Chhaava
Chhaava is a 2025 Indian Hindi-language epic historical action film based on the life of Sambhaji, the second ruler of the Maratha Empire, who is played by Vicky Kaushal. An adaptation of the Marathi novel Chhava by Shivaji Sawant, it is directed by Laxman Utekar and produced by Dinesh Vijan under Maddock Films. The cast also includes Akshaye Khanna and Rashmika Mandanna.
Pre-production began in April 2023; filming commenced in October 2023 and ended in May 2024. The film score and soundtrack album were composed by A. R. Rahman while the lyrics were written by Irshad Kamil and Kshitij Patwardhan.
Chaava was released in theatres on 14 February 2025 in standard and IMAX formats. The film received mixed reviews from critics and sparked controversy due to its historical inaccuracies and religious issues. Commercially, it has earned – to rank the third-highest-grossing Indian film of 2025, and the second highest-grossing Hindi film of 2025. When the film was taken off the screens, it was the eighth highest-grossing Hindi film in Indian film history.
Plot
A messenger informs Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb of the death of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Although Aurangzeb acknowledges the loss of a formidable enemy, he announces a celebration. His courtiers are confident that the Maratha Confederacy will soon collapse. However, Shivaji’s son and successor, Sambhaji, quickly takes charge of continuing the resistance. He launches a sudden attack on Burhanpur, a key Mughal province. The city’s defenders are caught off guard by the Maratha army and are defeated in the assault. During the battle, Sambhaji steps on a trapdoor and falls into a chamber housing a lion. He bravely faces the animal and splits its jaw apart with his bare hands. Aurangzeb learns of the attack and realises that the Maratha resistance endures. He commences a huge military crusade to protect his authority.Meanwhile, Sambhaji is welcomed home by his wife Yesubai, where he is formally crowned as the Chhatrapati. However, his stepmother, Soyarabai, and a few courtiers including Annaji Datto Sachiv, conspire to overthrow Sambhaji and install Soyarabai's son, Rajaram, on the throne. Elsewhere, Aurangzeb's army raids villages, committing mass murders, arson, and rapes while simultaneously taking several inhabitants as slaves and subjecting them to torture. Mirza Muhammad Akbar, Aurangzeb's estranged son, seeks assistance from Sambhaji to rebel against his father. When Sambhaji hesitates, Akbar exposes his own discreet communication with Soyarabai and her intention to subvert the king; a devastated Sambhaji promises to protect Akbar and executes the treacherous courtiers while Soyarabai is confronted by Hambirrao Mohite, her own brother and Sambhaji's loyal general.
Sambhaji implements guerrilla tactics to subdue Aurangzeb's forces, who incur heavy losses due to the attacks and the Deccan's challenging topography. Soyarabai soon dies of illness and Sambhaji takes the responsibility of Rajaram and arranges his wedding with Hambirrao's daughter, Tarabai. Hambirrao later dies in one of the battles. Meanwhile, Aurangzeb feels insulted by the persistent defeats and vows to remain uncrowned until Sambhaji is crushed. Zinat-un-Nissa, his daughter, plans to imprison her brother, Mirza Akbar, but Sambhaji foils her plans, sticking to his oath. Upon discovering that several Jagirdars are apostatising, Sambhaji convenes a conference in Sangameshwar and inspires them to fight and sustain the Confederacy. However, Yesubai's resentful brothers deceive Sambhaji and help the Mughals in locating him on a night while he is with a small army of 150.
The Mughal army implements its ambush and the Maratha soldiers are heavily outnumbered; Maratha generals Santaji Ghorpade and Dhanaji Jadhav survive the onslaught and are instructed to leave and apprise Yesubai of the ambuscade. Sambhaji valiantly fights and kills many Mughal soldiers until he is captured alongside his friend and advisor, Kavi Kalash. Sambhaji and Kavi Kalash are carried off to the camps of Aurangzeb, who offers Sambhaji a chance to surrender and join hands with them, but he refuses to renounce his ideals and declares that the Marathas will continue to fight for "Swaraj". Kavi Kalash is subsequently executed and Sambhaji is subjected to a 40 days brutal torture: salt is rubbed on his wounds; his fingernails are pulled out; hot iron rods are pierced into his eyes, and his tongue is torn out. Nevertheless, he remains defiant and eventually succumbs to his injuries; Aurangzeb is left dissatisfied and grieves over not having a son like him.
Elsewhere, Yesubai endorses the Maratha resistance on behalf of her husband and crowns Rajaram as the next Chhatrapati. A textual epilogue reveals that the Maratha Empire eventually triumphed with the Mughal Empire collapsing within three decades of Sambhaji's execution by Aurangzeb.
