Chhaava

The cinematography in this movie is nothing short of spectacular.

. Art direction is superb.

. Every frame feels like a painting, with beautifully composed shots that highlight the grandeur of the Maratha Empire. Whether it's the vast expanse of a battlefield, the golden hues of a sunset over a fort, or the intricate detailing of a palace, the visuals transport the audience back in time. The use of lighting, especially in dramatic sequences, adds a poetic quality to the storytelling, making key moments even more impactful.

. Actors have performed well. Storytelling by the director is also engaging even with the limitations as per the biopic of such a legend which ends brutally as of betrayal.

. But at someplaces background music is too loud like other grand movies since the last two years in an influence of south indian commercial works!

Moreover, at many places the action movements took a complete opposite side from- laws of physics. Again like south indian movies.

. It focuses on pride, family, a son, a king, a selfless devotee & a warrior with extreme physical strength.

Best movie of this year yet.

So I suggest to everyone to watch this to know the history of forgotten heroes.

Watched the big historical action release of Maddock CHAAVA directed by Laxman Utekar. The film stars Vicky Kaushal in the lead as Chatrapati Sambhaji and Akshaye Khanna as the ruthless Mughal emperor Aurangzeb and the film focusses on their clash.

Sambhaji as an important historical character of Maharashtra and there are various shades and different topics discussed and debated on him. However his battle with the Mughal army and torcher and finally execution under orders of hardliner Aurangzeb is discussed lot.

The film is supposed to be based on Shivaji Sawants popular novel Chaava and doesn't cover other aspects of Sambhaji's life,which we read in childhood in Amar Chitra Katha.

The film is a big budget actioner based on history and has lots of dramatic sequences. The film's treatment of the subject is very clear and characters are either pure white or pure black. The film though based on real incidents also involves lot of larger than life frames and fiction too. To be honest I felt the writers and makers haven't been able to make the film very gripping. The film starts well and then loses pace and then picks up and then loses and so on. There is lot of action but barring the final battle ,I found the other fights quite unreal with loads of VFX. There are some scenes which are impactful and especially Vikki vs Akshaye get maximum attention.

The film has huge hangover of Bajirao Mast Ani,Padmavati,Tanaji and Jodha Akbar but is not close to either of them in terms of impact and emotional feel. The pre climax of extreme violence and torcher though from history but was very uncomfortable to watch on big screen.

Of the performances Ashutosh Rana and Vineet Singh leave a mark. Rashmika I felt was totally out of place. Akshaye Khanna as the uni dimensional maniac monarch Aurangzeb was menacing. Though he doesn't have much dialogues but his look as the old Alamgir makes him the big bad villain. The film belongs to Vikki Kaushal who again pumps life in a real character after Sardar Udham Singh and Sam Bahadur. He has worked hard on the film and honestly it's his hard work which lifts the film of the negative points.

On the whole Chaava tries hard to be a patriotic historical actioner but works only in parts.

The movie was good; the acting from everybody was top-notch except for Rashmika; every time she's on the screen, you'd wanna scroll through Instagram reels instead of watching her. Best thing about this movie is Akshay Khanna as Aurangzeb. Vicky's casting as ShambhaJi was Excellent too but his voice wasn't to the mark for the role, he lacked heaviness and bass in his voice which makes his dialogues a little less energetic and enthusiastic. Over-all it was one time kinda watch. CLIMAX WAS EXCELLENT THO. But expected way too much from this movie, I dont think it'd leave a mark on People's heart. Plus it'd have been better if the director had casted someone else instead of Rashmika. She's just awful. She can't act. She shouldn't be in bollywood or maybe she shouldn't do roles that require ACTING cause she can't act.

Movie was good; though whoever directed the background music totally effed it up, I had to shut my ears every time a fight scene came.

Also I think it should have had more Marathi dialect, rashmika's hindi sounded a bit off, action scenes were really good, though they should've shown some tactical schemes by marathas, as they were known for their tactics and skills.

There were a lot of politics going on during that time, movie did not cover it however it is based on the life of Shambha ji's life and the movie did good there, costume and makeup artists did a really good job. The first half seemed a bit off, although movie caught the rhythm by the second half.

First, let me clarify - I'm not undermining the efforts of the actors. Vicky Kaushal is an absolute delight to watch, and he truly looks the part. There's no doubt he has completely embodied the essence of the character - he feels like fire, water, earth, and air all at once. His portrayal is exactly what this role needed.

However, here's what didn't work for me:

• Lack of Memorable Characters - Apart from Kavi Kalash (played brilliantly by Vineet Kumar Singh), there aren't any other standout characters. The film needed more people we could connect with and care about.

• Casting of Yesubai - Rashmika Mandanna might visually fit the role, but let's be honest-this character should have been played by a Marathi actress. The fact that the makers chose a non-Hindi (let alone non-Marathi) speaking actor suggests they prioritized mass appeal over authenticity and storytelling.

• Background Score - I didn't even realize A. R. Rahman composed the music until I heard his signature cooing mid-film. And honestly, that realization left me disappointed. The background score wasn't always impactful, and at times, it was so loud that it drowned out the dialogues.

• Guerilla Warfare Strategy? - When Sambhaji Maharaj discusses his guerrilla tactics against the Mughals, the scene feels more like exaggerated jingoism rather than actual strategic planning. Was there really no better historical documentation to flesh out this sequence with more authenticity? Instead, whatever the characters predict in that scene unfolds exactly over the next 40 minutes, making the whole sequence feel simplistic and underdeveloped.

- Dialogue & Screenplay Issues - For a good portion of the film, I barely felt there were any dialogues! It was mostly background music filling in the gaps, seemingly covering up weak writing. The first 120 minutes felt like a prolonged setup, leading to the torture sequence - which, while impactful, doesn't make up for the lack of depth in the earlier part of the movie.

Final Thoughts

Brilliant acting, but that's about it. I felt the same way after watching Sam Bahadur - where key moments of strategy and planning were rushed through a poorly placed song. Instead of truly experiencing the peak of the story, we're only shown it from a distance and told, "This is where we're going," but never actually taken there. That's Chhaava in a nutshell-visually striking, but ultimately unsatisfying.