Aditya Sarpotdar has had a wonderful 2024, and this year began with his new show The Secrets of Shiledars on Disney+ Hotstar. Munjya and Kakuda were horror comedies that presented good stories by mixing ghosts and village folklore. The Secrets of Shiledars is Aditya Sarpotdar delving into the Maratha history and giving us a glimpse of the treasures of the kings and the lore around their treasures. A young doctor who is a history fanatic is sucked into the world of a secret society that is safekeeping the treasures of a famous Maratha king.
Spoilers Ahead
Was Ravi an orphan?
The Secrets of Shiledars began with a young Ravi and his father and mother driving towards a place. They were being chased by a truck, and it was obvious the vehicle was after them to kill the family. Ravi had noticed a ring on his father Shrikant’s finger, and a part of an ancient dial was also in the car. Ravi’s father and mother died in a car crash as they tumbled into the river. The young boy somehow survived. The adult Ravi became a doctor who had a penchant for Maratha history and hence ran a YouTube channel with his brother Adi. There was no further explanation as to who raised Ravi and if Adi was his sibling or his cousin, who always joined in on his adventures around historical monuments. This is an interesting setup to make Ravi seem like a special man who was sucked into the world of hidden lores and secrets
How did Ravi and Judge Dixit come into contact?
Ravi met Judge Dixit at the latter’s book launch. He was invited by Judge Dixit’s assistant, Priyal Deshpande. The book was about Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and the justice system the king had formulated while sitting on his famed golden throne that disappeared soon after his death. Judge Dixit requested Ravi to visit him at his chambers in Pune. On meeting Judge Dixit again, the elderly man went ahead and spoke about “Shiledars,” an elite group of people who protected the treasures of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, most importantly the famed golden throne. The elite group could be seen as mirroring the ‘Knight Templars’ mentioned in The Da Vinci Code, where the people involved in it were high profile and had been passing on the secret location since the 15th century. Ravi realized his father and Judge Dixit knew each other through the signature ring, indicating both men were ‘the Shiledars.’ Since Judge Dixit had been diagnosed with cancer, he decided to share the information about the hidden treasure and offered Ravi an old book. Judge Dixit wanted to make sure all of the documents were safely handed over to him before anyone with bad intentions took over valuable items after his death.
Who killed Judge Dixit?
Around the same time, Governor Ramachandran of Maharashtra claimed he was the heir to the Vijayanagara Empire. He wanted to get hold of Judge Dixit, who knew the location of the Maratha treasure, which he believed belonged to his lineage. He was a delusional old man who hired three hitmen to kidnap Judge Dixit before he handed over all the information and key items that could lead Dr. Ravi to the treasure. The hitmen killed Judge Dixit in no time as he refused to share the details Governor Ramachandran was looking for. The police, however, arrested Dr. Ravi, since he was the last person known to have met Judge Dixit. He was a usual suspect, and the only way he could prove himself innocent was to somehow get bail and get into Judge Dixit’s chambers. Dr. Ravi was lucky that he was bailed out by Priyal Deshpande, who came out of nowhere to help him. She was keen to get to the bottom of the matter to find out why Judge Dixit was killed and who was responsible.
What was the first clue found by Ravi, Adi, and Priyal?
The trio had to get to the chambers even though it was a crime scene. Using the clues left by Judge Dixit to Ravi, they found a half piece of a large dial. Ravi had a memory of the other half of the dial that his father had acquired, which disappeared after his death. There was a complicated set of clues lying ahead for the trio that could lead them to the treasure, especially the throne. The metal dial and the last text message left by Judge Dixit seem like the only way for them to find the next object, bringing them closer to the prized treasure Ravi was supposed to safekeep as a ‘Shiledar.’ The solution to every puzzle was solved in a jiffy, and the text message turned out to be coordinates to an antique store in Mumbai’s Chor Bazaar.
What was found in Raj Bhavan?
