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Quem foi Shivaji? É uma questão enraizada mais na investigação histórica do que no orgulho heróico. Um conjunto de filmes Marathi feitos anteriormente detalhou as conquistas inteligentes do rei guerreiro Maratha, cuja força residia no uso inovador de táticas militares e na confiança em superar o poderoso oponente com recursos limitados. Tudo isso faz de Shivaji um grande soldado, mas o que faz dele um grande rei, cujo espírito destemido é imortalizado através de canções folclóricas e contos lendários transmitidos de geração em geração?

Como nos diz o livro seminal de Govind Pansare, a grandeza de Shivaji residia não apenas em seu valor férreo no campo de batalha, mas em suas múltiplas tentativas de construir um Swarajya ou autogoverno onde a empatia reinava, a justiça navegava e a justiça se tornava a norma. O povo, carinhosamente referido como Camponês e composto principalmente por agricultores e camponeses, consideravam-no seu devido aos seus esforços dedicados para desfazer todos os erros infligidos contra eles por um sistema opressivo. É por isso que soldados como Bajiprabhu Deshpande e Tanhaji Malusare estavam dispostos a sacrificar suas vidas por ele, como sua causa para Swarajya tornou-se sua causa de libertação. A popularidade de Shivaji entre as massas comuns deveu-se à preocupação genuína que ele demonstrou em melhorar as suas condições de vida. A cultura widespread, no entanto, vê-o através das lentes singulares de um senhor da guerra, negando a natureza expansiva das suas ideias e o seu legítimo lugar na história.

Riteish Deshmukh Raja Shivaji tenta mudar isso quando vemos um vislumbre da humanidade do rei durante um momento essential. O adolescente Shivaji vai às lágrimas quando uma senhora idosa despreza sua estatura, reclamando da destruição causada pelas forças Adil Shahi e Nizamshahi em Pune. No dia seguinte, Shivaji recupera a honra da cidade movendo um arado dourado pela terra, um gesto simbólico que cria uma sensação de segurança entre as massas. Mais tarde, em outra cena, um enfurecido Shivaji corta as mãos de um arrogante Patil por violar uma mulher.

Deshmukh mostra alguma vontade de compreender a essência do rei Maratha. No entanto, estes são momentos ainda mais rápidos, cujo efeito não empresta alma à personalidade de Shivaji. A produção do filme é cada vez mais reverente a ele desde o momento de seu nascimento, quando a imagem de seu pequeno membro surge contra uma trilha sonora de fundo carregada. Shivaji (Riteish Deshmukh) nasceu numa época em que seu pai, Shahji Bhosle (Sachin Khedekar), servia à dinastia Adil Shahi. Ele mostra sinais de bravura quando criança, infundidos com ideias de autogoverno por seu irmão, Sambhaji Bhosle (um sincero Abhishek Bachchan). O relacionamento deles constitui o núcleo da primeira parte, apresentando longas sequências de ação e diálogos excessivamente dramáticos que sublinham sua natureza rebelde.

Deshmukh leva muito tempo para revelar a versão adulta de Shivaji, já que a criação de mitos tem precedência sobre a ressonância emocional. Quando o vemos pela primeira vez, o Shivaji de Deshmukh voa para o campo de batalha para atacar os inimigos que se aproximam, em uma sequência que é executada continuamente enquanto a música tema da ópera de Ajay-Atul nos lembra a lenda desse guerreiro. A teatralidade, entretanto, não produz muito efeito, pois a essência dos ideais de Shivaji permanece ausente em sua maior parte. Também se torna difícil imaginar Deshmukh como o chefe Maratha, embora o ator permaneça sério em sua interpretação. Sua presença na tela não corresponde à memória widespread do rei. Portanto, nenhuma quantidade de fotos extremas em câmera lenta pode nos convencer do contrário.

