The Storyteller's Lens

Where a king’s roar met a tyrant’s silence — and history trembled.

Chhaava – A King’s Thundering Roar. A Tyrant’s Ominous Silence.

Nothing much to say about the first half — it was all a build-up to the second.
TBH, it was a build-up for the last 45 minutes.

K & K (Kaushal & Khanna) stole the show.
When either was on screen, the rest of the cast faded into the background.
But when both shared screen space?

A battle beyond words.

Vicky killed it with his lion’s roar.
The way they dragged him in chains before Aurang — it wasn’t a prisoner being brought in.
It was a wounded beast — dangerous, defiant, and more lethal than ever.

That scene, for me, had more impact than even the last.
The rattle of chains drowned beneath furious snarls and primal screams.
Chained, wounded, but unbroken, he lets out a roar — a raw, thunderous battle cry.

Vicky didn’t just play Sambhaji Maharaj.
He became him.
I saw THE Raje.
A warrior who refused to bow.

Akshaye nailed it with his stillness and simmering, savage silence.
In all his previous movies, even Humraaz, there was always a softness in his eyes.
But this?
I have no idea how he turned that into this.

From the very first scene, there was no Akshaye — only Aurangzeb.
Fewer dialogues compared to Raje, yet his eyes spoke volumes.
Arrogance, ego, obstinacy — all slowly sliding into helpless fury, wounded pride, jealousy…
and finally, weariness.
A quiet disbelief — how could a man like Sambhaji even exist?

He exuded a rare kind of power — no theatrics, just simmering, controlled savagery.
And it perfectly matched Raje’s unbroken fire.

Both made it nearly impossible to separate performance from reality.
They didn’t act.
They BECAME.

Even the torture scenes — nothing was dragged out.
Every moment was measured, presented exactly as it should be.
Did I flinch, cringe, feel the pain of what Raje endured?
Of course.
There was no way around that.

But beyond that, there was pride — pride that a man like Sambhaji Bhosale stands in my history.
No wonder the Marathas stand so tall.

The music / background score could have been stronger.
Rashmika tried, but no — the accent didn’t work for me.
Forget speaking like a Maratha, she didn’t even look like one.

Special mention for Kavi Kalash (Vineet Kumar Singh).

Chhaava — An experience lived. A moment in history relived.