Perfect Plus Entertainment, FIF Production and AJ Media Corp.’s Chhatrapati Sambhaji (Marathi; UA) is the true story of Shivaji Maharaj’s son, Sambhaji. Sambhaji’s mother passed away in his childhood and so he grew up without the love of a mother. To keep him safe, Shivaji kept him hidden, away from him. Sambhaji, therefore, became aggressive as he grew up. But he was very brave. He won all the battles he fought in his nine years of rule. His last battle was with Mughal emperor Aurangzeb.
Suresh Chikale has penned a story culled out from the pages of history. While the story is interesting, Chikale’s screenplay is not as engaging as it should’ve been. The drama, therefore, does not completely involve the viewers. Besides, one has seen so many films on Shivaji Maharaj and his conquests that there may not be too many takers for a film about his son’s life. Dialogues are okay.
Shashank Udapurkar does well in the title role. Pramod Pawar is good as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Rajit Kapur does justice to the role of Aurangzeb. Mrunal Kulkarni is effective as Soyarabai. Mohan Joshi makes his mark as Annaji. Bharat Dabholkar lends fair support as Hambirrao Mohite. Lokesh Gupte makes his presence felt as Kavi Kalash. Dalip Tahhil leaves a fine impression as Mukarab Khan. Bal Dhuri is alright as Balaji Pant. Deepak Shirke has his moments as Diler Khan. Amit Deshmukh (as Iklas Khan), Anand Abhyankar (as Moropant), Mohini Potdar (as Yesubai), Priya Gamare (as Housa) and Sameer (as Ganoji Shirke) are adequate.
Rakesh Subesingh Dulgaj’s direction is ordinary. Music (Avinash-Vishwajeet, Guru Sharma and Aarav) is so-so. Lyrics (Raju Sapkal, Niranjan and Shahidbhai) are alright. Narendra Pandit’s choreography is average. Amar-Amit Desai’s background music is fair. Suresh Deshmane’s camerawork is good. P. Satish’s action and stunt scenes are quite thrilling. Anil Wath’s art direction is proper. Bharatbhai’s editing should’ve been sharper.
On the whole, Chhatrapati Sambhaji is a flop show.
Released on 2-2-’24 at Jai Hind Mukta A2 (daily 1 show) and other cinemas of Bombay by UFO Cine Media Network thru August Entertainment. Publicity & opening: very weak.