The war of legends

Panipat Che Ranangan will recreate on stage the 200 year old battle

The war of legends

Panipat Che Ranangan will recreate on stage the 200 year old battle

The grandeur of a battle that was fought in 1760 between the Durranis and the Marathas can hardly be forgotten. Almost one lakh young soldiers were killed in the battle of Panipat. It has been 250 years since then. The battle will now be recreated on stage by a team of youngsters from Pune led by director Digal Lanjekar.

A scene from the play Panipat Che Ranangan

Panipat Che Ranangan promises to bring to life the battle of Panipat. Digal Lanjekar said, "It has been 250 years since the battle. It was my dream to showcase this battle on stage and I finally have the chance. Almost one lakh soldiers were killed in this battle and the youth of today deserve to know about the sacrifices that have been made by our ancestors. That was the drive that led me to undertake this massive project," he said.

Digal Lanjekar

Rohan Mankani, the son of noted actor-producer Ravindra Mankani, is making his debut in commercial theatre as an actor and producer with this play. "Rohan plays the antagonistu00a0-- Ahmedshah Abdali. He has worked in a lot of TV serials and I have also watched him perform in college. He has a very extravagant personality. His appearance reminds me of a king or someone who is a great leader. His approach to theatre is very fresh which is one of the reasons we chose him," Digal adds.

Rohan Mankani plays the antagonist Ahmedshah Abdlali

The director had recreated Sawarkar's stay in the Andaman jail in his play, Avadhya, before this project which garnered a lot of critical acclaim. "The youth of today lacks positive attitude which was why we wanted to bring Panipat Che Ranangan to them. Slowly people realised that it was a good idea and they joined the project. Now the project has taken a shape of its own and we couldn't be more proud," he states.

When asked what kind of a response he expects from Punekars, Digal says, "Incidentally Pune or Mumbai is not our main focus, we plan to take the play to rural Maharashtra. The play has managed to garner a lot of curiosity and we hope that the audiences look at the bigger picture and come to watch the play not only as a homage to the soldiers but also to change their mindset," he concludes.