The trailer of Thackeray, the much talked about biopic on Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray, released on Wednesday and instantly found a spot on the list of trends. Nawazuddin Siddiqui, who plays the Shiv Sena patriarch, summed up the film's essence in his tweet as he shared the trailer: "Unfolding the real story of Balasaheb Thackeray's courage, wisdom and indomitable truth. The tiger, who was known for fearing none!" The almost-three-minute trailer is a powerful portrayal of Bal Thackeray's rise to power from an illustrator to one of the most influential political leaders of Maharashtra. The trailer begins with what appears to be the nineties' communal riots in Mumbai (then Bombay) when the narrator says, "Iss waqt Bombay ko ek hi aadmi shaant kar sakta hai."
Then the trailer introduces Nawazuddin Siddiqui as Bal Thackeray, who founded his own political party - Shiv Sena - in 1966 to fight for the interests of the Marathis not only in the political sphere but also in the economic landscape of Bombay. The trailer of Thackeray will make you forget blinking through the length of it as it includes snippets of Bal Thackeray's political hold in Maharashtra, glimpses of his party ideology, his court trial following the demolition of the Babri Masjid and his prioritising of Maratha culture in the art and entertainment sector of the state.
Bal Thackeray died in November 2012 at the age of 86. Watch the trailer of Thackeray here:
Thackeray has been directed by Abhijit Panse with Shiv Sena's Rajya Sabha lawmaker Sanjay Raut co-producing the movie along with Viacom18 Motion Pictures and Carnival Motion Pictures. In an interaction with news agency IANS earlier this year, Mr Raut talked about casting Nawazuddin Siddiqui as the right-wing leader and said: "The decision was completely mine and I never discussed it with anyone else. When I thought that Nawazuddin can play role of Balasaheb that time, I started discussing with him about this film. When I told him that 'You are going to play the role of Balasaheb in a film' that time, he was surprised for a minute but within three minutes, he agreed to be part of the film. He has done a really great job in the film and the audience will realise that fact when they watch the film."
Thackeray is all set to hit screens on January 25. The film will release in Hindi and Marathi.
