It’s often rare for film stars to be able to wear the shoes of their characters and become those characters. It’s not just sets and costumes that give you a taste of history; it is the actor who makes you believe in the character.
Vicky Kaushal in his masterpiece performance plays the role of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj aka Chhaava, the courageous son of Chhatrapati Shivaji, who puts life into the character. With his emotions, mannerisms, actions, and dialogues Kaushal is living the life of Sambhaji on screen in an outstanding manner in this action-drama flick directed by Laxman Utekar. Kaushal’s performance has been the most promising and illustrious undoubtedly.
Akshaye Khanna playing the dreaded Mughal Emperor, makes you believe that he is the real Aurangzeb, exhibiting all his eccentricities & atrocities, his insecurities & arrogance, his cruelty and carnage in this film. He has lived his character throughout the film till the end where he kills his own General Alamgeer.
The film starts around the times of coronation of Sambhaji as the King of the Maratha Empire, which was spread from Konkan to Karnataka and picturizes epic battles fought between Mughals and Maratha. Aurangzeb on a manhunt for Sambhaji, leaves Delhi with his army of 10 Lakh and spends more than 8 years to find Sambhaji, ambushing him to capture with the help of traitors stonewalling Sambhaji’s idea of creating a Hindavi Swaraj – The Self Rule of Maratha.
When the two key characters, Sambhaji and Aurangzeb, keep you thoroughly hooked into the movie and the restlessness of Aurangzeb to capture Sambhaji and the sheer grit exhibited by Sambhaji to fight keeps you fully engaged.
The ravines, the jungles, the rivers, and the mountains, all become the playground for these battles where Sambhaji comes out as the true leader. The cinematography is brilliant with a lot of aerial shots, and the cinematic presentation is simply awesome with many special effects, which could have been better. The artistic design and the details captured in the sets give you a real feel of the Sambhaji Kingdom as well as the lives of the Mughals in the war zone.
Rashmika Mandana playing Maharani Yesubai Bhonsle and Ashutosh Rana as Sambhaji’s uncle Hambir Rao do full justice to their roles. Hambir Rao as a strategist and a warrior exhibits his emotional expressions brilliantly, while Queen Yesubai comes across as a strong wife, a caring mother, and a perfect administrator of the Maratha Kingdon when Sambhaji is away fighting the enemies. Her portrayal as a queen of the Maratha empire is superb as she slips into the role without much effort.
Dinesh Vijan has produced the film under the banner of Maddock Films, and AR Rahman has given the music. The background score is impressive, and the songs fit into the narrative well invoking a patriotic feeling.
Chhaava is a brilliant big-screen experience, where every shot is spectacular and a visual treat. It’s a great mix of historical narratives told via modern storytelling.
STARS: 4 out of 5.
In Theatres on Friday, 14th February 2025.