O filme é filmado cuidadosamente por Santosh Sivan, com a iluminação tremeluzente e as sombras adicionando uma nova dimensionalidade ao visible. A cinematografia também evita vilanizar excessivamente os governantes muçulmanos, como o filme de Vicky Kaushal Chhaavaque adicionou um tom distinto às cenas de Aurangzeb de Akshaye Khanna. Deshmukh não é do tipo que cria uma vil fenda binária na história, mas também não é do tipo que se aprofunda nas complexidades, como vemos o imperador mogol Shah Jahan reduzido à sua pior caricatura por Fardeen Khan e os outros governantes de Adil Shahi transformados em bufões completamente desmiolados. Sanjay Dutt recebe sua cota de talento, ao incutir seu ethos de vilania em Afzal Khan, um homem resumido como malvado por meio de baladas folclóricas populares.

É também o confronto muito mitologizado entre Afzal Khan e Shivaji que coloca o filme de volta à ação após uma série de sequências letárgicas no meio do caminho. O ato last cria entusiasmo pela forma como Shivaji conduziu as negociações com Afzal, quebrando-o não com o golpe de sua espada, mas com a agudeza de seu intelecto. Deshmukh mostra-se promissor como diretor nessas partes, focando em pequenos detalhes que combinam bem com a edição para manter a emoção, até o momento last da vitória, quando ele esfaqueia Afzal Khan com seu Bagh Nakh. Parece uma conclusão adequada, especialmente quando Deshmukh e os escritores sobrepõem a imagem de Afzal à de um elefante querendo conquistar a floresta, enquanto seu ego gigante é atacado por Shiva, o leão.

Além das metáforas, porém, a representação de Shivaji mal arranha a superfície. Deshmukh permanece amplamente satisfeito em glorificar o rei, em vez de investigar a natureza de sua glória. Os esforços para fazer uma cinebiografia convencional convertem o ícone histórico em um herói unidimensional, travando uma batalha genérica entre o bem e o mal enquanto a estética se ajoelha em sua homenagem. O outro lado do rei, muito mais relevante para os tempos contemporâneos, que se reflecte na comovente carta que escreveu a Aurangzeb ou na natureza multicultural do seu exército, permanece em grande parte escondido sob as sombras exteriores da história. Como o filme termina com slogans em homenagem a Shivaji, a questão ainda prevalece: quem realmente foi Shivaji?

Raja Shivaji está atualmente em exibição nos cinemas

It’s time for Zack Polanski to make a stand against the antisemitism rippling through his Green Party. Not only is it the right thing to do, it’s also now costing him support.

The Greens recently won the Parliamentary seat of Gorton and Denton with a heavy focus on Gaza, a trend that they’ve carried into these local council elections. In doing so they’ve attracted some of the same obsessional anti-Zionists who flourished under Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour leadership and who Sir Keir Starmer was forced to expel.

The core tension within the Greens is between robust criticism of Israeli policy, which many activists see as a matter of principle, and content that crosses into antisemitic tropes or conspiracy theories. It’s a line some Green candidates have clearly crossed.

One council candidate claimed the Golders Green ambulance arson attacks were a false flag; another tweeted about “Jewish Nazis” being “money-grubbing thieves” under the alias “the real Anne Frank”; a third shared a post that said “ramming a synagogue isn’t antisemitism. It’s revenge”. All have either been suspended or had party support withdrawn.

Last week, following a rebuke from Sir Mark Rowley, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Polanski apologised for criticising officers who apprehended a suspected antisemitic attacker charged with stabbing two Jewish men in Golders Green. On Sunday he then reignited tensions with the police by accusing Rowley of meddling in politics before the local elections.

Polanski would be wise to put a sock in it; his net approval rating has fallen 14 points between this week and last, according to polling released on Tuesday by More in Common.

Just looking over some data ahead of our elections webinar later and Zack Polanski’s net approval rating has fallen by a fairly chunky 14 points over the last week. Still far ahead of Starmer but also puts him now well below the top three of Badenoch, Davey and Farage. pic.twitter.com/1gBt2HIr9N

— Luke Tryl (@LukeTryl) May 5, 2026

“At the heart of the drop it seems for some Green supporters – particularly young people attracted by the Greens’ more hopeful and inclusive image – a perception of not being tough on antisemitism is giving them pause for thought,” Luke Tryl, the group’s director, told The i Paper.

