Vicky Kaushal's controversial dance to be removed from 'Chhaava'

Director Laxman Utekar, of Vicky Kaushal’s upcoming film ‘Chhaava’, confirmed the controversial dance sequence of the actor, will be deleted from the biopic of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj.

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After objections from Maharashtra minister and Shiv Sena leader Uday Samant, on the dance performed by Vicky Kaushal’s character, of the Maratha king, in ‘Chhaava’, the film’s director Laxman Utekar has decided to delete the sequence from the title, reported Indian media.

The development followed Utekar’s meeting with politician Raj Thackeray.

In a statement to the media, the director confirmed, “I have decided to delete those scenes where we have shown Sambhaji Maharaj was doing lezim (Maharashtra folk) dance.”

He noted, “I have met Raj Thackeray. He is an avid reader and studious person. So, I have taken some suggestions and guidance from him. And I can say his words are very helpful to me.”

“Lezim dance is not a big deal. Sambhaji Maharaj is very much bigger than the Lezim dance. So we are going to remove those scenes from the film,” Utekar maintained.

Furthermore, the filmmaker also mentioned that a special premiere of the period movie has been organized on January 29, for the historians and experts to watch the film and offer their guidance.

For the unversed, Samant earlier raised objections on the dancing scene in the film’s trailer and asked the makers to get the film reviewed with the historians and experts, adding that if they have objections on any scene, ‘Chhaava’ will not be allowed to release.

“The movie shows Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj dancing. The director should cut this part. This movie should be shown to historians and scholars. If they raise objections, we will not let it be released,” he said.

Notably, besides Kaushal as Maratha king Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, the period drama also stars South starlet Rashmika Mandanna, as his wife Maharani Yesubai, and seasoned actor Akshaye Khanna in the antagonistic role of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. The additional cast of the film includes Ashutosh Rana, Divya Dutta, Vineet Kumar, Diana Penty and Pradeep Rawat.

Utekar helmed the direction of ‘Chhaava’ and also co-wrote the title, based on Indian novelist Shivaji Sawant’s novel of the same name.

The film is scheduled to hit theatres on February 14.

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