‘Chhaava’ review: A brutally violent version of Maratha history

Laxman Utekar’s Chhaava sets itself apart from the average sword-and-dhoti epic. Utekar’s Hindi biopic of the 17th-century Maratha monarch Sambhaji aggressively foregrounds the perceived brutality of the past.

There’s no room for politesse or euphemism in Utekar’s account of Sambhaji’s nine-year reign following the death of his father, Shivaji, the brilliant founder of the Maratha empire. This movie’s Sambhaji (Vicky Kaushal) is more than willing to leap into the thick of battle and fight shoulder-to-shoulder with his men.

He wears his blood-soaked robes proudly. He declares his commitment to swarajya, or self-rule, from the rooftops. When he does sit on the throne, he appears restless, as though he cannot wait to launch yet another sally against his bete noire Aurangzeb (Akshaye Khanna).

Several Bollywood historicals are hysterical. This one is angry, hostile even. Its bellicose tone is like Chandraprakash Dwivedi’s Samrat Prithviraj (2022), while some of its action sequences resemble scenes from the Partition. The thirst for comeuppance, vengeance and macho reprisal is stark, making for a frequently violent, often draining experience.

The 161-minute film spans the period between 1681 and 1689, the year of Sambhaji’s gruesome death. Aurangzeb expresses regret that with Shivaji’s demise, he has lost a worthy challenger. Aurangzeb and his courtiers, which include his purdah-less daughter Zeenat...

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