Prithvi Shaw made a grand entry into international cricket by scoring a century on his Test debut against West Indies at Rajkot in October 2018. However, injury prevented him from going on the tour to Australia. Then came the doping violation that earned him an 8-month ban, stalling his career.
But most people are confident that the right-hander will make a strong comeback after his ban period elapses. However, suddenly, Shaw's name is being discussed on social media for a rather strange reason. It's hard to believe but the release of the song 'Mard Maratha' from the upcoming Ashutosh Gowarikar movie Panipat, has suddenly brought this budding cricketer back into everyone's mind.
In this aforementioned song, there is a passage where, apparently, Peshwa Balaji Baji Rao's young son, Vishwas Rao, who was killed in the fateful battle of Panipat, joins in the festivities going on in the Maratha ruler's court and announces his intention to follow the path of his warrior kindred.
But the actor playing Vishwas Rao looks very similar to Prithvi Shaw. This led to comments on the YouTube page where the video is. A viewer wrote: "What is Prithvi Shaw doing in this movie?" Another just tagged the moment when Vishwas Rao comes into the foreground of the song and wrote: "Prithvi Shaw."
So, who is this doppelganger of the Indian opening batsman starring in this movie? His name is Abhishek Nigam and he is the elder brother of another actor, Siddharth Nigam. The latter came into focus as the lead in 'Chakravartin Samrat Ashoka.' Both brothers also starred in a television show called Chandranandini.
Interestingly, the birthday of both actors falls on the same day, though they were born three years apart. The brothers also look very similar to each other.
Vishwas Rao was the eldest son of Peshwa Balaji Baji Rao. He fought in the third of battle of Panipat which took place in 1757 and involved Afghan king Ahmed Shah Abdali and Maratha Army under the command of Sadashiv Rao 'Bhow' – the cousin of the Peshwa.
The Marathas suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of Abdali's army and both Sadashiv Rao and Vishwas Rao were killed in the battle. The actor playing the role of Sadashiv Rao in the movie is Arjun Kapoor while Kriti Sanon plays Parvati bai, Sadashiv's wife.
The movie also stars Mohnish Behl in the role of the Peshwa and veteran actor Padmini Kolhapure as the Peshwa's wife Gopika Bai. Other prominent actors in the movie include Sanjay Dutt in the role of Abdali, Suhasini Mulay, Milind Gunaji, etc. The film releases on December 6.