The antique shop belonged to Judge Dixit’s friend, Prashik, who gave Ravi, Adi, and Proyal enough information about the work the ‘Shiledars’ had done for centuries. He was a smart archeologist who found a map inside the book left by Judge Dixit. He sadly had lost his family to a fire, changing his life forever. His duty was to aid Ravi in finding more clues about the famed throne and help him protect it. Prashik and Ravi knew they were being chased by someone who was more desperate for the treasure than they were. They wanted to use the money while Ravi only wanted to locate it. The map indicated the underground pipe system below the Raj Bhavan housed another item that would lead to the treasure. It took a while for all four of them to get into the Raj Bhavan and find out one of the librarians was a ‘Shiledar’ himself who set up clues for the right man to find the next one.
Priyal turned out to be Governor Ramachandran’s mole, who was letting him know of every move made by Ravi and Prashik as the two men found a secret tunnel. After painstakingly solving the puzzle, the duo found a large gold box. The box contained something, but they would have to decipher the language on the item to figure out the next clue. The show was turning out to be fast-paced like The Da Vinci Code, for the men were coming up with solutions rather quickly. However, Governor Ramachandran caught onto them, forcing them to leave the gold box to him so he could find the treasure that rightfully belonged to his family. Prashik, in his attempt to save Ravi and Priyal, sacrificed himself. The police branded Ravi, Adi, and Priyal as criminals while the greedy governor did not stop his search.
Why did Ravi seek Pratap Chandra Rao’s help?
Priyal came clean as an undercover cop working for Governor Ramachandran. She had not anticipated this level of bloodshed, or that the bureaucrat would harm Ravi and Adi in his greed for glory. She was feeling guilty for her role in the deaths of Prashik and Judge Dixit, and hence she chose to stick with Ravi and Adi to find the treasure. Pratap Chandra Rao was one of the leading historians who was researching Shivaji and the treasures of his realm that were scattered across the length and breadth of his kingdom. He had suddenly become popular for turning down an award for his research since he had not yet figured out where the throne of the king was hidden. Pratap Chandra Rao was the only person who had enough knowledge about the Maratha kingdom and Ravi, Adi, and Priyal reached his palatial mansion in no time. The old man was initially not keen on meeting them, but Ravi presenting the gold box with ancient Marathi inscriptions gained his interest in their story, and he chose to help. All of them were sure the box contained an object that would serve as a clue. Using Ravi’s knowledge of the ancient numerical system Katapayadi, they managed to open the box rather quickly. It contained a gold dagger belonging to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and a cloth with several images of hindu gods, which was the same as the ones found at the ruins of Badami in Karnataka.
The ancient town was the next stop towards their hunt for Maratha treasure, and this time Prtap Chandra Rao joined them, since it was his lifelong dream to locate it. Ravi encouraged the scholar to join them, as his knowledge would further help them unearth clues and relics. All of them flew to Karnataka in no time; but the treasure hunt got complicated and lengthy at this point and each clue was situated in a different place.
Why did everyone visit Badami?
On reaching Badami, the team found a conch that would lead them to the cave where they assumed the treasure lay. The treasure hunt was close to its end, and soon the bad guys also descended on Badami in no time. There is no explanation as to how Governor Ramachandran knew of Ravi’s location. The Governor and his henchmen cornered Ravi, Adi, and Priyal and forced them to head to the cave to find the treasure Ramachandran claimed was his. The trio had two items, the conch and the dagger, that aided them in entering the vault that contained a horde of gold coins and several treasures that belonged to the Vijayanagara Empire. As the story shared by Pratap Chandra Rao, the Vijayanagara Empire had offered all of their wealth to the Maratha Kingdom in the hope of using that money to establish ‘Hindavi Swarajya,’ a Hindu kingdom to save the faith from diminishing. Governor Ramachandra was beyond elated to have found the wealth that was his.
Where was the throne located?
