Ever since the trailer of Arjun Kapoor's Panipat was released, Ashutosh Gowarikar's film has been embroiled in controversy. After former Afghanistan Ambassador to India, Dr Shaida Abdali expressed concern over the depiction of Ahmad Shah Abdali in the film, now Dr Mohammed Taqi, a Pakistan-American columnist, has questioned the casting of Sanjay Dutt in the role of Ahmad Shah Abdali.

Taqi said that Abdali was 25 when he first invaded India, and 39 when the Third Battle of Panipat was fought. He died at the age of 50, therefore, making the casting of Dutt in the role inaccurate. He tweeted, "Ahmad Shah #Abdali first invaded India when he was 25 and was 39 at the Battle of #Panipat. He was a handsome man by all accounts and died at age 50. Sanjay Dutt is 60 and looks 160. If nothing else the casting director of #panipatmovie should be fired posthaste."

Ahmad Shah #Abdali first invaded India when he was 25 and was 39 at the Battle of #Panipat. He was a handsome man by all accounts and died at age 50. Sanjay Dutt is 60 and looks 160. If nothing else the casting director of #panipatmovie should be fired posthaste https://t.co/cbRXrRLqF5 Mohammad Taqi (@mazdaki) November 14, 2019

His post came with a Twitter thread, that further detailed that even the costume Abdali is seen in in the trailer and poster of the film, especially the headgear he is sporting, is not authentic as per the period. The admin of the Facebook page, Tarikh-i-Pakhtunkhwa, and blogger Barmazid shared a still from Panipat, featuring Sanjay Dutt, and wrote, "Whats up with the weird headgear of Ahmad Shah Abdali in the upcoming movie? (sic)"

Whats up with the weird headgear of Ahmad Shah Abdali in the upcoming movie?



thread#panipatmovie

#Panipat pic.twitter.com/XnCj3qyyAo Barmazid (@Pashz7) November 14, 2019

It appears to me the costume designers of the movie did a simple google-image search and found the following image of Ahmad Shah Abdali and mistook the turban for some thing else. Note it is not a historical painting of Ahmad Shah Abdali, it is modern, and the artist was trying . pic.twitter.com/kEXMf3dKTJ Barmazid (@Pashz7) November 14, 2019

to draw a striped traditional turban of Pashtuns.



Ahmad Shah Abdali usually wore a bejeweled crown like his predecessor Nadir Shah Afshar. https://t.co/x8nHxObHoT Barmazid (@Pashz7) November 14, 2019

Barmazid further wrote, "It appears to me the costume designers of the movie did a simple google-image search and found the following image of Ahmad Shah Abdali and mistook the turban for some thing else. Note it is not a historical painting of Ahmad Shah Abdali, it is modern, and the artist was trying to draw a striped traditional turban of Pashtuns. Ahmad Shah Abdali usually wore a bejeweled crown like his predecessor Nadir Shah Afshar (sic)," along with an older tweet by celebrated author and historian, William Dalrymple, from March 2017.

Ahmed Shah Abdali

From the Lahore Museum pic.twitter.com/0lFkCke2h8 William Dalrymple (@DalrympleWill) March 8, 2017

William Dalrymple had tweeted an old portrait of Ahmad Shah Abdali as displayed in Lahore Museum.

Former Afghanistan Ambassador to India Dr Shaida Abdali, in a tweet dated November 4, had emphasised on the cordial ties between Afghanistan and India, and if Ahmad Shah Abdali's portrayal in Panipat would strain them. Retweeting Sanjay Dutt's post about his look in Panipat, Shaida Abdali wrote, "Dear @duttsanjay Ji: Historically, the Indian cinema has been extremely instrumental in strengthening the Indo-Afghan ties - I very much hope that the film Panipat has kept that fact in mind while dealing with this important episode of our shared history!"

Dear @duttsanjay Ji: Historically, the Indian cinema has been extremely instrumental in strengthening the Indo-Afghan ties - I very much hope that the film Panipat has kept that fact in mind while dealing with this important episode of our shared history! https://t.co/8HKLei2ce1 Dr Shaida Abdali (@ShaidaAbdali) November 4, 2019

The Afghan officials' concern is over the portrayal of Ahmad Shah Abdali. Afghanistan and India share cordial ties in the current day and the depiction of Abdali in an insensitive manner might have an effect on that, is what seems to have worried Shaida Abdali.

Watch the trailer of Panipat here:

Panipat, also starring Kriti Sanon, is set to release on December 6, 2019.

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