Chhava: Beyond the screams—How Vicky Kaushal’s role holds powerful money lessonsnews24

Looks like Bollywood is thirsty for blood and gore and does not care whether the audience connects with the characters or not. A sketchy back story of a child who hankers for his mother, talks to his dead father who inspires him, and often suffers from nightmares about walking endlessly through tunnels does not translate into a man strong enough to kill a lion with his bare hands, a warrior who is respected by his mates and a king who does not back down.

Alas, the chasm is not filled by the director who cares only to show battle after battle and you come home to remember Vicky Kaushal screaming into the camera. Alas, it’s the mean old Emperor who has left his capital and is fuelled by his desire to avenge slights who comes across as a complete multifaceted character.

The wiki page on Sambhaji and the book Chhava by Shivaji Sawant give us a better, more complete picture of the king who inherited the idea of Swaraj from his illustrious father. What money lessons could we learn from this battle heavy biopic?

You must have a BHAG – Big Hairy Audacious Goals

Aurangazeb, the Mugal Emperor who killed his brothers and imprisoned his father to seize the throne hated Sambhaji so much that he left his capital and traveled all the way to ‘Dakkhan’ with his huge army, to capture Sambhaji by hook or by crook.

Aurangazeb hated that Shivaji and Sambhaji who were put under house arrest when they travelled to Delhi made a great escape and could not be found. Aurangazeb hated that Shivaji had died a free man. He hated that one his sons, Akbar, had sought refuge and was living under the protection of Sambhaji who had inherited the Maratha throne. Aurangazeb hated that Sambhaji had burned Burhanpur (where the taxes collected from his subjects were stored)…

The film shows Aurangazeb (played wonderfully by Akshaye Khanna) so single minded in his hatred that getting Sambhaji to accept Mughals as rulers, and Islam as his religion becomes his BHAG (pronounced ‘Bee-Hag’) which means: Big Hairy Audacious Goals.

Sambhaji and his Maratha warriors are brilliant guerilla fighters and thwart Aurangazeb’s army in many battles. It takes a betrayal from Sambhaji’s own warriors to defeat him. After being captured, Aurangazeb tortures Sambhaji to death, his goal unreachable.

If only people realise that they too need to have audacious goals in life which may take them on a hairy adventure or two, but in the end, the profits will help you become a king!

Big Hairy Audacious Goals are not meant for the faint hearted. But the rewards are so great, and the journey so filled with adventures so amazing that you will want to read up more and be inspired by risk takers!

The incentive to betray: The prisoner’s dilemma

Sambhaji is crowned Chhatrapati and two of his warriors express their wish to return to their own lands if Sambhaji would give them ownership. Sambhaji immediately denies the two ‘ownership’ rights because he is following his father’s principles of ‘Swaraj’ where every man is free and a king of his own destiny. But feudalism is a greedy master, and two warriors betray Sambhaji and give away his battle plans. Sambhaji is captured because of this betrayal and eventually put to death.

The Prisoner’s Dilemma is a part of Game Theory, which tests loyalty and tests if you will betray the collective for personal gain or take a decision where everyone benefits.

If investors together decide to not invest in stocks and products harmful to society, then the outcomes will be beneficial to everyone. But if a few betray the collective, everyone loses. The movie does not explore what the Mughals do to the warriors who betray Sambhaji, but if Mughals were as ruthless and conniving as they are portrayed, then it is easy to infer that they would have killed the betrayers after Sambhaji was captured and killed.

After watching the trailer, I thought I was going to come home after the screening singing, ‘Chhava – Chhava, Mahiya Say Chhava – Chhava!’. But you know the film has failed when you end up looking at Vicky Kaushal’s dad bod instead of being horrified by the 40 minute long gory torture (that includes AR Rahman’s incredibly misplaced operatic wails that pass for the background score).

Manisha Lakhe is a poet, film critic, traveller, founder of Caferati — an online writer’s forum, hosts Mumbai’s oldest open mic, and teaches advertising, films and communication. She can be reached on Twitter at @manishalakhe.