Days before the Karnataka assembly elections, the makers of the film ‘Tipu’ announced that their film will present the other side of the tyrant king of Mysuru. Amid the film’s release, a debate has initiated around it. Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) stalwart and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the new India should recognise the sacrifice made by ‘Our’ heroes to protect Dharma.
The film’s director, Pawan Sharma, said: “What we are taught in school about Tipu Sultan is gross misinformation. I stood absolutely shaken and disillusioned to know his reality as a bigoted king. Through my film, I am daring to show a brutal reality that has been manipulated just for us to take him to be a warrior hero”
He added, “Tipu Sultan’s Islamic fanaticism was much worse than that of his father Hyder Ali Khan. He was a Hitler of that era”.
Notably, be it the Congress or Owaisi’s AIMIM (All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen) they both have called for a celebration of Tipu Sultan’s death anniversary which was banned under the BJP rule. As soon as the makers of the film dropped the first teaser of the film, the debate around Tipu being a fighter or tyrant began on the internet.
Addressing the debate around the film and Tipu Sultan, Assam CM wrote on Twitter, “If we were to even examine the argument that #TipuSultan is a freedom fighter solely because he fought against the British to defend his own kingdom, what about the 80,000 Kodavas who bravely sacrificed their lives for their homeland and to safeguard our culture and Dharma? Enough of history written by the left. New India needs a history that recognizes the sacrifices made by our heroes to protect their land and dharma.”
If we were to even examine the argument that #TipuSultan is a freedom fighter solely because he fought against the British to defend his own kingdom, what about the 80,000 Kodavas who bravely sacrificed their lives for their homeland and to safeguard our culture and Dharma ?…
— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) May 7, 2023
The Film is being presented by Eros International Media, The film “Tipu” is co-produced by Rashmi and Sandeep Sharma and is directed by Pawan Sharma. It is notable that Sandeep Sharma is also producing the biopic of freedom fighter Veer Savarkar titled “Swatantrya Veer Savarkar” with actor Randeep Hooda playing the titular role. Moreover, Sandeep Sharma is also producing former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s biopic “Atal” with actor Pankaj Tripathi in the lead role.
The makers of the film Tipu dropped a video on the internet. The video clip claims that during Tipu’s time, “8000 temples and 27 churches were destroyed.” It also adds, “Four million Hindus were forced to convert to Islam and forced to eat beef.” It further goes on to claim that “more than one lakh Hindus were imprisoned” and that “over 2000 Brahmin families were wiped out in Calicut.”
EROS – SANDEEP SINGH – RASHMI SHARMA JOIN HANDS… ANNOUNCE ‘TIPU’… #SandeepSingh [currently producing #SwatantryaVeerSavarkar, #Atal and #BalShivaji] and #RashmiSharma [#Pink] announce a film based on the life of #TipuSultan… Titled #Tipu.
An #ErosInternational and Rashmi… pic.twitter.com/YmIIpyb5wr
— taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) May 4, 2023
The film “Tipu” will be released in Hindi, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam. Rajat Sethi, a political analyst and author who studied at Harvard and IIT Kharagpur handled the film’s research. During the Assam assembly elections, Sethi also worked for the BJP.
Sethi added: “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”, said Sethi.
Notably, a few days back on May 4, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi while addressing a rally in Jamkhandi said he will allow people in Karnataka to celebrate Tipu Sultan Jayanti.
He promised that in AIMIM wins the seat they will allow the people of the area to celebrate ‘Shaheed Tipu Sultan Jayanti’. He also said that there is no Urdu intermediate college in the area if their party wins they will build one.
