{"id":5789,"date":"2016-04-02T19:20:58","date_gmt":"2016-04-02T13:50:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=5789"},"modified":"2026-07-17T21:51:25","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T16:21:25","slug":"panipat-review-bollywood-historical-epic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?p=5789","title":{"rendered":"Panipat Review: When Will Bollywood Get a Historical Epic Right?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<span class=\"dropcap\">I<\/span>n recent years, Hindi cinema has made a cottage industry out of historical fiction. These are films whose plots are mined from history books but which readily sacrifice accuracy at the altar of creative <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/satire\/indian-apocalypse-movie-thunderstorm\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">liberty<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. More often than not, filmmakers adopt this route of fictionalising the past to suit the present narrative \u2013 evoking an irrefutable sense of national pride. But in the last one year, this tendency has acquired a dangerous additive. Nationalism is no longer a collective ideal. Now, Hindi films are routinely rewriting pages of history to manufacture a record of \u201cHindu<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">pride\u201d.\n\nIf last year, Sanjay Leela Bhansali\u2019s <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Padmaavat <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2013 revolving around a queen whose existence is disputed \u2013 valorised the Rajputs as protectors of the motherland, then this year, Kangana Ranaut and Radha Krishna Jagarlamudi\u2019s<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Manikarnika<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, a biopic on Rani Laxmibai, primes her as an unfailing spokesperson for Hindutva values. A viral scene from <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Manikarnika<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> has Laxmibai save a calf from being killed \u2013 perfect evidence of a subplot being fashioned in a period film to serve the ruling government&#8217;s aggressive cow <a href=\"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/bollywood\/gangaajal-15-years-ago-a-film-warned-us-about-lynchings-and-mob-justice\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">vigilantism<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\n\nThis week, Ashutosh Gowariker\u2019s <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Panipat <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">continues tradition: In here, the Marathas are unabashedly mythologised as the model of Indian heroism. It\u2019s interesting to note that these are films that essentially chronicle tales of defeat. Yet, the revisionary approach of their onscreen adaptations interpret the defeat of its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/pop-culture\/forty-years-ago-alien-gave-us-the-first-female-action-hero\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Hindu protagonists<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> not as losses but as sacrifices. They demand not only the average Indian viewer\u2019s sympathy but also their unfaltering allegiance.\n\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1575615658.png\" alt=\"arjun kapoor\" width=\"724\" height=\"407\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-56918\" \/>\n\n<figcaption>\n<p>The severely limited Kapoor tries mimicking Singh\u2019s restraint as Bajirao from Bajirao Mastani but falls flat on his face, in part due to his robotic body language.<\/p>\n<p>Ashutosh Gowariker Productions\/Vision World Films<\/p>\n<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n<i>Panipat<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> reimagines the \u201cThird Battle of Panipat,\u201d widely considered one of the biggest clashes of the 18th century between Afghan invader, Ahmad Shah Abdali (Sanjay Dutt) and the Marathas, led by Sadashiv Rao (<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/bollywood\/namaste-england-review-pathetic\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Arjun Kapoor<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">). The film is based on <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Panipat 1761<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, Marathi historian TS Shejwalkar\u2019s record of the illustrious battle, although an opening disclaimer predictably washes its hands off historical authenticity. Naturally, the director revisits the battle from the perspective of an underdog tale, a filmmaking trope that he mastered in <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lagaan<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Swades<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Except it does more harm than good in <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Panipa<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">t.\n\nGowariker doesn\u2019t alter the eventual result of the battle, which ends with Abdali defeating the Marathas and Sadashiv being killed on the battleground, as much as distorts it. <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Panipat <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is foremost, a justification: It is centred around the implication that Sadashiv\u2019s defeat is derived entirely out of circumstances outside his control (the film\u2019s tagline, \u201cThe great betrayal\u201d is a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/politics\/friction-iran-nuclear-deal-america-trump\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">dead<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> giveaway). The blame is placed squarely on the shoulders of the Indian kings who backstabbed him as well as on the unrestrained greed of Abdali himself.\n\n<blockquote class=\"quote--center\"><p> Gowariker plays into the ultimate Bollywood period film stereotype: Hindus are the saviours of Hindustan.