Mumbai: Chief Minister Eknath Shinde is set to host the premiere of the Marathi film “Dharmaveer 2” on Thursday at a multiplex in south Mumbai. Deputy Chief Ministers Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar are expected to attend.
Shinde has justified his actions by claiming he did so to preserve Hindutva. He alleges that the party founded by Bal Thackeray had abandoned its Hindutva ideology and was being led astray by its alliance partners, the Congress and NCP.
This narrative is likely to be reinforced in “Dharmaveer 2”, the sequel to the Marathi biopic about Shinde’s mentor, the late Shiv Sena leader Anand Dighe. The film, launched in Thane in November 2023 by Shinde himself, is being made under his patronage.
The first installment became a topic of discussion and sparked speculation even before Shinde’s rebellion against Thackeray. The sequel is expected to portray how Shinde chose Dighe’s version of Hindutva over Uddhav’s secularism, leading to his rebellion.
Producer Mangesh Desai said, “Many exploits of Dighe saheb, including his role in the demolition of the Babri Masjid and his agitation for the Malang Gad shrine in Kalyan, could not be accommodated in the first movie. The sequel will highlight these.”
The film will also showcase Shinde’s role as chief minister. The timing of the release, just before the Lok Sabha elections, appears to be a calculated move to emphasize Shinde’s commitment to Dighe’s legacy of “serving the people” and Hindutva.
At the film’s launch, Shinde stated, “We will show how some people sacrificed Balasaheb Thackeray’s Hindutva to gain power by forging an alliance with the Congress-NCP.” He also highlighted how Dighe gave the first silver brick to senior BJP leader LK Advani for the Ram Mandir at Ayodhya.
Praveen Tarde, who directed the first film and will helm the sequel, said, “This movie is based completely on Hindutva, the real definition and how Balasaheb and Dighe Saheb practiced Hindutva. We are planning to release the movie in April 2024.”
Interestingly, the tagline of the first film, “Traitors will not be spared”, initially aimed at Uddhav Thackeray, was later applied to Shinde and his MLAs after the split.
Prasad Oak will reprise his role as Dighe in the sequel, while Kshitish Date will portray the chief minister.
Filming is set to begin on 9 December, with a planned release in April, ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
