[8] By 1758, the Maratha Empire had reached its peak under the leadership of Peshwa Balaji Baji Rao aka Nana Saheb.

Sadashiv lists the defaulters who failed to pay Chauth to the Maratha Empire on time, and notes that the Rohillakhand's House Chief Najib ad-Dawlah has the largest amount of due taxes.

Raghunath asks for a large amount of money, which Sadashiv denies, citing the treasury's condition after consecutive battles.

Raghunath, therefore, refuses to march north, which leads the Peshwa to appoint Sadashiv as the commander-in-chief of the Maratha army, under the lordship of Vishwas Rao.

They start making alliances with other kingdoms, including Maharaja Suraj Mal and Nawab Shuja-ud-Daulah, and are successful, with their army size growing to 50,000 men.

Parvati Bai and the civilians and pilgrims stay at a small camp the back, and Vishwas promises Sadashiv that he'll never get off his elephant during the battle for his own protection.

Artillery firing begins by both sides, with substantial damage done to Abdali's army due to Ibrahim Khan's leadership.

[20] Monika Rawal Kukreja of Hindustan Times wrote "Panipat is an honest attempt at recreating the war that we only read in history books until now.

[21] The Times of India gave 3.5 out of 5 stars stating "Panipat delves into a significant chapter in history and is a war drama that lauds the unshakable bravery, courage and the strong principles of the Maratha's".

[22] India Today gave 2.5 out of 5 stars stating "Ashutosh Gowariker may not be able to do grandeur like Sanjay Leela Bhansali, but he can do war.

[24] Bollywood Hungama gave 3 out of 5 stars stating "Panipat throws light on an important chapter of Indian history with the battle scenes as its USP".

[25] Zee News gave 3 out of 5 stars stating "The film is a great effort by Gowariker and deserves to be watched for some impeccable performances and adrenaline-pumping action".

[26] News18 gave 2.5 out of 5 stars stating "Panipat, a film about Maratha warrior Sadashiv Rao Bhau who staves off Afghan ruler Ahmad Shah Abdali, disappoints only because of a linear screenplay that fails to rouse dramatic emotions so important to historicals".

[28] Deccan Chronicle gave 2.5 out of 5 stars stating "Directors like Gowariker do no service to the nation or their audience by twisting the truth, ignoring military, diplomatic, common sense follies and rewriting history with jingoistic fervour".

Critics linked the rising number of Bollywood films with negative Muslim characters, such as the portrayal of Alauddin Khilji as a cruel and vicious ruler in the film Padmaavat (2018), as an attempt by the industry executives to align with India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, a Hindu nationalist party led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

[30] The Panipat trailer depicted Ahmed Shah Durrani as a ruthless and brutal ruler[32] and Afghans as 'battle-hardened, blood-thirsty savages'.

The Telegraph India reported that films like Padmaavat (2018), Kesari (2019) and Panipat have stereotyped and vilified Afghans as brutal, cold-blooded and treacherous.

Ajmal Alamzai, the cultural attache at the Afghan embassy in New Delhi, claimed that he had made several unsuccessful attempts to contact the director of the film.