Chhaava

Chhaava (transl. Lion cub) is a 2025 Indian Hindi-language historical action film based on the life of Sambhaji Maharaj, 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 Rashmika Mandanna and Akshaye Khanna.
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 drew controversy for its historical inaccuracies. Commercially, it has earned ₹790.14 crore (US$92 million) to rank the highest-grossing Indian film of 2025, and the highest-grossing Hindi film of 2025. It also ranks as the eighth highest-grossing Hindi film of all time and the thirteenth highest-grossing Indian film of all time.
A messenger informs Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb about the demise of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Despite admitting the loss of a redoubtable adversary, Aurangazeb announces a celebration while his courtiers are confident that the Maratha Confederacy will subside. Nevertheless, Sambhaji, Shivaji's son and his successor, has undertaken the initiative to uphold the resistance and plunders Burhanpur, a pivotal Mughal province, abruptly. The custodians of Burhanpur are overwhelmed by the Maratha army and succumb to the attack; amidst the battle, Sambhaji steps on a trapdoor and falls into a chamber containing a detrimental lion but he bravely faces the animal and splits its jaw apart using his bare hands. Aurangzeb becomes aware of the attack and realizes that the Maratha resistance prevails. He commences a huge military crusade to protect his authority.
Meanwhile, Sambhaji is welcomed home by his dutiful 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 her son Rajaram on the throne. Elsewhere, Aurangzeb's army raid 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 relents, Akbar exposes his own discreet communications with Soyarabai and her intentions 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 attacks.
Meanwhile, Aurangzeb feels insulted by persistence 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 apostatizing, Sambhaji convenes a conference and inspires them to fight 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. 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 but he refuses to renounce his ideals and declares that the Maraths will continue to fight for the "Swaraj". Kavi Kalash is subsequently executed and Sambhaji is subjected to brutal torture: he is beaten and salt is promptly rubbed on his wounds; his fingernails are pulled out; hot iron rods are pierced into his eyes and his tongue is pulled out. Nevertheless, he remains defiant and eventually dies; Aurangzeb is left dissatisfied and grieves over not having a son like him.
Elsewhere, Yesubai endorses the Maratha resistance on behalf of her dead husband and crowns Rajaram as the Chhatrapati. A textual epliogue reveals that the Maratha Empire eventually triumphed and the Mughal Empire collapsed within three decades after Sambhaji's death.
In 2021, Laxman Utekar told Dinesh Vijan that he wanted to make a film with Vicky Kaushal and Rashmika Mandanna. In December 2022, it was reported that Utekar was working on a historical biopic, based on the Marathi novel Chhava by Shivaji Sawant. After completing script in January 2023, pre-production for the film began in April, and principal photography starting in October.
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 Rashmika 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. Vicky 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.
Laxman Utekar discussed his upcoming film with Vicky Kaushal during the shoot of Zara Hatke Zara Bachke (2023). 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 ₹10 crore (US$1.2 million) 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. Mandanna would be reportedly receiving ₹4 crore (US$470,000) remuneration. The same month, Ashutosh Rana and Divya Dutta join cast as Hambirrao Mohite and Soyarabai, respectively. Rana would be reportedly receiving ₹80 lakh (US$93,000) remuneration. Dutta later discussed her portrayal in an interview with Mid-Day in December 2024. On 4 December 2023, Pradeep Rawat joined the film's cast. 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 ₹2 crore (US$230,000) 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.
After filming concluded in May 2024, the movie entered post-production. The visual effects were handled by Assemblage Entertainment and ReDefine. Gary Brown and Simon Frame from Assemblage and Somesh Samit Ghosh from ReDefine served as the VFX supervisors for the film. On 11 February 2025, Pinkvilla reported that Ajay Devgn was hired to provide a voiceover for the film, completing his dubbing in the final week.
On 1 February 2025, the film was granted a U/A 16+ certification by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), with a runtime of 161 minutes and 50 seconds. The CBFC required certain modifications, including the replacement of dialogues in the first half and the removal of a scene featuring Maratha warriors in sarees. Additionally, the CBFC requested the inclusion of an audio-text disclaimer, mentioning the book the film is adapted from and clarifying that it does not aim to defame anyone or distort historical facts. Following backlash from certain Maharashtrian political figures for featuring a scene in the trailer in which Chatrapati Sambhaji and his wife perform lezim dance, Utekar decided to delete the sequence from the film.
The music of the film is composed by A. R. Rahman while the lyrics are written by Irshad Kamil and Kshitij Patwardhan. The first single titled "Jaane Tu" was released on 31 January 2025. The second single titled "Aaya Re Toofan" was released on 6 February 2025. The album launch event was held on 13 February 2025.
