You could say ‘Chauhaan’ is at the centre of an identity tussle now. The Kshatriya Parishad is of the view that the way the film is being presented is an attempt to politicise the past. According to them, the clan’s name is being put to some kind of electoral or ideological use, ratcheting up the pressure on the filmmakers before the October 1 release date.
The Parishad’s line is simple: don’t make a prop of Rajput heritage for politics. They are calling for more from filmmakers when it comes to how they handle community identities. It’s no longer just about a title; it’s about what cinema is allowed to do with a history that is up for debate.
What set things off
It was only a few days after the title came out that the noise started. The video they put out, with its backdrop of Kashmir and the like, was hard to miss. Even the decision to put on Amitabh Bachchan’s ‘Jumma Chumma’ made people take notice of the tone.
Bachchan himself put in a word of praise for the video, which put a bit of a star on a roll-out that has been anything but smooth. They timed the reveal to mark the 92th birthday of Devgn’s dad, Veeru Devgan.
The Parishad’s side of it
They put out a statement making their case. In it, the Kshatriya Parishad decried what they see as an appropriation of the Chauhan name for today’s communal politics. The Chauhans are a part of history, they say, not a tool for some campaign or a made-up controversy.
They also have no time for easy answers when it comes to India’s past. To make a point about the nuances of medieval times, they pointed to when Afghans and Rajputs were in the same camp: Mahmud Lodi with Maharana Sanga at Khanwa, Hakim Khan Sur with Pratap at Haldighati, Farid Khan and Raja Raisal Shekhawat, and even the Tomars with the Lodis at Panipat.
In short, the organisation has drawn some lines in the sand:
– Rajput history is not for show in politics
– Don’t turn identity into a weapon for your ideology
– Have some respect for the context of history
Making waves online
That statement has been doing the rounds, with the Parishad having no good words for Neeraj Yadav or Ajay Devgn for what they see as using the Chauhan moniker to push a narrative.
How the room is reacting
This is on top of some flak the teaser already got for a few lines and insinuations. Now the talk is less about the art and more on who is responsible for the way things are put across.
‘Chauhaan’ is an Ajay Devgn vehicle, put together by Neeraj Yadav and Jio Studios with Anand L Rai’s Colour Yellow. But you can count on the stakeholders in the community to be watching closely to make sure the history isn’t oversimplified.
Here is where we are with the film:
– A title drop on Veeru Devgan’s 92nd
– The ‘Jumma Chumma’ in the video
– A firm note from the Parishad
– And an October 1 release to look forward to
Looking ahead
The Parishad is telling everyone from the media to the makers to be responsible and not to milk Rajput heritage for a story that will only cause division. It’s up to the creators to be a little more nuanced and not stir up the pot on caste or community.
For the ones behind ‘Chauhaan’, the task is to put these concerns to rest without losing steam. The title is fresh, so this is a fine line to walk. How they handle it will make or break the conversation.
But it’s about more than one movie. The Parishad has made a point of how a film can shape the way we see history, particularly when it involves people’s own identities. As we get to October 1, we’ll see if the team makes any moves to reframe things or if they are going to stand their ground.
