Re(e)living history

Despite playing a very important role in shaping our county’s history,very little has been written about her. In fact,the movie Rajmata Jijau is going to be the first Marathi movie based on her life and the cast and crew of the film will be in Pune today for the launch of its website at the S M Joshi Hall,Navi Peth,at 6 pm.

“I had heard and read a lot about Rajmata Jijau. I studied her life closely for quite a while,” says producer Manda Nimse,about how the decision to make a movie on the Rajmata came about. “But there is very little that has been written about her. She has been an important character in the formation of history,but has stayed out of popular knowledge. Madan Patil has written a few Marathi books on her and it took me six months to read through the material. So I thought it will be easier for the masses to watch a movie on her rather than to read her story,” she adds. Incidentally,the movie will follow the plot of Patil’s book Jijau Saheb.

The shooting of the movie began after Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s Rashtrabhishek ceremony last year and is slated for a December release. Director Yashwant Bhalkar says,“We have been shooting the movie at various locations. So far,around one hour and fifteen minutes of the movie have been shot. The final cut of the film is expected to be around two and a half hours.”

As for choosing a person to play the Rajmata’s role,the hunt was long and difficult. “We had six to eight people in mind for the Rajmata’s role,but then we came across Smita Deshmukh,who has been a theatre artist for over 15 years. We immediately realised that she was perfect for the role,” says Nimse.

Deshmukh herself feels that she is very fortunate to be playing this great personality’s character. “Rajmata Jijau is almost like a deity for me and I have been playing her role in various one-act plays for the past 17 years. I feel very honoured to be able to portray her character on screen,” she says. Deshmukh,who is the principal of the Shri Shivaji Arts and Commerce College in Amravati,feels that people should know more about the great lady. “The Rajmata was a person who knew and revered the value of freedom. The combination of her qualities like resourcefulness and ambition and the spirit she had makes her a person who deserves to be given a better place in history books.”

But the role has not been all hunky-dory. “For the role,I’ve gone through extensive training in horse-riding and weaponry. Just the thought of playing the Rajmata’s role in reel life spurred me on.” And what about Rajmata Jijau does Deshmukh admire the most? “The Rajmata’s decision-making powers were amazing,” she concludes.