“The Greens will still do very well on Friday [when the results are announced], but to maintain and attract more of those voters attracted by their positive, hopeful vision of a fairer and more equal country, Polanski may have to go further in showing he is committed to tackling antisemitism in the Green Party and wider society,” he added.

The Greens have successfully created an electoral coalition of former Labour voters, university students, graduates and socially conservative Muslims by combining liberal policies, including the legalisation of Class A drugs, with its support for Palestine.

The trouble comes when support for Palestine tips into antisemitism. Polanski, himself Jewish, condemns this racism, but not everybody in his broad coalition – now 227,000 party members – feels the party has questions to answer. When concerns were raised in April, deputy leader Mothin Ali posted in a support group formed to fight “smears” from the media.

Polanski needs to work on his messaging too. In April he faced criticism for asking whether there is a “perception of unsafety or whether it’s actual unsafety” among the Jewish community.

The inflammatory words of many Gaza protesters are now providing a cloak of righteousness for those who terrorise Britain’s Jewish community. Pro-Palestine marchers who have a justified zeal to protest the suffering caused by Israel seem blinded to the anxieties of their fellow Brits.

These protests attract people who would never think of themselves as antisemitic or ever dream of attacking a Jewish person. But they can also empower those who would.

Repetition has caused many to lose the meaning of the slogans they have chanted for so long. And of course there is a spectrum. “From the river to the sea” is viewed by some as a call for Palestinian freedom; others interpret it as a call for the eradication of Israel. Then there is the far less nuanced “globalise the intifada” – seen as an incitement to violence against Jews worldwide.

Polanski is trying to have his cake and eat it. He has said he would discourage pro-Palestine protesters from using that chant but warned against specifically outlawing the phrase or banning a protest planned in London later this month.

He can’t control the marches. But Polanski should stamp out any suggestion of antisemitism in his own party or risk becoming a more modern, social-media savvy Corbyn. A grown-up leader would tell their followers to moderate their language even at the risk of losing some fringe support.

On Tuesday Starmer addressed leaders from the worlds of politics, policing, business, education, and the arts to discuss how more can be done to tackle antisemitism. The Prime Minister has learnt what Polanski has not yet realised: absorbing extremists in your ranks will repulse the mainstream electorate.

“For many voters, highlighting Green antisemitism will be more important in terms of what it means for the party’s general suitability as a serious electoral force than anything specific to the issue,” Joe Twyman, co-founder of Deltapoll, told The i Paper.

Polanski is playing a numbers game. He’s calculating right now there are more votes to be won than lost by his stance. But the rise in support won’t be exponential.

Some of the Greens risk repeating mistakes made by Corbyn and his followers by reflexively attacking any suggestion of antisemitism as an assault on their values. I’m one of the good guys, so the thinking goes, unlike the right – they are the ones truly guilty of racism.

Corbyn always maintained he is a “lifelong anti-racist campaigner”, even while at best he turned a blind eye to antisemitism spreading through the Labour Party. It may not have been the only reason he lost the 2019 election, but it certainly didn’t help a majority of voters to trust him.

As Starmer said on Tuesday, this ancient prejudice doesn’t have “one source alone”, citing Islamists as well as the far left and far right. But the Prime Minister did the work to root out this plague in his party. Polanski needs to do the same.

Just like Manchester City’s Erling Haaland, Sonny Baker, England’s brightest young fast-bowling talent, swears by the health benefits of bone broth. So who started consuming it first?

“That’s a great question,” he tells The i Paper. “Unfortunately, I don’t know Erling Haaland personally so I can’t comment on that. But I’ve been having it a while.”

Baker turned to bone broth after a succession of back fractures as a teenager. After publicly speaking about its benefits last year, he has since landed a sponsorship deal with a manufacturer.

