BOTTOM LINE
Vicky’s Roar Elevates the Epic
RATING
2.75/5
CENSOR
U/A, 2h 35m
What Is the Film About?
After Shivaji’s death, his son Sambhaji inherits the Maratha kingdom, facing threats from the Mughals, led by Aurangzeb, and internal conspiracies. While trying to uphold his father’s legacy and defending Swarajya (self-rule) against overwhelming odds, the film captures glimpses of his political mettle, military campaigns, and personal relationships,
Performances
Vicky Kaushal, in a high-pitched role as Maratha king Sambhaji, unleashes his complete range as a performer – striking a balance between action, romance and loud dialoguebaazi – with grace. It is, without doubt, a career-defining performance for the star. He is perfectly complemented by Rashmika Mandanna, who steps into the shoes of a resilient Maratha queen with poise and elegance.
Analysis
If there’s an emotion that encapsulates Chhaava as a film- it is anger. The men, the Marathas and the Mughals are hungry for power and vengeance alternatively. Chattrapati Shivaji has breathed his last after a prolonged illness and Aurangzeb calls for a celebration to signal the fall of the Maratha empire. The stage is set for his son Sambhaji to take charge of the kingdom at a vulnerable time.
Sambhaji has a lot at stake. As a son of Shivaji, he bears the burden of living upto his rich legacy and expectations from his subjects, while also keeping a check on the internal conspiracy around his throne and guarding it from the frequent threats of the Mughals. Denied of motherly love from a young age, Sambhaji transforms into a hardened man, who heals in his wife Yesubai’s presence.
In history, there are no heroes or villains, but cinema as a medium has consistently reduced the past to a simplistic battle between good and evil—though many other complex socio-political factors are also present. Chhaava, too, steers clear of such subtleties and is told through Sambhaji’s lens, unabashedly designed to celebrate his heroics in a time of strife and crisis.
In Sambhaji’s story – Aurangzeb is clearly depicted as the villain. However, what the film does exceedingly well is to lay a firm foundation for the ultimate conflict – focusing on the micro/macro details, the interpersonal relationships among the historical figures, the friendships and the tense equations, the war on and off the field, providing a holistic picture of the scenario among the Marathas.
The various dimensions of Sambhaji are brought out to the fore rivetingly – his compelling poetic exchanges with Chandogamatya, his exceeding trust in the army chief Hambirrao and the intimate conversations with Yesubai under moon-lit nights. Even when his stepmother Soyarabai plots a conspiracy to annex him and position her son as a king, he views it as a symbol of extreme motherly love.
Adding another layer of intrigue to the ambience is Sambhaji’s love-hate equation with Muhammed Akbar (the rebellious son of Aurangzeb), suggesting an unconventional friendship between two sons with contrasting pasts. There’s a consistent focus on Swarajya (self-rule) in every second dialogue – it is described as the larger motive behind Sambhaji’s wars.
Director Laxman Utekar doesn’t make this all about the men. Zinat-Un-Nissa (Aurangzeb’s daughter) is a witness to her father’s monstrous actions in the guise of expanding his empire. There’s a scheming aunt in Soyarabai, the mastermind behind a conspiracy to kill Sambhaji. Additionally, the king understands the price the women pay to send their men to war and empathises with their agony.
There’s a conscious effort to strike a balance between the bravura of the men and to accommodate their quieter, vulnerable moments in the screenplay. The creative choice to depict Sambhaji as a man haunted by visions from his childhood – and how they dictate his actions, is particularly interesting. While the tone of the film is largely loud, it is not uni-dimensional.
The cinematic language of Chhaava is designed to appeal to a mass audience – so there’s a regular emphasis on Sambhaji’s heroic qualities (you won’t hear a word otherwise), the action sequences are meticulously choreographed to generate emotional highs, the dialogues are filled with pompous descriptions about the Maratha legacy while undermining the Mughals at every given opportunity.
If the first hour is meant to please the drama-enthusiast, post-intermission, Chhaava is a relentless feast for action junkies. The Marathas and the Mughals fight it out at varied landscapes – forests, lakes, arid lands, lush green fields, regardless of rain, water, or sunshine. The specific focus on war strategies provides an edge to the proceedings – showcasing how Sambhaji’s army outsmarted Aurangzeb, despite falling short in the number game.
The storytelling is crafty, given the narrative pictures the gradual fall of the Marathas while capturing their resilience in time of adversity (Ashutosh Gowraiker’s Panipat, dealing with a similar story trajectory, struggled to achieve this effect). The harder task for a director is to depict heroism in the face of defeat and Utekar’s film soars to great heights in the last 45 minutes.
The use of poetry between Sambhaji and Chandogamatya in the presence of Aurangzeb’s men, the intercuts between Sambhaji and Yesubai’s close-ups in a tense hour, enrich the final moments – where the protagonist refuses to give up. The tone of the film is certainly exaggerated, but you also get a feeling that the director understands his target audience well and crafts his scenes accordingly.
The biggest fear around Chhaava’s trailer was the portrayal of the religious angle in the story. While the film captures the religious sentiments of the protagonist, the director takes enough care to ensure the battle isn’t communal by any means. Even in the climactic moments, where it would’ve been easy for the director to include provocative one-liners, there’s appreciable caution and restraint.
The stellar historical drama comes alive with powerful performances, a euphoric music score, vivid cinematography, and painstaking efforts in the production design and costume departments. After delivering several low-stakes hits like Mimi, Lukka Chuppi and Zara Hatke Zara Bachke, director-cinematographer Laxman Utekar ups the ante masterfully in a terrific historical drama.
Overall, Chaava is an epic historical drama aimed at the masses that delivers where it matters. It is mainly due to the terrific lead and the cinematic high towards the ending portions. If you like historicals with great performances and an emotionally drenched feeling while coming out, watch it. Chhaava deserves a big screen experience, go for it!
Performances by Others Actors
Akshaye Khanna, portraying the demonic side of Aurangzeb, is a show-stealer, internalising the barbaric ruler’s persona with a nuanced performance – the laidback body language, and the tense dialogue delivery, contribute to his aura. Other actors – Ashutosh Rana, Vineet Kumar Singh, Divya Dutta – pack a punch in meaty roles while Diana Penty’s spunky act as Aurangzeb’s daughter makes a mark too.
Music and Other Departments?
The idea of what’s a good AR Rahman album or not – keeps changing with time and the viewer gets to experience a different side of the composer (in comparison to historicals Jodha Akbar, Mohenjodaro and Ponniyin Selvan) with Chhaava. He sticks to the over-the-top, unabashed tone of the film, bringing in instinctive appeal without compromising on the musical value.
Saurabh Goswami’s picture-perfect, aesthetic frames significantly enhance its appeal – ably helped by the production and the costume designers. No discussion on the film would be complete without a mention of its raw action choreography – it would be safe to say that Chhaava sets a new bar for stunts in war dramas, without the use of much CGI/VFX (except the lion sequence).
Highlights?
Gripping treatment, strong detailing
Emotional highs, action
Superb performances
Highly impactful climax
Drawbacks?
Absence of enough vulnerability in the protagonist
Simplistic ‘good vs evil’ take on the story
The slightly lengthy second half
Proceeds on predictable lines
Did I Enjoy It?
Yes
Will You Recommend It?
Yes, if not for anything else, the half-hour stretch toward the end should be enough.
Chhaava Movie Review by M9
