Chhaava is successfully running in its fourth week at present and the team of the film is over the moon, thanks to its blockbuster success. Bollywood Hungama exclusively spoke to Rishi Virmani, who wrote the clap worthy dialogues and was also one of the story-screenplay writers (along with Laxman Utekar, Kaustubh Savarkar, Unman Bankar and Omkar Mahajan) about the process and a lot more.
In a Bollywood Hungama exclusive interview with you in August 2023, you said “There’s nobody other than Vicky Kaushal whom you could think of playing Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj”. Your words have proven to be true. What made you say so at that point in time?
The best part about Vicky is that he gets immersed into any character that he essays. When we were imagining Vicky in the look of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, we realized that he has the most appropriate face for the part. The amount of hard work he puts into playing a character is also quite amazing. Moreover, we wanted somebody who would understand the character deeply and deliver accordingly. He ended up doing far more than what we had expected from him. He was very clear of not doing any other film until he completed shooting for Chhaava. There’s no actor who could deliver like him. He stands even in a smaller role like in Sanju (2018). You cannot forget him in that film.
Chhaava has many writers, including director Laxman Utekar. At the same time, since it's historical, you have to ensure that things are factual. Did these factors make the writing process challenging?
It was a bit easier thanks to these kind people who were on the writing team. They had read the book before me. They were also Maharashtrians and knew the world very well. I am from a non-Maharashtrian background. There were a lot of nuances and things about the culture that I was fully not aware of as much as they did. They helped me understand it and gave me direction. Also, they were quite passionate about the script as the subject was quite close to them. They worked very hard to put the screenplay together. The experience was overall challenging for them as when the subject is so close to you, it's very difficult to decide what to put and what not to.
How did you bag the film?
I have written two films for Laxman sir’s production house, Kahan Shuru Kahan Khatam (2024) and Nazar Andaaz (2022). We were also working on other stories before this film. Hence, we always intended to work together until we collaborated on these two films. While he was working on Chhaava, he was kind enough to think of me. He had read the book (‘Chhaava’ by Shivaji Sawant) by then and decided to make the film. Maddock Films had decided to produce it as well. He wrote the first draft of the story and screenplay from the book. Then, I joined him. It was my destiny; for this kind of film, they could have hired anybody. There was no problem of access and money. Choosing me to write something as critical as dialogues in a film like Chhaava was quite heartening. After all, this is a film that required those kinds of dialogues that would pull the audience to cinemas. Hence, I’ll forever be grateful to Laxman sir and Maddock.
The climax dialogue has led to a frenzy in cinemas. How was the dialogue locked? Did it happen for real?
The fact is that Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj was known for this; he refused to forcefully get converted and instead, sacrificed his life. We, of course, don’t know the exact choice of words. The title given to him is ‘Dharmarakshak’. Hence, this bit had to be in the film as it was the core of his fight.
Often, writers go for a ‘less is more’ strategy for a better impact. Was that implemented for Aurangzeb’s character as in many scenes, he communicated merely with his eyes?
I’d like to credit Akshaye Khanna sir for it. I felt that since Aurangzeb was such an interesting character, he should have his own impact in a film called Chhaava. As a result, I wrote a lot of lines to enhance that character. When I narrated the dialogues to him, he asked me, ‘Can I please speak less in this film?’! He had a valid point – the more precise Aurangzeb would be, the more threatening, capable and intelligent he would sound. I decided that if he was earlier going to speak ten lines, he would now speak only three lines. But how I wrote those three lines and yet left an impact was something I had to figure out. It was a tremendous experience for me and I would like to thank him for it.
Chhaava’s climax was one of a kind. How did you guys manage to walk the fine line and show so much bloodshed and yet ensure that it doesn’t get an ‘A’ certificate?
Though there was torture and the gory stuff that was difficult to see, there were also a lot of emotions in the middle of it. There was a conversation between the king and the queen, the voiceover of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and the scene of Kavi and Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj getting separated. These scenes balanced out the brutality. Hence, you are not watching the disturbing visuals together for a long time. At the same time, you see what someone has gone through for you. The reason why we were able to sit in a theatre and watch this film so peacefully is because of what had happened at that point in time. Otherwise, the world would have been a little different now. As a result, we wanted to watch it and not turn away. It should inspire and make them aware of what our heroes are made of.
How was it seeing Vicky Kaushal shoot for the climax?
It was a bizarre and crazy experience. We shot the climax in the first three days. It involved Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj being captured and tied up. After three days, we were supposed to shoot the meeting between Maharaj and Aurangzeb after nine years of war. During those three days, we had Akshaye shooting for us in the morning and evening and Vicky shooting separately for the other half of the day. Hence, they never met on the set; they didn’t even do the reading together. On the day we were supposed to shoot with them together, Vicky’s arm got injured. Since he was tied up the whole day, his arm got locked and he was unable to raise his arm. The shoot was cancelled and it was pushed to the next day. But he did not recover the next day. Hence, the makers decided to take two more days off. He still didn’t recover. We took a week off and even then, he didn’t recover. Finally, we had to cancel the shoot and dismantle the entire set. We took a one-month break. So, the way Maharaj and Aurangzeb were desperate to meet each other in real life, the same happened on our set as well!
Once Vicky recovered, he shot for the action in Wai – the portions of the nine-year war. Then the climax set was rebuilt. When Vicky came in front of Akshaye sir, the former had already finished shooting for the war. So, chronologically, the shoot proceeded the same way as it was there in the film. In fact, the day Vicky got injured was the same day when Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj was captured 335 years ago. It was an eerie coincidence.
Vicky Kaushal said in an interview that the shoot of the Rajya Abhishek sequence took place on January 16, the exact date when the real coronation happened at Raigad Fort in 1681…
Yes. We learned about it when we were shooting for it. It was brought to our notice by an archer who was working with us. We didn’t realize the coincidence as we were very busy shooting for the film. There were many people in the film who treated the set like a temple, and they felt like they were doing God’s duty by working on Chhaava. Some refused to take money as it was a film on Maharaj. Everyone in the unit blessed the film. I had never seen a set so pure.
The shot of the lezim was removed from the film and there was a lot of backlash. Your thoughts?
There are certain heroes, who have had a major impact in our lives, are never seen as ordinary people by the present generation. They are seen as ‘asamanya’ or extraordinary. Laxman sir said a very nice thing to me once ‘I have made the film for the people. If some people have reservations about seeing Maharaj playing the lezim, toh main zabarasti kyun dikhau? I like the scene, but the people don’t and the film is made for them’. Hence, we understood where it was coming from. It anyway was a small shot in the middle of the coronation sequence and did not really affect the narrative. Personally speaking, the scene looks better now after the removal of the lezim shot.
Also Read: Villagers in Burhanpur dig for Mughal gold through the night after watching Vicky Kaushal’s Chhaava
More Pages: Chhaava Box Office Collection , Chhaava Movie Review
BOLLYWOOD NEWS - LIVE UPDATES
Catch us for latest Bollywood News, New Bollywood Movies update, Box office collection, New Movies Release , Bollywood News Hindi, Entertainment News, Bollywood Live News Today & Upcoming Movies 2025 and stay updated with latest hindi movies only on Bollywood Hungama.
