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Maintaining that audiences have a mind of their own, Virmani noted that there have been quite a few instances where the masses contradicted filmmakers’ theories, offering a movie a verdict that was the polar opposite of those predictions. “It is hard to believe that an entire mindset can be changed in just a couple of hours of screen time,” he noted during a conversation with Zoom. He added, “I have not seen this kind of attachment of the audience towards a film in a really long time.”
Based on the life of Sambhaji, the second ruler of the Maratha Empire, Chhaava was an adaptation of the Marathi novel of the same title, written by noted author Shivaji Sawant. The story and screenplay of the Bollywood film were penned by director Laxman Utekar and Rishi Virmani, along with Kaustubh Savarkar, Unman Bankar, and Omkar Mahajan. Virmani also penned the film’s dialogues. Maintaining that Sambhaji should have received cinematic honour and tribute long ago, he added, “I hope and pray that Chhaava and Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj make it to everyone’s hearts, nationally and internationally.”
While Vicky Kaushal played Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, Rashmika Mandanna portrayed his wife, Yesubai Bhonsale, and Akshaye Khanna took on the role of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. Chhaava featured music and background score by AR Rahman, cinematography by Saurabh Goswami, and editing by Manish Pradhan. Mounted on a reported budget of Rs 130 crore, the movie grossed Rs 807.91 crore worldwide, according to industry tracker Sacnilk, becoming the third-highest-grossing Indian film of 2025, behind Dhurandhar (Rs 1,305.35 crore) and Kantara: Chapter 1 (Rs 852.36 crore).
Watch Chhaava trailer here:
While the movie became a massive success, it also sparked a communal riot in Nagpur, Maharashtra. Eventually, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis reportedly claimed that the “Chhaava movie ignited people’s anger against Aurangzeb.”
In a conversation with the BBC Asian Network last month, AR Rahman also attested to the claims that the historical actioner was, in fact, problematic. “It is a divisive film. I think it cashed in on divisiveness, but I think the core of it is to show bravery. I had asked the director: ‘Why did he need me for this film?’ He replied, ‘We need only you for this.’ It is an enjoyable film, but definitely, people are smarter than that. Do you think people are going to get influenced by movies? They have something called internal conscience, which knows what the truth is, and what manipulation is.”
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