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| Home > Classic Films > Historicals: A New Genre
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| | Historicals: A New Genre
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 Historicals have always held a special place in the hearts and minds of our filmmakers. In fact, India`s first feature film, Raja Harishchandra (1913) made by the pioneer Dadasaheb Phalke, itself was a historical. In the later years, movie greats like Sohrab Modi and later K. Asif breathed new life in the genre. By spending lavishly on sets and costumes and by paying painstaking attention to details, they set a precedent which is still being followed by our filmmakers. After the heady 50s and 60s the genre fell into a decline and has not really found its footing since.
However, currently there are signs that historicals are all set for a revival. Akbar Khan did get back the glory of the moghul era with his mammoth project Taj Mahal- An Eternal Love Story and Ketan Mehta paid homage to the first revolutionary Mangal Pandey through The Rising. Rajkumar Santoshi is all set to make the Rajput romance come alive with Prithviraj-Sanyukta and Sanjay Leela Bhansali is going to depict Peshwa Bajirao`s life and times in Bajirao-Mastani. The latest entrant in the arena is Ashutosh Gowariker who has chosen the little known love story of Jodha-Akbar as his next project.
Pritviraj-Samyukta: Produced and directed by Rajkumar Santoshi, the film has Ajay Devgan playing the fiesty Rajput warlord and Aishwarya Rai as her comely consort. As in all his films, Santoshi`s film is would not only entertain but will have a moral as well. Prithviraj was known for pardoning his enemies and also for his tenacity of will. Despite being blinded he reportedly shot his arch enemy, Mohammed Ghori by just listening to his voice.
Taj Mahal - An Eternal Love Story:  Produced by Mashreq Intrernational and directed by Akbar Khan, Taj Mahal, starring Zulfikar Syed and Sonia Jehan, Noorjehan`s graddaughter is a magnum opus that tells the story of the the Taj through the eyes of an old and infirm emperor Shah Jehan (played by Kabir Bedi). It doesn`t limit itself to just the love-angle but offers an insight into the behind-the-scenes power struggle that was a part and parcel of the moghul era. While insiders swear by its visual splendour, the film has been in the making for quite a long time and according to industry estimates has gone vastly overbudget.
Bajirao-Mastani: The film was announced by Sanjay Leela Bhansali some two years ago and speculations are rife whether it would go on floors or not. Its tentative cast includes Salman Khan as the Maratha warrior, Rani Mukerji as his wife and Kareena Kapoor as his mistress Mastani. Bajirao, who died at the age of 40 won 36 battles in his lifetime. He was instrumental in extending Maratha empire from Bundelkhand in North to the outskirts of Hyderabad in South.
Jodha-Akbar:  Ashutosh Gowariker`s next film is going to be huge historical epic about the romance between Mughal king Akbar and his Rajput wife Jodhabai. So far no Bollywood director made any effort to make a film on the romance between Mughal emperor Akbar and Jodhabai. This is going to be first of its kind. It won`t go into the older days of the pair. It would show them in the prime of their togetherness and probably end where Mughal-e-Azam began, ie, the birth of prince Salim. The cast includes Hritik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai, playing the respective leads.
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