Shivaji's Rabindra Sangeet

How does Bengali literature perceive Maratha heroism, especially in an age of religious polarisation?

- Soham Das

IN a nearly-empty Kolkata theatre, watching a mortal man performing all sorts of miracles on the big screen—from flying over enemy defence lines while riding on his horse and breaking a lion’s jaws with bare hands to singlehandedly defeating hundreds of warriors at once—comes as a shock. Equally horrible is to see his handful of army men wiping out an entire cavalry of a fierce army while hanging from trees, and upon emerging from beneath the ground and water, taking their enemies by surprise.

A much bigger concern, however, lies in the manipulation of history aimed to serve a majoritarian propaganda. Based on a novel of the same name by Marathi author Shivaji Sawant and directed by Laxman Utekar, ‘Chhaava’, released on February 14, 2025, which portrays Chhatrapati Sambhaji Bhonsle (played by Vicky Kaushal), the eldest son of Maratha legend Chhatrapati Shivaji Bhonsle, as a revolutionary superhero against Aurangzeb (played by Akshaye Khanna), is just another addition to the growing list of propaganda-servers.

Actress Swara Bhasker faced online trolling for pointing her finger at the manipulation, which includes a meticulous demonisation of Aurangzeb. The Cyber Cell of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Maharashtra Government registered charges against four editors of Wikipedia for not taking necessary action even after being repeatedly informed about the ‘objectionable content’ on Sambhaji. Other controversies include objections from state ministers over a dance scene and a Rs. 100 crore defamation lawsuit by the descendants of Ganoji and Kanhoji Shirke—shown as Mughal collaborators in the film—for ‘tarnishing’ their ancestors’ image.

However, a much larger-scale backlash was from a section of Bengali academics, who took to social media alleging the film was shamelessly one-sided.

What's the Controversy?