The teaser of the film was showcased before the preview shows of Stree 2, and was later released on social media on 19 August 2024, coinciding Raksha Bandhan. The film's trailer was released on 22 January 2025.
Initially set to release on 6 December 2024, the film was later postponed to 14 February 2025. The film was simultaneously released in Russia. The film has been declared tax-free in Madhya Pradesh and Goa. The Telugu language dubbed version of the film was released on 7 March 2025. Chaava received a positive response and performed well at the box office following its theatrical release.
The film's digital streaming rights were acquired by Netflix. It is set to release on Friday, 11 April 2025.
The film was distributed by Pen Marudhar in India and Yash Raj Films internationally. The Telugu version was distributed by Geetha Arts in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
As of 3 April 2025, Chhaava has grossed ₹701.30 crore (US$82 million) domestically and ₹88.84 crore (US$10 million) overseas for a worldwide gross of ₹790.14 crore (US$92 million).
Chhaava had a strong opening day, particularly in the state of Maharashtra, grossing ₹33.10 crore (US$3.9 million) in India. The film collected ₹157 crore (US$18 million)–₹164 crore (US$19 million) worldwide in its opening weekend, making it Laxman Utekar's highest-grossing film, surpassing his previous film Luka Chuppi, which earned ₹128.6 crore (US$15 million). It grossed US$2.2 million in its opening weekend in the US. On 19 February 2025, the film earned ₹33 crore (US$3.9 million) and become the ninth fastest Hindi film to reach ₹200 crore club and also setting a record for the highest collection on a first Wednesday. In its first week, the film earned ₹225 crore (US$26 million) in India and ₹310.50 crore (US$36 million) globally. By the second Saturday, it earned ₹44.10 crore (US$5.1 million). The film entered the ₹300 crore club in domestic market in its second weekend and crossed ₹400 crore (US$47 million) globally.
In its second week, the film collected ₹180.25 crore (US$21 million). On 1 March 2025, the film entered in ₹400 crore club in domestic market. The film earned ₹84.05 crore (US$9.8 million) in the third week and ₹55.95 crore (US$6.5 million) in the fourth week. Pinkvilla reported that the film grossed over ₹678 crore (US$79 million) worldwide while accumulated ₹95 crore (US$11 million) from international markets in 24 days. The film entered the ₹500 crore club in India in its fourth week and achieved ₹700 crore (US$82 million) worldwide in 25 days. The Telugu version opened with ₹2.5 crore (US$290,000). On March 11, 2025, the film's collection reached ₹516.8 crore (US$60 million), making it the sixth highest-grossing Hindi film, surpassing the Hindi total of ₹510.99 crore (US$60 million) achieved by Baahubali 2: The Conclusion. In the first week, the Telugu version grossed ₹11.8 crore (US$1.4 million), and by the second weekend, it earned ₹2.15 crore (US$250,000). By the second Monday, the total collection had reached ₹14.25 crore (US$1.7 million).
In its fifth week of release, Chhaava earned ₹30.60 crore (US$3.6 million) net, taking its total net collection to ₹530 crore (US$62 million) by the end of the week. On 36th day, the film collected ₹535 crore (US$62 million) net and grossed over ₹773.25 crore (US$90 million) worldwide. The following day, it exceeded ₹775.75 crore (US$91 million). Bollywood Hungama reported that the film grossed over ₹583.25 crore (US$68 million) in India and ₹785.50 crore (US$92 million) worldwide in 38 days. On 40th day of release, the film's earnings reached ₹787.5 crore (US$92 million). On the 41st day, the film earned over ₹698.65 crore (US$82 million) in India and ₹91 crore (US$11 million) internationally, bringing its total worldwide gross to ₹789.65 crore (US$92 million).
In the sixth week, the film earned ₹14.4 crore (US$1.7 million)–₹15.60 crore (US$1.8 million) net in India and become the second highest sixth week grosser Hindi film of all time. The Telugu version earned ₹15.86 crore (US$1.9 million) in three weeks. The film's net collection in its seventh week stands at ₹6.55 crore (US$760,000)–₹7 crore (US$820,000), including ₹2 lakh (US$2,300) from Telugu version, making it the second-highest after Stree 2 which collected ₹8.75 crore (US$1.0 million). According to The Financial Express, the worldwide gross collection has reached ₹800 crore (US$93 million), with a domestic net of ₹595 crore (US$69 million) while Jagran reported that the film crossed ₹600 crore (US$70 million) net in domestic markets. The domestic net surpassed ₹596 crore (US$70 million)–₹600 crore (US$70 million) in 50 days.
Chhaava has become the highest-grossing film in Maharashtra, surpassing Pushpa 2: The Rule, which earned ₹250 crore (US$29 million). As of 18 March 2025, the film garnered 2.75 crore (27.5 million) footfalls.
