U/A 13+ • History • Drama • 2020
In 1290, Jalaluddin, a tolerant, liberal and generous king, founded the Khilji dynasty at the age of 70 years. Nobles warned him against his nephew Alauddin Khilji who wanted to usurp the throne. But he paid no heed to their warnings and continued to consider uddin like a son. Blinded with greed, Alauddin conspired to kill his uncle.
Director: A. Srivastava
In 1772, the 17 yearold Narayan Rao was appointed as Peshwa under the vigilance of his uncle, Raghunath Rao. His aunt, Anandi Bai, became extremely jealous of this premature rise to the throne. Raghunath hatched a plan to capture Narayan with the help of Guard Sumer Singh Gardi. But Anandi Bai manipulated the orders and it ended in the brutal killing of Narayan instead of just an arrest.
In 1468, the Mewar Empire’s Kumbhalgarh fort lost its much loved king Raja Kumbha who was killed by none other than his own son ‘Prince Uday’. The expansive kingdom and an unending rule of 50 years made the heir of the great king envious and provoked him to seize the throne by any means possible.
Panna Devi was a governess in the royal kingdom of Mewar during the 16th century. Charged with the care of 5 year old Udai Singh, she raised him like her own son Chandan. The hunger for throne led cousin Banbir to assassinate the king, leaving Udai Singh as the only heir and obstacle. To destroy any other claim to the throne, Banbir headed to kill Udai. Exhibiting unmatched loyalty, Panna replaced the sleeping Udai Singh with her son Chandan, and witnessed the slaughter of her own flesh and blood.
Narayan Das – 15th century: During 14701491 A.D. the Hara region was ruled by Rao Bundu who was known for his boundless charities, kindness and service to the people of Boondi. He was overthrown by his two ambitious and power hungry young brothers, Samar Singh and Umar Singh. They exiled Rao to the mountains of Matoonda where he stayed for 21 years and finally died leaving behind two sons. As soon as he was old enough, the elder son Narayan Das who grew up in the mountains resenting his uncles, developed a strong sense of revenge and pledged to take back Boondi or perish otherwise.
Dara Sikoh – 17th century: Dara Sikoh 20 March 1615 – 30 August 1659 was the eldest son and the heir apparent of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan and his wife Mumtaz Mahal. He was favoured as a successor by his father, but was always rivalled by his younger brother Aurangzeb who has never seen him face to face since childhood.. Finally, the war broke out between brothers after Shah Jahan’s death and even after losing two battles, Dara was not prepared to bow down to Aurangzeb. In the end he was betrayed by a friend and handed over to Aurangzeb.
Rao Soorajmal – 16th century: In 1534 AD, Rao Soorajmal ascended the throne of Boondi. He married his sister Sooja Bai to Rana Rutna of Chittoor who developed animosity for Soorajmal due to Sooja Bai respecting her brother more than her own husband. In his aggression, Soorajmal also ticked off the chief of Poorbia by accident. As a dear friend of Rana Rutna, the Poorbia chief incited Rana Rutna to kill Soorajmal during the annual hunting festival ‘Ahairea’. As the kings started to hunt and savor the festival, Rana Rutna eyed a boar with his bow but Poorbia chief nudged him to kill Soorajmal instead.
Ruh Pawar Agha – 14th Century: Ruh Pawar Agha was the sister of Aladdin Mujahid Shah 1375 1378 who at the age of 19 took over the throne. While Aladdin Mujahid Shah was retreating from a campaign, Masud Khan and Daud khan conspired against him and murdered him when he was sleeping in his tent. Daud khan wanted to become the next king, but at capital there arose two factions one which favored him and the other led by Ruh Pawar Agha, who refused to acknowledge the assassin as king.
Sultan Quli Qutub Shah – 16th century: Sultan Quli Qutbulmulk laid the foundation of the QutbShahi dynasty of Golconda. He came to Deccan in his youth from Persia as a bodyguard to Bahmani Monarch and through his courage, skill and sagacity became the governor of Telengana. But at the end of the Bahmani dynasty, he formed his own, independent dynasty. Jamshid was Sultan Quli’s second son who became impatient and hungry for power and conspired to take over power in the most ruthless way.
Shivaji: Shivaji was a great Maratha king known for his guerilla warfare. Though Shivaji ruled the Indian subcontinent during the 15th century, Afzal Khan was an experienced commander of the Adil Shahi dynasty. Afzal tried to lure Shivaji down the Pratapgarh fort and negotiate peace but Shivaji figured out Afzal’s cruel intentions in advance and strategically planned his next move with his army.
Hindi
31 July 2020
History, Drama
A. Srivastava
