We have known Tipu Sultan as a freedom fighter who courageously fought the British. History textbooks are replete with Tipu’s achievements - his skills bringing about administrative changes in his region and introducing innovative techniques in weaponry to combat enemies on the battlefield. But few know the dark - Jihadi - side of Tipu - the fanatic Sultan. It’s after meticulous research by acclaimed author and public intellectual, Rajat Sethi, that many unseen stripes of the Tiger of Mysore stand exposed.
Filmmaker Sandeep Singh said, "I was shocked to learn the true reality of Tipu Sultan. The story gave me goosebumps. This is the cinema I personally believe in. Whether it's PM Narendra Modi, Swatantrya Veer Savarkar, Atal or Bal Shivaji - my films stand for truth. I think people knew what a tyrant Tipu Sultan was but chose to ignore it. And this is exactly what I want to showcase on 70mm. Honestly, he doesn't even deserve to be called a Sultan. I was brainwashed into believing him to be a braveheart as shown in our history textbooks. But nobody knows his malevolent side. I want to expose his dark side for the future generation."
I was shocked to learn the true reality of Tipu Sultan. The story gave me goosebumps. This is the cinema I personally believe in. Whether it's PM Narendra Modi, Swatantrya Veer Savarkar, Main Atal Hoon or Bal Shivaji - my films stand for truth. I think people knew what a tyrant. pic.twitter.com/o3GpwEqQlh
— Sandeep Singh (@thisissandeeps) May 4, 2023
Director Pawan Sharma said, "What we are taught in school about Tipu Sultan, is gross misinformation. As a Hindu, I stood absolutely shaken and disillusioned to know his reality as a bigoted Muslim king. Through my film I am daring to show a brutal reality that which has been manipulated just for us to take him to be a warrior hero. He had forced conversion of people who practised other religions, to Islam and destroyed temples and churches. Tipu Sultan's Islamic fanaticism was much worse than his father’s, Hyder Ali Khan's. He was a Hitler of that era."
Author Rajat Sethi said, “While history has been unkind to many heroes, it has mischievously ignored the tyranny of many others. Tipu is one such historical figure whose adulation and admiration is overrated, while his cruelties have been neatly concealed in our textbooks. Not only history but popular culture - movies, theatres etc - have also systematically ignored a realistic and balanced portrayal of Tipu. This movie is a humble attempt to initiate a course correction on his narrative.”
Tipu, backed by Eros International, Rashmi Sharma Films and Sandeep Singh, will be directed by Pawan Sharma and researched and developed by Rajat Sethi. The film will release in Hindi, Kannada, Tamil Telugu and Malayalam.
(Source: Agencies)