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 36% of 11 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.2/10.
Prasanna Zore of Rediff rated the film 4 out of 5, writing "Chhaava deserves 2 stars for the historically half-baked film that it is, but 4 stars just for its attempt on making a film on Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj". Zee News gave 4 stars out of 5 stars and wrote "Chhaava is much more than just an action-packed period drama; it's a film that resonates with its historical significance while maintaining its emotional core." Pooja Biraia Jaiswal of The Week rated 3.5 stars out of 5 stars and wrote "The film showcases regality and grandeur, adrenaline-pumping action sequences and punchy dialogues, but interestingly, it does all of that and more, while ensuring it doesn't lose track of the plot and the narrative that runs beautifully across all its frames."
Nishad Thaivalappil of News18 rated the film 3.5 out of 5 and the reviewer highlights Vicky Kaushal's outstanding portrayal of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj and praises the film for effectively capturing his legacy. Kusumika Das of Times Now awarded 3.5 stars out of 5 stars and wrote "While Utekar’s storytelling could have been tighter, his attempt is commendable. Most notably, Chhaava unveils a fierce, unrelenting Vicky Kaushal in a historical saga." Renuka Vyavahare of The Times of India have 3.5 stars out of 5 stars and wrote "Chhaava’s excellence lies in its gripping second half and a terrific climax." Devesh Sharma of Filmfare rated 3.5 stars out of 5 stars and noted that Chhaava succeeds in delivering a high-intensity action film, anchored by Vicky Kaushal's powerhouse performance. However, he pointed out that the film doesn't fully delve into the complexities of Sambhaji's character, leaving much of his multifaceted legacy unexplored.
Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express, gave 2.5 out of 5 rating and wrote "Vicky Kaushal is fully committed in Laxman Utekar’s ultra-loud, ultra-violent, and exhausting film". Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV gave 2.5 stars out of 5 and said that "The film, has far greater depth than the top-heavy treatment that it deploys India order to pay tribute to Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj". Pratikshya Mishra of The Quint gave it 2.5 stars and commented that "Unlike its protagonist, who often runs into battle like a man possessed even when the odds seem stacked against him, the film simply wasn’t brave enough to take that leap." Tushar Joshi of India Today wrote, "Chhaava doesn't aim to be exceptionally different, but it masters the art of navigating the mainstream waters without completely drowning in the cacophony of its own voice."
Rahul Desai of The Hollywood Reporter India observed that "Chhaava is neither romanticised nor pulpy. It’s just scared. So scared that only gods and demons can afford to exist. So scared that it’s blinded by its own reflection." Anuj Kumar of The Hindu said that "Struggling to choose between history and the current nationalist sentiment, Laxman Utekar’s unsurprising narrative finds its voice in the final. Nandini Ramnath of Scroll.in said in her review that "Laxman Utekar takes us through every bit of this ordeal – it’s what Chhaava has been building up to. The Christ-like imagery is apposite, given the all-round love for medieval punishment. But the film’s lack of feeling is vivid too, with shouty speechifying mistaken for heartfelt passion and sumptuous visuals confused for grandeur."
Dinesh Vijan was threatened with a ₹100 crore (approximately US$12 million) lawsuit for allegedly depicting historical inaccuracies and misrepresentation. The Shirke family, claiming to represent the descendants of historical figures portrayed in the film, raised objections, alleging that their ancestors were wrongly depicted as traitors. Director Laxman Utekar responded to the controversy by apologizing for any unintentional distress caused and clarified that the film does not explicitly name the families or villages of the concerned historical figures. A historian, Indrajit Sawant, claimed that he faced threats and caste-based abuse for challenging the film's historical accuracy, alleging that it distorts history by wrongly portraying Soyarabai Bhosale as one of the antagonists instead of Annaji Datto, the Sachiv for Shivaji Maharaj. Sawant cited contemporary accounts suggesting Brahmin clerks betrayed Sambhaji to the Mughals, leading to his capture.
After its release, Chhaava is alleged to reignite the wave of hate and hostility against Muslims across India, and is one of the few movies to do so after The Kashmir Files and The Kerala Story. Several politicians like Abu Azmi and Asaduddin Owaisi criticized the movie and praised Aurangzeb, which led to backlash among right-wing Hindu organizations and Bharatiya Janata Party leaders. Right wing groups like Vishva Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal condemned the glorification and threatened to demolish the tomb of Aurangzeb, located in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (formerly known as Aurangabad), as they claimed it as a reminder of “centuries of oppression, atrocities, and slavery” of Hindus during his rule. The incident subsequently led to riots across Nagpur on 17 March 2025 and several law enforcement officers were injured in the clash, with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis urging for calm and condemning any glorification of Aurangzeb. He blamed the movie for the Nagpur violence.