Ashutosh Gowariker to recreate the Majestic Shaniwar Wada for Panipat

Filmmaker Ashutosh Gowarikar, who is gearing up for his next period drama -Panipat - has begun the work on recreating the Shaniwar Wada for the film, starring Arjun Kapoor, Kriti Sanon and Sanjay Dutt in lead roles. The film is based on the third battle of Panipat that took place in 1761.

Ashutosh shared a picture on his Twitter and wrote, “Construction BEGAN yesterday on the auspicious day of #AKSHAYTRITIYA! Recreation of the ‘Shaniwar Wada’ to original scale! @nitindesai666 @agpplofficial @duttsanjay @arjunk26 @kritisanon @rohitshelatkar @visionworldfilm #sunitagowariker #Panipat”

Art director Nitin Desai is working with Gowariker for the film and the set will be created at ND Studios. Peshwa’s historical Shaniwar Wada is of great importance to the story of Panipat and its sets will in actual scale and grandeur of the real Shaniwar Wada. Desai and Gowarikar recreated the Agra Fort in Gowariker’s Jodhaa Akbar.

Arjun Kapoor dons the role of Maratha leader Sadashivrao Bhau in the film while Sanjay Dutt will play Ahmad Shah Durrani.

The bricks for recreating the Shaniwar Wada were laid on the auspicious day of Akshay Tritiya on Wednesday and the construction for the Wada began with an early morning pooja. Ashutosh, Sunita Gowariker and Nitin Desai along with crew members were present.

“I am excited to work with Ashutosh Gowariker again after Jodhaa Akbar. The battle of Panipat is one of the most important chapters of our history and I am glad to be a part of this project. Shaniwar Wada was a stunning place and I am excited to recreate this magnificent structure for the film,” Desai said in a press statement.

The Third Battle of Panipat was fought between the northern expeditionary force of the Maratha Empire and invading forces of the King of Afghanistan, Ahmad Shah Abdali, supported by two Indian allies—the Rohilla Afghans of the Doab, and Shuja-ud-Daula, the Nawab of Awadh.

Panipat is set to release on December 6, 2019.Ashutosh’s last venturre was Hrithik Roshan-Pooja Hegde-starrer Mohenjo Daro which failed to work at the box office. Arjun, on the other hand, was seen alongside uncle Anil Kapoor in the hit film Mubarakaan.

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