<\/p><\/blockquote> \n\nThe narrative is disjointed \u2013 a host of subplots and plot twists crop up with alarming frequency and Gowariker isn&#8217;t adept at keeping track of most of them. The screenplay (<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Panipat <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is written by Chandrashekhar Dhavlikar, Ranjeet Bahadur, Aditya Rawal, and Gowariker) is lacklustre and the battle sequences are terribly unimaginative, failing predominantly to translate the heat of the moment. Characters wait for each other to fire instead of immediately attacking; hand-to-hand combat scenes don\u2019t have the smarts to sustain one\u2019s interest, and Gowariker skims through the battle so haphazardly that you have very little idea of its ebb and flow.\n\nMoreover, the story of a Maratha sacrificing his life to protect India from invaders despite obstacles, loses its steam soon, considering Gowariker stays away from any moral conflict by absolving Sadashiv of all responsibility. That, as per history, Sadashiv\u2019s unfamiliarity with the politics of North India and his inability to form alliances with the neighbouring kings were the prime reason for the disastrous defeat is all but ignored. There\u2019s only so much you can write home about a bloated three-hour-long battle epic whose protagonists always seem supremely surprised at either being betrayed or being attacked by their rivals.\u00a0\n\nThere&#8217;s also the fact that everyone in the film gives a washed out, budget performance of an already existing performance. Dutt attempts to channel the unhinged energy of <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/bollywood\/ranveer-singh-alauddin-khilji-padmaavat\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ranveer Singh\u2019s Alauddin Khilji<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> from<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Padmavaat<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> but instead conjures up a caricature. The severely limited Kapoor tries mimicking Singh\u2019s restraint as Bajirao from B<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ajirao Mastani <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">but falls flat on his face, in part due to his robotic body language. In what comes as a surprise to no one, the actor glare-walks through the entire film, perennially contorting his cheeks to express a range of emotions from rage to romance. Kriti Sanon on the other hand, continues playing an iteration of every Kriti Sanon performance \u2013 a happy-go-lucky girl who can\u2019t stop falling in love with men who either die or break her heart. Even the supporting acts (Mohnish Behl, Zeenat Aman) are so ineptly miscast that they make <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Panipat\u2019s<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> sacrificial tone an even harder sell.\n\nIn this insistence to play by the usual beats of the \u201cus v them\u201d battle epic, Gowariker forgoes any pertinent commentary on the syncretic politics of the 18th century. <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Panipat<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> also gives in to some of the unseemly impulses of a Hindi period film, which end up obscuring the full picture of the past. For one, the film is littered with overt Hindu iconography \u2013 it includes two songs (\u201cMard Maratha\u201d and \u201cMann Me Shiva\u201d) that exalt the Marathas as ideal men and eulogise the sacrifices of Shivaji. The Shiva ling is a recurring motif as well. And in the same vein as<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/bollywood\/padmaavat-movie-review-padmavati-ranveer-singh-khilji\/\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Padmavaat<\/span><\/i><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Panipat <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">portrays Muslims as barbaric meat-eating antagonists. Dutt\u2019s face is kohl-eyed and blood-streaked, he pounces on food instead of eating it, his men make animal-like growls during battle and Abdali\u2019s den \u2013 and religion \u2013 is introduced with the camera training its gaze on plates of chicken..There\u2019s barely any time spent in allowing the Muslim invaders to boast of any character arcs. Their inner motivations remain a mystery even as the film has Sadashiv repeat his devotion to his motherland. Not even once does the director put any of the Marathas under any scrutiny, reducing <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Panipat<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to an emotionally vacant exercise of glorification.\u00a0\n\nThe only silver lining in this current climate of period epics which are only too happy to toe the \u201canti-national\u201d tone reserved for Muslims is Gowariker\u2019s hesitance to distrust Indian Muslims. Sadashiv\u2019s army includes a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/culture\/ramzan-muslim-religious-festival\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Muslim man<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> whose character is afforded grace notes (Sadashiv is given a line that reminds the Marathas that even Shivaji\u2019s army had Muslims) even though the film makes a big deal of the fact that the kings who chose to side with Abdali were all Muslims. There\u2019s also a surprising absence of displays of hyper-patriotism even when <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Panipat<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> fusses over Hindu bravery; for instance, the words \u201cdesh\u201d and \u201cHindostan\u201d are not uttered more than two times in <em>Panipat<\/em>.