Mumbai: Bollywood movie Chhaava, based on the life of Maratha king Chhatrapati Sambhaji, is climbing new heights at the box office but has flared up a controversy in Maharashtra. A historian of the Maratha period said he was threatened and received caste-based abuse for challenging certain facts in the movie.
On Tuesday, in a post on Facebook, Kolhapur-based Indrajit Sawant shared the recording of a threatening call he received from an individual named Prashant Koratkar.
Koratkar has denied making the call.
In the phone conversation, which ThePrint has heard, a man introduced himself as Prashant Koratkar and accused Sawant of blaming “Brahmins” for deceiving Chhatrapati Sambhaji, the son of Chhatrapati Shivaji.
He then hurled abuses at him and threatened him in Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’s name. Fadnavis belongs to the Brahmin community.
On Tuesday, Fadnavis ordered a high-level inquiry into the matter.
Kolhapur Police have also registered a case against an individual named Prashant Koratkar and are investigating the matter.
The Maratha Sakal Samaj has also protested in various parts of Maharashtra against Koratkar and demanded action against him.
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‘Should not be given religious or caste angle’
Sawant had criticised the recently released movie Chhaava, starring Vicky Kaushal, saying that it presented a distorted version of history with Soyarabai Bhosale, the second wife of Chhatrapati Shivaji, as a villain when Annaji Datto—Chhatrapati Shivaji’s chief secretary and a Brahmin—was the real antagonist.
To back his claim, Sawant cited contemporary writings by former French governor of Pondicherry François Martin, who alleged that Brahmin clerks had informed the Mughals of Chhatrapati Sambhaji’s whereabouts, leading to his capture.
Speaking to ThePrint, Sawant said, “I have been working on this history for a long time and have been talking about the Bahujan Samaj in particular. But some miscreants in the society have never approved of my work. I have been giving out evidence about how Sambhaji Maharaj has been wronged by Brahmins, which is not going down well.”
“Just like (Mughal emperor) Aurangzeb is the villain in the story of Sambhaji Maharaj, so is Annaji Datto, but some people are not ready to accept this. But history is history that can’t be altered according to our fancies. I feel it should not be given any religious or caste angle,” Sawant added.
However, speaking to the media in Nagpur, Prashant Koratkar denied calling Sawant. Koratkar said, “The recording shared by Sawant does not contain my voice. Before publicly naming me, he should have contacted me or verified the facts. Instead, he defamed me on social media.”
Koratkar said that since Sawant’s post, he was receiving threatening calls himself. “In fact, I will be filing a complaint against him with the police and the cyber cell.”.
Indrajeet Sawant specialises in the history of the Maratha empire, particularly Chhatrapati Shivaji and Chhatrapati Sambhaji, the first and second rulers, as well as Kolhapur’s Chhatrapati Shahu—Sambhaji’s son and the fifth ruler. He has written books on the Panhala fort, the story behind Pratapgad fort in Satara, and on the life and times of Shahu and the Bhosale family.
In the past, when the Mahayuti government 1.0 had claimed that they are bringing the wagh nakh (a tiger claw-shaped dagger)—a revered as a symbol of Shivaji’s tenacity and valour—back to India from London, United Kingdom, Sawant had asserted that original weapon used by the warrior king was in Satara itself.
The phone call
Sawant told ThePrint that he had received the call at 12:03 am on Tuesday, first on WhatsApp. Then, the man who identified himself as Koratkar called on him on the normal cellular line.
“I immediately cut the phone. My phone record is not automatic as I feel that is a breach of privacy. But then when the man called again, I put the recorder on,” Sawant said.
In the 6 minute 30 second recording shared by Sawant, the man told him, “This is a government led by a Brahmin. Remember you are working under a Brahmin so how can you say things against Brahmins.”
He went on to make objectionable remarks against both Chhatrapati Shivaji and Chhatrapati Sambhaji.
“My only purpose of sharing that recording online is to let the world know what filth the man said about Chhatrapati Shivaji and Sambhaji Maharaj,” Sawant told ThePrint.
Sawant also alleged that the same person also threatened him in a now-deleted Instagram post. A screengrab of the post, taken by Sawant’s colleagues, has been submitted as evidence to the police.
“So this is not only about a phone call, which people can say is morphed, but what about the Instagram page? The screen recording cannot be tampered with,” Sawant said.
A case has been registered at the Juna Rajwada police station under Sections 196, 197, 299, 302, 151(4) and 352 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) that include making threats and inciting communal violence.
Sanjeev Zhade, police inspector, told the media Wednesday, “The charges are placed based on phone number and name. We are now going to do a forensic analysis of the phone via cyber cell. Further investigation is going on.
(Edited by Sanya Mathur)
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