The quest for the Maratha treasure and the throne was far from over, since the group did not find the latter in this vault. There had to be another place where the throne was kept. This meant the group would have to travel to some other city to find it. They found another clue on the strange box that looked different from the usual antique items around them. It’s obvious an object that stands out would attract the attention of treasure hunters, and they found one item made of gold with ancient Marathi writing on it. The Secrets of Shiledars suddenly became a mixture of The Da Vinci Code, Indiana Jones, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
Governor Ramachandra was confronted by Ravi about a part of the dial that his father owned and was missing since his death. He knew the item was crucial for them to get to the throne. To their shock, Pratap Chandra Rao shot Ramachandra, who died on the spot. It seems the scholar was not worried about the repercussions, since he had killed a sitting governor. All he wanted was to find out where the throne was, and along with Ravi, they quickly figured the treasure was located in Raigad fort. The said place was the seat of the Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, and it was ironic ‘the Shiledars’ hid it in the most obvious place without leaving much clue around the fortress. ‘The Shiledars’ wanted their current generation, in this case, Ravi, to decipher every clue to finally locate the throne. The point was to identify who had the patience and perseverance to locate the important treasure, which Ravi was supposed to safeguard as per the duty bestowed on him by Judge Dixit.
Did Ravi and Pratap Chandra Rao find The throne?
Ravi and Pratap Chandra Rao decided to head to Raigad Fort while Priyal and Adi would delay the police. The latter two shared the truth, but none of the police officers were willing to believe them. It was appalling that the police did not send a search team to arrest the man who killed the sitting governor of a state, as they spent time listening to Adi and Priyal, who were narrating every incident right up to their detention. Ravi and Pratap Chandra Rao were bonding like father and son, as the latter was excited to reach a place he had explored multiple times. He could not believe the throne was somewhere inside the fortress, a monument he knew inside and out.
Pratap Chandra Rao was excited as this could be the culmination of his research, and he would be showered with awards for this discovery. However, Ravi, as ‘the Shiledar,’ probably would not allow the discovery of the throne to be made public, as that would make it susceptible to robbery. Since both men were good at deciphering clues, they could locate a makeshift door below the fortress that took them to the caves. The marking of the Maratha sigil was spread across caves at different points that led them to the actual door. The show was being stretched out unnecessarily, and the buildup was exhausting at this juncture. The number of obstacles was only increasing at this point, and it seems ‘the Shiledars’ went out of their way to hide the throne from anyone, including historians like Pratap Chandra Rao. As Ravi tried to place one of the dials to unlock the vault door, Pratap Chandra Rao shot him out of the blue. Turns out the historian was the villain all along, and he had placed all these people as stooges to get to meet ‘the Shiledar’ chosen by Judge Dixit himself. This included Governor Ramachandran, who was a delusional man, and Pratap Chandra Rao fanned his misconceptions further for his benefit. However, since the show had reached its climax, there was no explanation as to where the two elderly meet when this plan was hatched.
All Pratap Chandra Rao had to do was get Ravi and his friend’s confidence, and he was so far successful in doing so. He also added that he belonged to the Rairi kingdom, which ruled Raigad before Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, which gave him enough ammunition and motive to kill Maratha loyalists like Ravi. Since most of ‘the Shiledars’ were dead, Pratap Chandra Rao would take control of the throne for the sake of his lineage. This revelation about his ancestry came out of nowhere; however, his palatial mansion should have been a giveaway. His plan to avenge the Maratha kingdom’s descendants and loyalists was never discussed, and this ending was similar to The Da Vinci Code’s climax.
Ravi one-upped the scholar and let him know he doubted him when he referred to him as ‘Shiledar.’ Ravi had hardly mentioned anything about his lineage during their first meeting, this alarmed him and he chose not to trust Pratap Chandra Rao. He played along to find out when he would backstab. The gunshot had no effect on him, and Ravi was shocked to find the dial’s other half was with Pratap Chandra Rao, who confessed to having killed his parents and Judge Dixit. Ravi had the final piece that would open the vault that had the throne. After a tedious last-minute scuffle between the youngster and the old man, the latter died as the rocks of the cave fell on him. Pratap Chandra Rao’s death was inevitable since he tried to upstage Ravi, ‘the Shiledar.’
The Secrets of Shiledars ended with Ravi finally finding the large throne made of gold that belonged to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. He vowed to remain loyal as ‘the Shiledar’ for this journey helped him acknowledge the meaning of the word duty. He was the new guard, and his lineage would continue till the world ceased to exist.
