Amit Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah has termed the reign of Prithviraj Chauhan, the 12th century ruler of Delhi, a “ padaav ” or stage of Indian history which went on for a thousand years till August 1947 when the country gained Independence, and said the “cultural revival” taking place in the country since 2014 would once again take the country to great heights.

He was speaking at the pre-release screening of the film Samrat Prithviraj in New Delhi on Wednesday evening. The film, directed by Chandraprakash Dwivedi under the Yash Raj Films banner, stars actors Akshay Kumar and Manushi Chhillar as the main leads.

The film is based on the long ballad Prithviraj Raso composed by the bard at Prithviraj’s court, Chand Bardai, and depicts the battles between Chauhan and Mohammad Ghori, notably the two battles of Taraori or Tarain as it is known in popular culture.

The defeat of Prithviraj in the second battle of Taraori proved a turning point in ushering in the Delhi Sultanate.

The top brass of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh, including sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat and second-in-command Dattatreya Hosabele, will attend a special screening of the film on Friday evening.

Part of a trilogy

Clearly, the Sangh Parivar has extended its support to the film, which will be part of a trilogy by Akshay Kumar, the next two being on the festival of Raksha Bandhan and on Ram Setu.

After the film, Mr. Shah, who attended the screening with his family (after a gap of 13 years, he said) gave a short speech.

“Prithviraj fought on every inch of land between Afghanistan and Delhi. The fight of 900-1000 has not been in vain and we won Independence in 1947. I can say with great conviction that cultural revival since 2014 will once again take the country to those heights,” Mr. shah said.

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