Cast
Adapted from the closing credits:Production
Development
In December 2022, it was reported that Laxman Utekar was working on a historical biopic in an untitled film in which Vicky Kaushal's casting was under progress. They discussed the project and Kaushal has liked the material and would sign the project only after the full narration. As it was still in the writing proces, the shooting would commence after Kaushal finalise it. It was based on the Marathi novel Chhava by Shivaji Sawant. In January 2023, the project was confirmed which would mark Kaushal teams up with Utekar and producer Dinesh Vijan once again after their then-unreleased romantic comedy film co-starring Sara Ali Khan. The film was titled Chhava and Kaushal would play Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, the eldest son of the Maratha empire’s founder Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Rashmika Mandanna was cast to play role of Sambhaji Maharaj’s wife, as Yesubai Bhonsale. Maddock Films known for modest budget films, Chhava will be their most expensive project. Laxman Utekar said that even before he began writing the script in 2021 he wanted to cast Kaushal and Mandanna for the respective roles.Pre-production
Utekar and his team spent a year researching the 17th-century Maratha era, travelling to historical towns like Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, Ratnagiri, Pune, Nashik, and Paithan. Sheetal Sharma served as costume designer, sourcing authentic Paithani sarees and restored 500-year-old borders for Mandanna's character, Yesubai. To ensure authenticity, he visited Paithan and Narayanpeth to acquire Paithani and Narayanpeth sarees. Additional accessories were gathered from Kolhapur, Sawantwadi, and Ratnagiri. Sharma also mentioned that Vicky Kaushal's outfit in the first action sequence of the film weighed approximately 17–18 kg. Subrata Chakraborty and Amit Ray recreated jewellery and the sword Bhavani, drawing references from museums in London. Kaushal's portrayal of Sambhaji was based on historical busts and statues to ensure accuracy. A. R. Rahman was roped in to compose the score.The film was officially announced on 3 October 2023, when Maddock Films revealed its upcoming slate of theatrical releases, including the release date for Chhaava.
Casting and filming
discussed his upcoming film with Vicky Kaushal during the shoot of Zara Hatke Zara Bachke. In January 2023, Utekar confirmed that Kaushal would portray Sambhaji, marking their second collaboration following Zara Hatke Zara Bachke. Kaushal would be reportedly receiving a remuneration. Utekar mentioned that Kaushal would undergo four months of training in sword fighting, horse riding, and that shooting would begin once they were satisfied with his preparation. Vaibhav Vishant served as casting director. In August 2023, it was reported that Marathi actor Santosh Juvekar would play a pivotal role in the film. He was originally cast as Ganoji Shirke, but later, director Laxman Utekar met with him in his office and offered him the role of Rayaji Malge instead. During the same month, Juvekar and Kaushal underwent horse riding training in the Mumbai suburbs. During trailer launch, Kaushal revealed that he was trained in sword, stick, and spear fighting for 6–7 months. He also gained 25 kg weight for the role. During shooting in Raigad a set was constructed for the scene depicting Chhatrapati Sambhaji's ascension to the throne, featuring an eight-sided throne.By October 2023, it was reported that Kaushal had started his preparations for the film alongside co-star Rashmika Mandanna. The film's main shooting will begin in Mumbai in October 2023, with the first round of shooting scheduled for one week. Mandanna would be reportedly receiving remuneration. The same month, Ashutosh Rana and Divya Dutta join cast as Hambirrao Mohite and Soyarabai, respectively. Rana would be reportedly receiving remuneration. Dutta later discussed her portrayal in an interview with Mid-Day in December 2024. She said that she and Kaushal often communicated in Punjabi on set. On 4 December 2023, Pradeep Rawat joined the film's cast.
According to reports, Kaushal was seriously injured while filming a war scene. He was sidelined for nearly 20 days as a result. Mandanna wrapped up her portion of filming in January 2024, while Kaushal resumed filming in Wai on 9 March 2024, continuing until 6 April 2024. On 23 April 2024, Santosh Juvekar completed his portions. Earlier in the production process, the team had approached Anil Kapoor for the role of Aurangzeb, but in October 2023, Akshaye Khanna joined the cast in the role instead. He would be reportedly receiving for his remuneration. Diana Penty joined the film in the role of Zinat-un-Nissa Begum. Principal photography for the film wrapped in May 2024. Initially, Utekar had approached Marathi actor Ashok Shinde for a negative role, but Shinde declined the offer due to a scheduling conflict with his existing contract with Zee, as he revealed in a November 2024 interview with ItsMajja.