\n\nEven then, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Panipat<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> reinforces the dangers of a Hindi period epic with its insistence to sugarcoat failure as martyrdom. These films remain least bothered about the consequences of history. Instead they pander to virtues. <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Panipat<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> isn\u2019t the kind of film that underlines Sadashiv\u2019s blunders as a probable cause for the loss. Instead, it takes refuge in reminding you that Sadashiv, a loyal<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/politics\/hindu-mahasabha-mahatma-gandhi\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Hindu<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, died to protect the country from Afghan invaders. Like its predecessors, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Panipat <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">goes to town about the nobility of a loss \u2013 it allows the Marathas to claim moral superiority over the Afghans even in the face of loss and gets Abdali to admire the undying spirit of his defeated, dead opponent. In doing so, Gowariker plays into the ultimate Bollywood period film myth: Hindus are the saviours of Hindustan.\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ashutosh Gowariker&#8217;s Panipat spends three overdrawn hours harping on the nobility of a loss, priming the Marathas&#8217; defeat in &#8220;The Third Battle of Panipat&#8221; not as a failure, but as a sacrifice. It demands the average Indian viewer\u2019s sympathy and also their unfaltering allegiance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":103,"featured_media":5792,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3114],"tags":[1155,9725,2223,9726],"class_list":["post-5789","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bollywood","tag-arjun-kapoor","tag-ashutosh-gowariker","tag-kriti-sanon","tag-panipat-review"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Panipat Review: When Will Bollywood Get a Historical Epic Right?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Ashutosh Gowariker&#039;s Panipat spends three overdrawn hours harping on the nobility of a loss, priming the Marathas&#039; defeat in &quot;The Third Battle of Panipat&quot; not as a failure, but as a sacrifice. It demands the average Indian viewer\u2019s sympathy and also their unfaltering allegiance.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?p=5789\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Panipat Review: When Will Bollywood Get a Historical Epic Right?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Ashutosh Gowariker&#039;s Panipat spends three overdrawn hours harping on the nobility of a loss, priming the Marathas&#039; defeat in &quot;The Third Battle of Panipat&quot; not as a failure, but as a sacrifice. It demands the average Indian viewer\u2019s sympathy and also their unfaltering allegiance.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?p=5789\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Arr\u00e9\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-04-02T13:50:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-07-17T16:21:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1575615663-1024x573.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"573\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Poulomi Das\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Panipat Review: When Will Bollywood Get a Historical Epic Right?\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"Ashutosh Gowariker&#039;s Panipat spends three overdrawn hours harping on the nobility of a loss, priming the Marathas&#039; defeat in &quot;The Third Battle of Panipat&quot; not as a failure, but as a sacrifice. It demands the average Indian viewer\u2019s sympathy and also their unfaltering allegiance.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Poulomi Das\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/?p=5789#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/?p=5789\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Poulomi Das\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7cc6b159b4669ddf75eae5f2b536d679\"},\"headline\":\"Panipat Review: When Will Bollywood Get a Historical Epic Right?\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-04-02T13:50:58+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-07-17T16:21:25+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/?p=5789\"},\"wordCount\":1312,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/?p=5789#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/1575615663.png\",\"keywords\":[\"Arjun Kapoor\",\"Ashutosh Gowariker\",\"Kriti Sanon\",\"Panipat review\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Bollywood\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/?p=5789\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/?p=5789\",\"name\":\"Panipat Review: When Will Bollywood Get a Historical Epic Right?\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/?p=5789#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/?p=5789#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/1575615663.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-04-02T13:50:58+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-07-17T16:21:25+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7cc6b159b4669ddf75eae5f2b536d679\"},\"description\":\"Ashutosh Gowariker's Panipat spends three overdrawn hours harping on the nobility of a loss, priming the Marathas' defeat in \\\"The Third Battle of Panipat\\\" not as a failure, but as a sacrifice. It demands the average Indian viewer\u2019s sympathy and also their unfaltering allegiance.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/?p=5789#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/?p=5789\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/?p=5789#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/1575615663.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/1575615663.png\",\"width\":1520,\"height\":850},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/?p=5789#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Panipat Review: When Will Bollywood Get a Historical Epic Right?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/\",\"name\":\"Arr\u00e9\",\"description\":\"In every person lies a creator and in every creator, an enterprise.