Chhaava
Short description
Set in the 17th century, this historical action drama follows the struggle for power between the Maratha and Mughal empires. After the death of Shivaji, the founder of the Maratha state, his son Sambhaji leads the resistance against the forces of Aurangzeb. The story focuses on the battles and political intrigue as Sambhaji continues his father's challenge to Turkic-Muslim rule.
The film was directed by Laxman Utekar, marking his second directorial effort following Zara Hatke Zara Bachke and preceding Eetha. Produced by Dinesh Vijan through Maddock Films, the production featured a screenplay by Laxman Utekar, Rishi Virmani, and Kaustubh J. Savarkar. The cast is led by Vicky Kaushal, who portrays Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, alongside Rashmika Mandanna, Akshaye Khanna, Ashutosh Rana, Divya Dutta, and Pradeep Ram Singh Rawat.
With a budget of 16 million USD, the movie earned 84 million USD at the worldwide box office. Audience reception has been generally positive, with a rating of 7.3/10 based on 43,000 votes on IMDb and 7/10 from 63 votes on TMDB. In contrast, film critics gave the movie a lower rating of 5.5/10 based on 13 reviews.
What's left behind the scenes
- Santosh Juvekar was initially offered the role of Ganjya, but it was then given to Sarang Sathaye, and Juvekar was cast as Rajaji Malge.
- Anil Kapoor was initially considered for the role played by Akshay Khanna, but he was already committed to several projects and unable to find time for another shoot.
- To better convey the relationship between their characters on camera, Akshay Khanna and Vicky Kaushal did not communicate with each other at all.
- To build muscle mass, Vicky Kaushal significantly increased his diet (6,000 kilocalories per day) and gained 25 kg during filming.
- Vinay Kumar Singh sustained an injury during the filming of the Battle of Burhanpur when he was thrown from a horse. The actor fell on his back and, upon getting up, realized he had completely lost feeling in his body. Singh was prescribed a course of physiotherapy, but continued filming battle scenes at the same time.
- Director and screenwriter Laxman Utekar wanted to adhere closely to the script during the filming of the torture scenes endured by Sambhaji, played by Vicky Kaushal. The actor's makeup took 4.5 hours (7-8 makeup artists worked on the entire body, including the chest, back, arms and legs). The actor never complained. A prosthetic tongue was created for the scene where his character's tongue is torn out, and was fitted over the actor’s own tongue.
- After the release of the first trailer, the Marathi people (an ethnic group in India) objected to a scene in which the characters played by Vicky Kaushal and Rashmika Mandanna perform a folk dance called “lezim” or “lacchim”. Director and screenwriter Laxman Utekar consulted with historians and ultimately cut the entire scene from the film. Therefore, the final version of the film simply shows Sambhaji's ascension to the throne without any dance movements.
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