Chhaava: Vicky Kaushal Finally Addresses Controversy Over Now-deleted Lezim Dance Scene, Says ‘Was An Effort To Take…’

Vicky Kaushal is gearing up for the release of his upcoming periodic drama Chhaava, which is based on Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj. A few weeks ago, the makers unveiled the trailer of the movie, leading to major controversy over a lezim dance sequence featuring his character Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj dancing. Following the objection from a section of politicians and history enthusiasts, director Laxman Utekar met Raj Thackeray and assured that they would delete the shots of lezim. It is a folk dance from the state of Maharashtra which involves a small musical instrument of the same name.

Now, as the makers have removed the scene, Vicky at a promotional event in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar said the now-deleted scene was an effort from the makers to promote Maharashtra’s culture worldwide.

Kaushal, who interacted with the media, said the intent of the cast and crew of Chhaava was clear right from the outset. He said, “Not a single day went by when we didn’t start work on the film without the Shivgarjana (slogans about the courage of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj). The lezim part was just for 20-30 seconds (in the film). Not just a (part of the) story but it was an effort to take our culture to the globe.”

“Sambhaji Maharaj was a king of the people and if someone asked him to play (lezim) with them, the king would definitely oblige. But if his followers feel it was a bit off… It is not important to the story of the movie, so we have removed it,” the actor added.

Kaushal further clarified that the film is based on novelist Shivaji Sawant’s Marathi book titled Chaava.

The actor, who has played real-life characters in his previous movies said the preparation for Chhaava went on for almost a year. It almost took a year to get the costumes and jewellery ready. For the unversed, the costumes are locally procured and are not rented. He personally took seven months to prepare for his role, such as growing long hair, and a beard. He also studied the language and culture, developed the physique, and underwent training for action sequences.

In an interview with Bollywood Hungama, Laxman narrated an incident when they were shooting a torture scene. He said Vicky was tied up the whole night to shoot a scene and this process left him injured as his arms numbed and refused to come down as they were blocked. He further shared that injury impacted the production and they had to dismantle the whole set. Interestingly, the first day of shooting the torture scene happened on the same day when Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj (on whom the movie is based) was actually tortured.

“The whole night, Vicky’s hands were tied up, and when we removed the ropes, his hands refused to come down—they were blocked. We had to take a one-and-a-half-month break, and the set had to be dismantled during that period. We gave him time to recover, rebuilt the set, and resumed shooting afterward,” the Chhaava director recalled.

Chhaava also stars Rashmika Mandanna as Maharani Yesubai and Akshaye Khanna as Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. The movie is slated to hit the theatres on February 14.