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7cc6b159b4669ddf75eae5f2b536d679\",\"name\":\"Poulomi Das\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9cf0b507b562a532eccd19be07aac58ddce2a6079eb4ea28e6afef54b07f4cf9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9cf0b507b562a532eccd19be07aac58ddce2a6079eb4ea28e6afef54b07f4cf9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9cf0b507b562a532eccd19be07aac58ddce2a6079eb4ea28e6afef54b07f4cf9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Poulomi Das\"},\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/?author=103\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Panipat Review: When Will Bollywood Get a Historical Epic Right?","description":"Ashutosh Gowariker's Panipat spends three overdrawn hours harping on the nobility of a loss, priming the Marathas' defeat in \"The Third Battle of Panipat\" not as a failure, but as a sacrifice. It demands the average Indian viewer\u2019s sympathy and also their unfaltering allegiance.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?p=5789","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Panipat Review: When Will Bollywood Get a Historical Epic Right?","og_description":"Ashutosh Gowariker's Panipat spends three overdrawn hours harping on the nobility of a loss, priming the Marathas' defeat in \"The Third Battle of Panipat\" not as a failure, but as a sacrifice. It demands the average Indian viewer\u2019s sympathy and also their unfaltering allegiance.","og_url":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?p=5789","og_site_name":"Arr\u00e9","article_published_time":"2016-04-02T13:50:58+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-07-17T16:21:25+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":573,"url":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1575615663-1024x573.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Poulomi Das","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"Panipat Review: When Will Bollywood Get a Historical Epic Right?","twitter_description":"Ashutosh Gowariker's Panipat spends three overdrawn hours harping on the nobility of a loss, priming the Marathas' defeat in \"The Third Battle of Panipat\" not as a failure, but as a sacrifice. It demands the average Indian viewer\u2019s sympathy and also their unfaltering allegiance.","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Poulomi Das","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?p=5789#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?p=5789"},"author":{"name":"Poulomi Das","@id":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/#\/schema\/person\/7cc6b159b4669ddf75eae5f2b536d679"},"headline":"Panipat Review: When Will Bollywood Get a Historical Epic Right?","datePublished":"2016-04-02T13:50:58+00:00","dateModified":"2026-07-17T16:21:25+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?p=5789"},"wordCount":1312,"image":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?p=5789#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1575615663.png","keywords":["Arjun Kapoor","Ashutosh Gowariker","Kriti Sanon","Panipat review"],"articleSection":["Bollywood"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?p=5789","url":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?p=5789","name":"Panipat Review: When Will Bollywood Get a Historical Epic Right?","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?p=5789#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?p=5789#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1575615663.png","datePublished":"2016-04-02T13:50:58+00:00","dateModified":"2026-07-17T16:21:25+00:00","author":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/#\/schema\/person\/7cc6b159b4669ddf75eae5f2b536d679"},"description":"Ashutosh Gowariker's Panipat spends three overdrawn hours harping on the nobility of a loss, priming the Marathas' defeat in \"The Third Battle of Panipat\" not as a failure, but as a sacrifice. It demands the average Indian viewer\u2019s sympathy and also their unfaltering allegiance.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?p=5789#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?p=5789"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?p=5789#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1575615663.png","contentUrl":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1575615663.png","width":1520,"height":850},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?p=5789#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Panipat Review: When Will Bollywood Get a Historical Epic Right?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/#website","url":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/","name":"Arr\u00e9","description":"In every person lies a creator and in every creator, an enterprise.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/#\/schema\/person\/7cc6b159b4669ddf75eae5f2b536d679","name":"Poulomi Das","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9cf0b507b562a532eccd19be07aac58ddce2a6079eb4ea28e6afef54b07f4cf9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9cf0b507b562a532eccd19be07aac58ddce2a6079eb4ea28e6afef54b07f4cf9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9cf0b507b562a532eccd19be07aac58ddce2a6079eb4ea28e6afef54b07f4cf9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Poulomi Das"},"url":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?author=103"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1575615663.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5789","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/103"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5789"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5789\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5791,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5789\/revisions\/5791"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5792"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5789"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5789"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5789"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}