“Honestly, it’s been a game-changer,” he says. “Making it yourself I cannot describe how much of a pain it is. It is just a nightmare.”

It is not the only sponsorship he has secured recently, with the rather unusual link-up with a local butcher included as part of his deal when he moved from Somerset to Hampshire ahead of the 2025 season.

“In my original contract discussion, I went ‘you’re trying to offer me as much as possible for as little cost to you. So let’s just talk about the fringe benefits first rather than about x amount of money.’”

Living on site at the Utilita Bowl, Baker asked Hampshire director of cricket Giles White if food from the caterers who supplied the ground and its on-site hotel could be included in his rent.

“He said ‘come on Sonny, I can’t quite do that but what I can do is make an introduction with a local butcher who supplies the ground and the hotel’. He did and here we go.”

Yet the best deal he has had recently is the one-year England central contract he was awarded last November.

“You think they probably wouldn’t have given me this if they weren’t interested long term,” he says. “So that’s a good sign.”

As if you had not worked it out by now, Baker, speaking at an event for the Chance to Shine charity at a primary school in Oxford, is cheeky, charismatic and uber-engaging.

The 23-year-old is also honest about the prospect of a Test debut this summer, with his 14 County Championship wickets at 26.21 this season catapulting him into contention.

“I’m not going to shy away from the fact that a Test debut is an absolute dream and I think Test cricket is the absolute pinnacle,” he says.

“But how about you worry about next week mate? I’m just going to keep performing for Hampshire and learning from [South Africa’s] Kyle Abbott because he’s played Test cricket and knows what it takes.”

Abbott has been a huge resource at Hampshire for Baker, who as well as being clocked at 92 miles per hour this summer is honing his skills as a swing bowler.

The youngster, who counts another South African in Dale Steyn as his model of the perfect fast bowler, says: “Having Kyle at mid-off is just invaluable – he’s a massive, massive asset for us and he’s significantly improved the younger bowlers, especially me.”

Sharing a dressing-room with James Anderson, England’s all-time leading wicket-taker, at Manchester Originals during last year’s Hundred was also a great education for Baker.

“It was phenomenal,” he says. “He really was awesome with me.

“I was nervous going in because he’s an absolute legend of the game. I was concerned he would already have a pre-conceived idea I was going to absolutely spray him with questions which, to be honest, I was. So fair enough.

“But the way I tried to do it was, how about I just try to make him like me first? And then naturally get chats with him where we’ll talk about cricket.

“We were talking about all sorts of different stuff – swing, different balls, field settings, things he’d found in specific games of bowling at guys we were bowling at. It was really, really useful and credit to him, he was phenomenal and massive for my learning.”

And how much of what Anderson passed on went into Baker’s famed notebook – where he keeps all his information on opposition batters and what he calls “golden nuggets” of “niche information”.

“I wouldn’t have said I was walking around with my notebook following Jimmy but there’d be little things he’d said I’d quickly type down in my notes page on my phone and then write it in my notebook later,” he says.

Despite only having played 11 first-class games, Baker has already experienced international cricket – debuting for England in both white-ball formats at the end of last summer.

His ODI bow against South Africa at Headingley saw him concede 76 runs in seven overs after England had been bowled out for 131, while his T20 debut against Ireland at Malahide was also painful, with his four overs going for 52.

Baker has written off the first of those given the low total England were defending. But he admits the second happened because he was not being true to himself as a bowler.

“I ended up creating the second bad debut by worrying about the first,” he says.

“So if I do end up making a Test debut at some stage, I’m not going to be worried about that. If people think you have the potential to play at that level they must be right. If you keep going you’ll eventually come good.

“I hope to have many better days in an England shirt than I have so far. I’m not in any urgent rush but I’m also very ambitious. I’ll let you take that how you want to.”

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He also believes those white-ball appearances will smooth the transition to Test cricket.

“I’ve met the guys now,” he says. “I’ve had that awkward ‘hello mate, how are you?’

