The musical has 22 songs, performed over two-and-a-half hours; Marathi folk art forms such as gondhal and koli dance are also an integral part of the show

It was on a trekking trip where the concept of the historical musical, Shivrudrache Digvijayi Tandav, centered around Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and conceptualised by the Mumbai-based Saisha Foundation, was born. Years ago, during his college days, Anil Nalawade had penned a couple of songs on his muse, Shivaji, that he had shared with his trekking companion, Padmashree Rao. Those musings during the treks eventually found a concrete shape in the form of a musical created by Rao, co-founder of Saisha, who is the director and narrator of this musical. It could stand apart from the many ballads composed on Shivaji, because it lays the focus on Shivaji’s many valiant warriors — the “unsung heroes”, as Rao calls them.