Sarjaa is one of the well known films in Marathi cinema; it was directed by Rajdutt. It is based on the novel Shelar Khind by Shivshahir Babasaheb Purandare and is set during the era of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. It narrates the story of how a common man can contribute towards the efforts of Shivaji Maharaj in tackling the enemies of the Maratha empire. The film was produced by Ramesh Deo and Seema Deo and their son Ajinkya Deo played the title role of “Sarjaa.”

---

The Plot

Sarjaa begins with Aurangzeb (played by Prabhakar Panshikar and voice dubbed by Raza Murad) announcing that the Mughal rule extends from Kashmir to Deccan. He is proud to announce that 2 cannons have been manufactured and they will be deployed to fight against the Marathas. Raja Jaisingh (Ravi Patwardhan) is being sent to to deal with Raja Shivaji (Ravindra Mahajani) who has been troubling the Mughals.

What follows is the siege of Purandar fort which forces Raja Shivaji to sign a treaty with the Mughals. As part of the treaty many forts are handed over to the Mughals.

Bakshachandra Bahadur Singh (Kuldeep Pawar) has been appointed as the Killedar (fort commander) of Jangad. He arrives in style to take charge. Rustom (Nilu Phule) has switched his allegiance to the Mughals and welcomes Bahadur Singh.

There is a mother daughter duo of dombaris. [Dombari is a nomadic caste. They are street performers engaged in acrobatic acts.] Gauri (Seema) along with her daughter Kasturi / Kastura (Pooja Pawar) is performing near the fort. The newly appointed Killedar Bahadur Singh sees Kasturi and is smitten by her youth and beauty.

He orders Rustom to bring her to the fort for “entertainment.” Rustom tells Gauri that he is the Badshah’s man now and Bahadur Singh has taken a fancy to Kasturi, he will shower her with riches etc. Gauri rushes to attack Rustom. Bahadur Singh grabs Kasturi and imprisons her in the fort.

Gauri follows them and enters the chamber where Kasturi is tied up. She picks a spear and injures Bahadur Singh compelling Rustom to release Kasturi. Kasturi jumps in the pond next to the fort and swims towards safety. Instead of being angry, Bahadur Singh is further impressed. The bravery of the girl reminds him of Rani Padmini’s sacrifice.

The next day, Rustom arrives with gifts but Gauri insults him and he leaves. Bahadur Singh orders Rustom to do anything as he is desperate to have Kasturi for company. Rustom returns with soldiers to abduct Kasturi by force. Gauri and Kasturi manage to flee when they see the soldiers approaching. Rustom sets their house on fire. The helpless duo arrive in Nandavli village where she goes to an old man’s house. Gauri calls him Daaji. Daaji gives them shelter as Gauri informs him what happened.

It is revealed that the man’s son and Kasturi were married when they were children. Kasturi sees a young man sleeping in the house. Gauri tells her this is her husband Sarjaa (Ajinkya Deo).

The grown up couple get “introduced” to each other. The poor Sarjaa is subject to teasing by Kasturi. He is initially angry but matters are sorted and they become one happy couple. They start performing together. Rustom knows the whereabouts of Kasturi. He again sends his men to capture her by tricking Sarjaa. The husband and wife try hard to fight off the men. Luckily 4 men from the village come to Kasturi’s rescue. Rustom has to leave empty handed again.

Later, Sarjaa comes to know that the same men who helped them are being felicitated in the village. They have been selected to accompany Raja Shivaji on his dangerous mission to Agra to meet Aurangzeb and the whole village is proud of them.

Bahirji Naik (Ramesh Deo) who is in charge of Raja Shivaji’s intelligence operations also arrives (disguised as a Mughal) to test the men’s readiness and their allegiance to Raja Shivaji. Sarjaa meets Bahirji and requests him to give a job in Raja Shivaji’s army. The locals make fun of him. He is a street performer and not a fighter. He should remain as he is. He is not able to save his wife, how can he fight with the enemy? Sarjaa is disturbed by the comments and sinks into depression. He is looking for an opportunity to prove his worth to his detractors.

This opportunity comes later. Raja Shivaji has built the Raigad fort. He wants to test the security of the fort. A challenge is announced. Any man who attempts to scale the fort without the assistance of any climbing equipment will be rewarded a gold kada, a horse and 10 bighas of land. The news reach Sarjaa and this is just the opportunity he is waiting for. He has heard of men dying and getting injured in their attempts but that doesn’t impact him. He has made up his mind.

And the day of Sarjaa’s attempt arrives. Sarjaa starts the climb as Kasturi plays the dhol at the base of the fort. Bahirji has informed Raja Shivaji of the attempt. All are curious to know the outcome.

Will Sarjaa succeed? The rest of the movie is filled with more such entertaining moments including the story of the 2 cannons which were mentioned at the beginning.

The Music

In the final cut of the film, there appear only 2 songs. Both are written by N D Mahanor with music by Hridaynath Mangeshkar. Lata Mangeshkar and Suresh Wadkar sing the 2 romantic duets. The first one is Me katyatun chalun thakale..dongar maatha jinkun aalo. But the more famous song is Chimba pawasana raan zaala aabadani.

Interestingly, the credits mention Padmaja Phenani as one of the singers but the song is missing. Wonder which was that song!

My Thoughts

Sarjaa is a good story with good direction by the veteran Rajdutt. It is full of dramatic events and continuous action. Ajinkya Deo and Pooja Pawar display great chemistry. There is a rawness in the way their relationship is portrayed which increases the impact. I was reminded of the lead pair of Sairat. While Ajinkya had acted in a few films, this was Pooja’s debut. She acts in a natural and confident manner especially in the scenes involving the hero. Ramesh Deo, Seema, Kuldeep Pawar and Nilu Phule are all impressive.

The film has many outdoor scenes which is rare for a Marathi film. However there are some gaps in the story. Some references are not explained properly. The budgetary constraints are evident in the filming. But the effort to make a wholesome film is visible. Sarjaa succeeds in telling the appealing story of an ordinary man in the backdrop of a historical period.