“You get a feel for everyone’s character and you don’t have that feeling – I’m worried about the game and worried about things socially.

“The social thing is no longer a stress. All I have to worry about is the cricket now. That’s a massively positive thing.”

Sonny Baker was speaking at John Henry Newman Academy, where children’s charity Chance to Shine marked its eight millionth participant since launching in 2005. It now works in around one in four state primary schools across England and Wales each year, introducing children to the game.

Retired police officer David Cuthbertson always holidayed in Northumberland. So, in 2008, he decided to invest in a £185,000 two-bedroom, holiday cottage in the area to enjoy when he retired.

But David, now 64, has found that he relies on the extra income generated through renting out the cottage as a holiday let to fund his retirement.

Last year, his cottage, in Warkworth, Northumberland, generated over £8,000 in profit (after expenses), which went towards his living costs alongside his police pension.

“The income from my cottage now tops up my pension and I use it to fund my holidays,” David said. “I bought it as an investment to stay in, but it’s turned into something that generates a lot of additional income and that’s hugely benefitted my retirement.”

The police pension scheme is a defined benefit (DB) scheme, which means you get a guaranteed income for life in retirement based on your years of service. It is considered a generous scheme with a higher employer contribution rate – currently 35.3 per cent.

But for many police officers – like other workers – it is still not enough to feel comfortable in later life. Many serving police officers also report struggling financially, leading to them opting out of their pensions, which will leave them with less to live on in retirement.

In a 2025 survey by the Police Federation, 64 per cent of police officers said they were struggling financially, with 42 per cent saying they had considered stopping paying into their pension over the past 12 months as a result.

After buying his home, which he saw in a newspaper advert, David quickly realised he could make some extra money by letting it out when he wasn’t using it. His cottage, which he lets out through Sykes Cottages, is already booked for 45 weeks this year.

He said he found the most success by allowing other people to bring their dogs, as many holiday properties don’t allow pets. This has increased his revenue by around 16 per cent per year.

David is one of thousands of pensioners turning to property to help fund their retirement. The latest English Private Landlord Survey found 42 per cent of landlords invested in property to fund their retirement, while 56 per cent said they expected it to contribute to their retirement income.

And according to the Financial Conduct Authority’s most recent Later Lives survey, 7 per cent of retirees said they expected rental property to fund their retirement, up from 4 per cent in 2020.

Graham Nicoll, a chartered financial planner at NCL Wealth Partners, said: “We are seeing a clear uptick in retirees turning to property income as pensions fall short and longevity increases.”

Nouran Moustafa, an independent financial adviser at Roxton Wealth, added: “I am seeing more interest from clients who want retirement income beyond pensions. Property can play a role, but it should sit within a wider retirement plan, not become the whole plan.”

Should you invest in property for retirement?

While investing in property to fund retirement is becoming increasingly popular, there are some pros and cons to consider – as well as different ways to use the property, depending on your circumstances.

For example, some people prefer the stability of long-term letting, while figures suggest holiday lets can be more profitable, but require more regular maintenance and attention – which you may not want or have time for in retirement.

Data from Sykes Holiday Cottages shows that holiday lets in Castleton, Derbyshire, a top holiday let spot, on average earn £38,200 per year – more than the average income in the UK.

Meanwhile, homes in Bowness-on-Windermere in Cumbria typically make £36,200 per year, while properties in Matlock, Derbyshire, Ambleside and Durham typically earn around £34,000 a year.

On the other hand, the average rental income for a long-term landlord in the UK is currently £19,400.

Nicoll said that while investing in property to supplement your pension “can work”, it is important to remember that it not “passive” income.

“Long-term lets can provide steadier income with less volatility, but yields are often modest and tenant risk remains. Holiday lets may deliver higher gross returns and greater flexibility, yet income is seasonal, management is more intensive and regulation is increasing,” he said.

“Costs, void periods, tax changes and regulation have all eroded margins. Property can be a useful supplement, but it is not a silver bullet.”