“Sher Gaya, Lekin Chhaava Ab Bhi Jungle Mein Ghum Raha Hai”
Warning – this will be full of spoilers. Avoid reading if you haven’t watched it yet. Dekh aao fir padhna. Aur agar sirf verdict chahiye toh you can skip directly to the last paragraph. Kyuki, ‘Hum Shor Nahi Karte, Seedha Shikaar Karte Hain.’
Chhaava Ke Actors
Vicky Kaushal – Vicky has always been a good actor, it’s just that people don’t recognise someone unless they give back to back high box office collections. It’s wrong, haina? Vicky fully transformed himself as Sambhaji Maharaj, in his speech, his expressions, aggression, mannerisms and every emotion the script demanded. The best acting is when the actor can make you feel what the character is feeling, and Vicky just nails that aspect perfectly.
Akshaye Khanna – Could have never imagined that out beloved Jeetu From Videocon would one day turn into such a ruthless emperor Aurangzeb. Apart from looking the part, he portrays the mentality and cruelty very well. He is old, so there is not much to do physically, and his scenes are somewhat less, yet he makes you feel his presence. What an actor!
Rashmika Mandanna – If I just talk about her, she was good. She tried very hard to mask her real accent and sound like a Marathi Queen. While kudos to her efforts (as we know its not easy), I believe she was a miscast. I remember Priyanka Chopra from Bajirao Mastani, she was so good. Maybe Mrunal Thakur
Vineet Kumar Singh – Brilliant as always, Vineet impresses with his performance from the start till the end. Kavi Kalash ki kavitayein aur dosti ne dil jeet liya. “Hum namak hain, jaha jitna chahein istemal kar lijiye!”
Ashutosh Rana and Divya Dutta – Senior actors always play their part to the point and make their presence feel, no matter the screen time. Felt the same for both of them.
Neil Bhoopalam – He plays Aurangzeb’s son, Akbar (not to be confused with Jalal-ud-din Mohammed Akbar, the one played by Hrithik in Jodha Akbar). Limited screen time but he is a good actor so he did well for whatever was written for him.
Theatrical Experience
Vicky shines, there is no doubt about it. All the war scenes look spectacular on the big screen. The only character who equally impresses is Akshay Khanna as Aurangzeb. Every time he is on screen you will like him. There is not much to talk about music/songs as there’s hardly any. And nor does anything about cinematography. Not saying its a bad thing, just saying there is nothing special to point out. The last half an hour, where Chhaava is ambushed and then captured, is the highlight of the film. I have heard almost everyone loving it and the film ends on a very beautiful frame. It took me a while to get up from my seat, it was a lot to take in by the end.
Writing and Direction
The writing could have been better. It needed more depth both as a story and as characters. We needed to get more into the mindsets of Chhaava and Aurangzeb. The writing and screenplay felt more like a series of events than an immersive experience that sucks audience into the world of the film. While the film shows a good amount of subplots, characters and motives, it feels like they just touched the surface and never went deeper.
While the ambush and torture of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj was given good amount of screen time and executed with near perfection, it is the rest of the film which needed the same level of depth and care. I would have loved if the film passed the 3 hour mark in its runtime, as it would have allowed the makers to explore a lot more. Recent examples like Animal and old ones like Jodha Akbar show that if the film is immersive, if the audience is invested in the film, then runtime is not an issue.
Too much focus was give to make the film “cinematic” and that I feel took a lot of the time and mind to think about the in-depth aspects of the film. For example, we do not need too much slow-motion shots. Fights should be raw and real. We do not need BGM in every scene. Some scene, whether dramatic or action, should have been left without BGM. And definitely the BGM should not be overpowering dialogue.
Laxman Utekar has done 3 Hindi films before Chhaava and all of them are with Maddock Films – Luka Chuppi, Mimi and Zara Hatke Zara Bachke. So as a first attempt on such a big scale, I have all the love and respect for him. But if I have to talk about the quality of filmmmaking, then my top choices for Historical Period Films will be Jodha Akbar, Bajirao Mastani and Padmavat (in no particular order). I choose these for the quality of overall filmmaking and not because of any actor, director or anything else.
Creative Criticism
VFX
The wirework was visible. Not the wires themselves, but the movement of the actors are easily noticeable that they are not making a natural jump but were pulled by a cable. This may seem like nitpicking, but it is actually not. It is a major problem in Indian action department that I have spoken about a lot. With so many films releasing and audience consuming so much content, they have become smarter. So filmmakers too need to put in more efforts.
Music
Even though it was AR Rahman, I was not blown away. Aya Re Toofan is great. Some of the BGM are also good, but not all. When the Marathas attacked in Mughals in various geography (fields, forest, water, etc), there were different BGM for each and they were not good at all.
Another major problem was the Opera like singing (sorry I do not know the formal term) used majorly for Aurangzeb and few other places. This was a major problem with Fateh as well. This type of music feels good in films like Dune, but it does not suit at all for any Indian setting. I’ve heard many people having the same complaint. I don’t know how this was a creative choice accepted by all parties involved.
Action
Majortity of the action was good. I only have complaint is from a certain section of that land-water-air sequence where the Marathas attack the invading Mughals. We DO NOT NEED cinematic shots and slow motion throughout the action sequence. There was hardly anything in normal speed. Felt like every thing was shot in 60fps or higher with the mindset that it will be edited in slow-motion. Not everything needs to be cinematic. Fight sequences these days are appreciated for how real they appear. The BGM made it worse.
Also, these sequences were not executed well. All the focus went on to show Vicky Kaushal, the kills, the shots and slow-motion that logic and reality were sidelined. It felt like the Mughal army were all stupid people who did not even react. Everyone was just so stunned that they died like common folks. How did the Marathas jump up from the water like that? How were they just hanging by the ropes like Tarzan and no Mughal could do anything to them? How did they jump up from below the ground like that? In that one sequence in sugarcane field, the stretegy looked very good from the top angle. But from the front, the Mughal Troops died like brainless zombies. All this was compensated by slow-motion, BGM and close shots to make it look cinematic.
Please Note
Any criticism mentioned is only because we want the makers to take note and improve. There is no hate or any ill-will in the review. There is utmost love and respect for Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, the actors, the director and producer. I have loved the film, celebrated the film, and pushed my friends to go watch the film in theatres. But as a cinema love my criticism is always to take notes and be better.
Verdict/Recommendation
It is definitely a story every Indian should see, no matter what their state or religion is. And this deserves a theatre watch. You will not feel the same on mobile, laptop, tv screens. So if you are wondering, please go, you won’t be disappointed. Vicky Kaushal and Akshaye Khanna are at the top of their game! They deserve your love.
Author – Ishan Jain
Also check out: Fan Fiction – Animal | Alternate Ending
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Chhaava Chhaava Chhaava
