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Panipat

Panipat Poster

Critic Rating

5.1

20 Reviews
15 Ratings
40%
in favor

Audience Rating

4.5
1 Review
2 Ratings

Movie Info

Language

Hindi

Synopsis

During 18th century India, the Marathas emerged as the most powerful empire in the nation until the Afghan King Ahmad Shah Abdali plans to take over India. Sadashiv Rao Bhau is brought in to save the empire from the king which then leads to the third battle of Panipat.Wikipedia

Panipat Reviews

4

Panipat ultimately is overlong and unwieldly. It may have its heart in the right place but its other organs are all over the place. Gowariker, who kept us engaged and invested through 3 hours and 40 minutes of Lagaan, or even through the genteel romance of Jodhaa Akbar, can’t seem to recreate the magic of his finest films. I’m going with a generous two out of five for Panipat. You come out feeling like you’ve survived war…just about.

Shubhra Gupta
Indian Express

4

Ashutosh Gowariker has the right to creative license, and he has chosen the line which bends both fact and credulity. But did Panipat, which clocks in nearly three hours run time, need to be quite such a drudge?

Panipat, a film about Maratha warrior Sadashiv Rao Bhau who staves off Afghan ruler Ahmad Shah Abdali, disappoints only because of a linear screenplay that fails to rouse dramatic emotions so important to historicals.

Hindustan Times
Hindustan Times

-

Panipat is an honest attempt at recreating the war that we only read in history books until now. It’s a tribute to the Maratha community in its truest form and even it was shorter by an hour, it could have had the same impact.

Suparna Sharma
Deccan Chronicle

5

Rewriting historical defeats with patriotic fervour...

Reckless, lacklustre and shoddy CGI and action choreography result in the climax failing to live up to the expectations and leaves the audience high and dry. Ultimately, when the character of Arjun Kapoor meets his valiant end, one can only sigh of relief and pity the fall of a director, who was once considered a flag-bearer of progressive cinema.I give this film one and a half stars out of five.

The burden on Arjun Kapoor is too heavy for him though he rises manfully to the challenge.

Reviewer Profile
Times Of India

7

‘Panipat’ delves into a significant chapter in history and is a war drama that lauds the unshakeable bravery, courage and the strong principles of the Marathas.

Uday Bhatia
DNA India

-

'Panipat' gives a sense of history falling into place...

5

Ashutosh Gowariker may not be able to do grandeur like Sanjay Leela Bhansali, but he can do war. Yet, a lacklustre cinematography and terrible CGI mars this solid attempt. It would have worked 10 years ago.

Ashutosh Gowariker Maintains Authenticity & Entertainment Bringing Our History Textbooks To Life

PANIPAT throws light on an important chapter of Indian history with the battle scenes as its USP. At the box office, it will need a strong word of mouth since it faces competition in the form of PATI PATNI AUR WOH.

More than a period film, a costume drama, a Bollywood musical, a war memorial, a battle-field actioner, Panipat is essentially a lesson in history that might have occupied at best a page in your NCERT/school text.

Ankur Pathak
HuffingtonPost.in

-

The over-reliance on cacophonic background score to propel the drama reveals serious narrative insecurity. Some of the transitions in the film are hastily done: I spotted at least two that appeared to have been borrowed from a Powerpoint presentation.

4

Panipat is shorn of Padmaavat and Kesari's insidious intent, but it is not exactly an innocent, truthful chronicler of Indian history. Add to that its lack of polish and spark, and for all its positives, it ends up as just an average affair.

IANS
Sify

6

Ashutosh Gowariker's latest has its moments. It is spectacular historical fiction riding some good performances, and likeable for the way it salutes valour. The impact could have been stronger with more imaginative storytelling.

Audience Reviews for Panipat

  • Shashwat Sisodia
    Shashwat Sisodia
    300 reviews
    Top Reviewer
    5

    'Panipat' directed by Ashutosh Gowariker doesn't match the romantic consistencies which made 'Jodha Akbar' a stunning film which infused real emotions and it doesn't carry the research which made 'Lagaan' a great History movie with engrossing and deft-for-the-most-part fiction. But you must remember how much our expectations went downbeat as we watched 'Mohenjodaro'. I recall watching the movie with high expectations, lowering them in the second half and making a bad face exiting from the theatre. This wasn't the case in 'Panipat'. The visual effects are sloppy and the emotions are of soap opera, but the excellent main cast does the job solidly. Parvati Bai is almost the seventy percent match to Bhansali's iconic Kashibai, and Arjun Kapoor is immensely enjoyable as Sadashiv Rao Bhau. Padmini Kolhapuri and Zeenat Amaan are terrific. There's also ibrat music and scintillating war scene which replicates the battle with stringing nationalistic highs. It isn't a befitting jingoistic film, a nationalistic on, or something which is a staunch devotee of its Maratha sanskriti. But as a piece of political resonance in modern times, it mostly does it's job with strong, restrained dramatic strands.
    And how can that be a bad thing?

    December 06, 19