about. I think what happened at that time is going to shock everybody after watching the film. It is something which everybody should know and it is something that all of us should work towards. If we say the Holocaust happened with Jews in World War 2, I don’t think it was anything less than that. I felt that this film and the character of Sidhnak carry a lot of responsibilities because he (Sidhnak Mahar) is the hero of one sect who is inspiring them from 1818 till 2020. It has always been my dream to do a great period film and I think ‘The Battle of Bhima Koregaon’ is that film for me.”

‘The Battle of Bhima Koregaon’ is written, produced and directed by Ramesh Thete. It stars Arjun Rampal, Digangana Suryavanshi, Krushna Abhishek, Sunny Leone, Ashok Samarth, Milind Gunaji and Abhimanyu Singh in key roles.