Chhaava, the film starring Vicky Kaushal based on the life of Sambhaji Maharaj, son of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, has been breaking box office records since its release. It is reportedly on its way to becoming a colossal success, having earned approximately Rs. 489 crore, making it the highest-grossing Hindi film of 2025.
However, the Laxman Utekar-directed film has faced its share of controversies. Issues began to arise about a month ago, starting with backlash against a Lezim performance that drew criticism from some political figures in Maharashtra. Recently, the descendants of Maratha commanders Ganoji and Kanhoji Shirke have also claimed that the film does not portray their ancestors accurately.
Deepak Raje Shirke, a representative of the Shirke family, stated that the film depicts their ancestors as traitors who assisted Aurangzeb in capturing Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj. He expressed concern, saying, “Our reputation has been deeply affected. The whole of India now thinks of us as gaddar (traitors). If the filmmakers continue to ignore us, we will take to the streets in protest. The Shirke family numbers in the lakhs throughout Maharashtra.”
Deepak also mentioned, “Chhaava was, otherwise, a good film, and the story of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj should reach the audiences. Only the few controversial parts need to be removed.”
The family has threatened to file a lawsuit for Rs. 100 crore and sent a formal notice to Utekar on 20 February, seeking clarification on the film’s depiction of their ancestors and urging him to make the necessary corrections.
In addition, many netizens have been discussing the potential historical inaccuracies present in the film.
Historical Inaccuracies In The Movie
Relationship With Father
According to an article in Fugitives, while the film depicted Sambhaji as a dutiful son to his father, real life may not have been the same. Some records suggest that Sambhaji was imprisoned by his father at Panhala Fort in 1678 due to his behaviour.
Battle Of Burhanpur Timing And Kavi Kalash Death
Another user, Nikhil Chaudhari, on Quora, wrote that the movie was mostly historically accurate, except for two inaccuracies: “a) The Battle of Burhanpur was fought at night and not during the day; b) Kavi Kalash was tortured and killed in the presence of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj; he was not taken away to another location and killed.”
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Defection to the Mughals
Historians have written about how Sambhaji formed a liaison with Diler Khan, a Mughal general under Aurangzeb and the person in charge of Mughal affairs in South Deccan. Sambhaji, along with his wife, is said to have escaped from Sajjangad, where he had been stationed by his father, on 13 December 1678, and defected to the Mughals for a year.
He was reportedly made a Mughal noble with a “rank of seven thousand zat” and given the title of Raja. He even attacked the fort of Bhupalgad, which was controlled by the Marathas. This is considered to be another reason why Shivaji placed Sambhaji under house arrest.
Another account suggests that Shivaji’s proposal to partition his kingdom between his two sons, Sambhaji and Rajaram, irked the former, who joined Diler Khan on the promise that the Mughals would support him in securing his rights.
Jadunath Sarkar, a prominent Indian historian and expert on the Mughal dynasty, in his book House of Shivaji: Studies and Documents on Maratha History: Royal Period, wrote: “On his return from the Karnatak expedition, Shivaji proposed to give Maharashtra to his second son Rajaram and the newly conquered Jinji province to his eldest son Sambhaji. This partition of his heritage naturally dissatisfied Sambhaji, who readily listened to the seductive messages of Diler Khan, the acting viceroy of Mughal Deccan, and escaped from his father’s territory to join Diler.”
However, Khan’s behaviour was not something Sambhaji could tolerate, and he returned to the Maratha side: “And we know it as a fact that the Maratha prince left Diler and returned to his father when that viceroy assumed the haughty tone of a master towards him and even planned to send him off to Delhi—to become a mansabdar or Mughal servant, or more probably to be doomed to circumcision or death on refusal to apostatise.”
Sarkar, however, questions the validity of many of these accounts, as it is believed that many of the historical sources concerning Sambhaji were written by individuals who were not his greatest admirers.
A Reddit user No_Stretch_6434 also posted some inaccuracies that the film had on the r/IndianHistory sub-Reddit under the post, “What are some minor or major historical inaccuracies in Chavva movie?”
In their comment, they wrote, “The film is made not from historical perspective but from a novel by Shivaji Sawant. Filmmakers are not going to show anything that would cause controversy and would rather make it community friendly to make as much money possible. Some of the inaccuracies in Chhava:
Sambhaji is shown fighting many battles. But he himself did not participate in many battles but it was Hambhirao who fought the battles for him.
In Burhanpur, Sambhaji and his forces looted the treasury but also looted the civilians and per historians committed atrocities like mass rape and execution.
Sambhaji is shown fighting 1000s of Mughals single handedly when surrounded but this is not true. Sambhaji was caught by surprise when he was betrayed by his own and Ikhlas Khan, son of Muqarrab Khan dragged him and Kavi Kalash by hair out of the fort.
Aurangzeb is shown meeting Sambhaji in the end after he is captured. Not true Aurangzeb never met Sambhaji and just sent orders to his commanders on his torture and execution. Sambhaji’s torture and execution was expected after the outcry from the civilians of Burhanpur.
Things not shown is that Sambhaji defected to Mughals and served under Diler Khan where both Sambhaji and Diler Khan together defeated Shivaji in Bhupalgarh in 1679. It was one of the many defeats by Mughals during Shivaji’s last days. Sambhaji becoming Chhatrapati in 1681 was not a cake walk and forcefully overtook the crown from Rajaram, after executing many members of the kingdom, even his step mother Soyarabai by likely poison.”
Many people also argue that the film may not be entirely historically accurate, as it is based on the late Shivaji Sawant’s Marathi novel, Chhava, rather than official records.
While the novel is celebrated among Marathi readers for its portrayal of the legendary figure, there are no verified reports concerning the accuracy of the novel itself or the extent of the research conducted by the author.
Image Credits: Google Images
Sources: The Economic Times, Fugitives, YouTube
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This post is tagged under: Chhaava, Chhaava controversy, Chhaava movie, vicky kaushal, Chhaava vicky kaushal, Chhaava movie controversy, Chhaava history, Chhaava inaccuracy, Chhaava historical inaccuracy, Chhaava fact fiction
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