''Rajmata Jijau'' ( mr, राजमाता जिजाऊ) is a 2011

Marathi language Marathi (; ''Marāṭhī'', ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language predominantly spoken by Marathi people in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the official language of Maharashtra, and additional official language in the state o ...

film based upon the life of

Jijabai Jijabai Bhonsle (or Bhonsale, Bhosale, Bhosle) or Jadhav (12 January 1598 – 17 June 1674), referred to as Rajmata, Rastramata, Jijabai or Jijau, was the mother of Shivaji, founder of the Maratha Empire. She was a daughter of Lakhujirao Ja ...

, mother of the 17th century Maratha king

Shivaji Shivaji Bhonsale I (; 19 February 1630 – 3 April 1680), also referred to as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, was an Indian ruler and a member of the Bhonsle Maratha clan. Shivaji carved out his own independent kingdom from the declining Adils ...

, as told in Madan Patil's historical novel ''Jijausaheb''. The film was directed by Yashwant Bhalkar and produced by Mandatai and Sharadrao Nimse from the studio Jijai Chitra in

Shirdi Shirdi (; also known as Sainagar) is a city in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is located in the Rahata taluka of Ahmednagar District. It is accessible via the Ahmednagar–Malegaon State Highway No.10, approximately from Ahmednagar and ...

Plot

''Rajmata Jijau'' tells the story of Jijabai's life, beginning with the return of the child Shivaji to Pune, and in the process depicts Jijabai as a heroine in her own right, largely responsible for the formation of

, and therefore, for his accomplishments as founder of the Maratha empire.

Cast

* Smita Deshmukh as

Milind Gunaji Milind Gunaji (born 23 July 1961) is an Indian actor, model, television presenter, writer and author, most known for his roles in Marathi and Hindi cinema. He made his first film appearance in 1993's ''Papeeha'' and has since performed in over ...

Shahaji Shahaji Bhonsale (Pronunciation: �əɦad͡ʒiː c. 1594 – 1664) was a military leader of India in the 17th century, who served the Ahmadnagar Sultanate, the Bijapur Sultanate, and the Mughal Empire at various points in his career. As a membe ...

* Amol Kolhe as Shivaji * Monika Dabade as

Soyarabai Soyarabai Bhosale (née Mohite) (died 1681) was one of the eight wives of Shivaji, the founder of Maratha empire in western India. She was mother of Shivaji's second son, Rajaram. She was the younger sister of Maratha army chief Hambirrao Mohi ...

* Rahul Solapurkar as Afzal Khan * Rohit kadekar as Sevak * Deepak Karpe as

Netaji Palkar Netaji Palkar (1620–1681) was a ''Sardar Senapati'' or ''Sarnaubat'' ( Commander-in-Chief) under Chhatrapati Shivaji, founder of the Maratha empire. Family history Netaji Palkar was born in a small village, called Chouk in Khalapur, Maharash ...

Production

''Rajmata Jijau'' was produced by the production company Jijai Chitra. Production began on 6 June 2008 at Raigad with research and pre-production. Filming began in 2009, and the film was released on 20 May 2011.

Promotion and release

* ''Rajmata Jijau'' premiered on 20 May 2011 at Mangala Theatre,

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...

, with the entire cast and crew, along with local dignitaries, in attendance. * Prior to release, the film had been reviewed and promoted in electronic and print media. * Released at Belgaum and Vijapur (Karnataka state)

Reception

Loksatta ''Loksatta'' (''Lōksattā'') is a Marathi daily newspaper in Maharashtra, India. It is published by The Indian Express Group and was launched on 14 January 1948. ''Loksatta'' is published out of Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Thane, Palghar, Ahmednag ...

'' published separated reviews of the film and its soundtrack, giving favorable notice to the Powar's score. The film was also reviewed by the IBN Lokmat and Star Majha news channels and ''

Lokmat ''Lokmat'' () is a Marathi language newspaper published in Maharashtra state. Founded in 1971 by Jawaharlal Darda, it is the largest read regional language newspaper in India with more than 18 million readers and the No. 1 Marathi newspaper i ...

'', ''

Sakal ''Sakal'' (Marathi: सकाळ, meaning "Morning") is a Marathi-language daily newspaper by Sakal Media Group, its headquarters established in Pune, Maharashtra, India. Sakal is the flagship newspaper of the foundation publication, Sakal Med ...

'', and ''

Pudhari ''Pudhari'' is a popular Marathi daily, printed in three centres and distributed in Maharashtra, Goa and North Karnataka. It is the leader in Kolhapur and Western Maharashtra and the third-largest Marathi newspaper daily in the entire state of M ...

'' newspapers.

International appearances

''Rajmata Jijau'' was released in United Kingdom at the Paul Robeson Theater in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

on 20 August 2011, making it the first-ever Marathi language film released in the UK. The film screened at

Pune International Film Festival The Pune International Film Festival (also known as PIFF) is an annual film festival held in Pune, a city in Maharashtra, India. Open to general public, the films are screened at NFAI, Inox, City Pride, PVR cinema halls, all located in Pune ...

on 16 January 2012.

Awards

* Marathi VishwaRatna (November 2011) to producers Mandatai and Sharadrao Nimse * Jijau KalaRatna (January 2012) to Smita Deshmukh * Best Costume

Maharashtra State Film Awards Maharashtra State Film Awards, one of the prestigious awards of Marathi cinema, are awarded by the Government of Maharashtra to Marathi language films and artists. They were first awarded in 1963. Winners 2000 This year's award ceremony took plac ...

(April 2012) to Purnima Oak. * Nominated for Best Actress

(April 2012) to Dr.Smita Deshmukh

Soundtrack

Lyricist Babasaheb Saudagar and music director Shashank Powar created the soundtrack for ''Rajmata Jijau''. Since this is a period film, Powar researched 16th and 17th century Marathi music to create the score. The soundtrack was released as an album (''Rajmata Jijau Shourya Geete'') in April 2011.

Tracks

* "Bhagvya Zendyachya Sansarala" (Gondhal)- (

Shankar Mahadevan Shankar Mahadevan (born 3 March 1967) is an Indian singer and composer who is part of the Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy trio that writes music for Indian films. Personal life and early career Shankar Mahadevan was born in Chembur, Mumbai into a Tami ...

and chorus) * "Dhar Sonyacha Nangar Haati"- (

Suresh Wadkar Suresh Ishwar Wadkar (born 7 August 1955) is an Indian playback singer. He performs in both Hindi and Marathi films. He has sung songs in some Bhojpuri films, Odia albums and bhajans and in Konkani films. He was awarded the Sangeet Natak Aka ...

and chorus) * "Jay Jay Jijau" (Title Track)- (

Kailash Kher Kailash Kher (born 7 July 1973) is an Indian music composer and singer. He sings songs with a music style influenced by Indian folk music and Sufi music. He was inspired by the classical musicians' Pandit Kumar Gandharva, Pandit Hridaynath Ma ...

and chorus) * "Ala Ala Shivaji" (Powada)- ( Nandesh Umap and chorus)

References

External links

* {{URL, http://www.rajmatajijau.com Indian biographical films History of India on film Cultural depictions of Shivaji Films set in Maharashtra Films set in the Maratha Empire 2010s biographical films 2010s Marathi-language films