Chhava

We saw this film at a morning show today as we could not get good seats over the weekend. The film is based on the life of Sambhaji Maharaj, elder son of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and covers the period after the death of Shivaji. It is based on a marathi novel of the same title authored by Shivaji Sawant. It chiefly depicts the ferocious battles waged between the mughals led by their ruler Aurangjeb and the marathas led by Sambhaji.

Vicky Kaushal has given a standout performance in the lead role of Sambhaji. He has brought out the valour, the immense physical and mental strength and the pride of Sambhaji quite brilliantly. Akshay Khanna has played the cunning, cruel and fanatic ruler Aurangjeb with maturity and elan. Rashmika plays Yesubai, wife of Sambhaji, called Shri Sakhi in the movie, with an expressive face. Ashutosh Rana has played Hambirrao Mohite, Chief captain of Sambhaji's army, with expertise. Diana Penty plays the role of Aurangjeb's daughter, Divya Dutta appears as Rajmata Soyrabai in a brief role. There are also roles played by marathi actors Kiran Kirmarkar, Santosh Juvekar, Suvrat Joshi and Sarang Sathe.

The film shows several field battles starting with Sambhaji's raid on Burhanpur. The famous guerilla warfare of the marathas has also been shown in subsequent battles. Sambhaji is caught due to the betrayal of his own men. The chained Sambhaji is brought before Aurangjeb who tries to break him by subjecting him to unimaginable brutality but Sambhaji dies without even a single shriek of pain, with full honour and pride, dashing the sadistic expectations of Aurangjeb. The audience is stunned by the scenes of final twenty minutes.

The music of A.R. Rehman in the film is quite ordinary and fails to impress. Perhaps Ajay-Atul would have been a better choice considering their background. The direction of Laxman Utekar is promising. The film has already grossed 444 crores worldwide on the box office in 10 days and is the first big success of 2025. It will surely finish with a lot more. 


Ravindra Shenolikar 

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