Rashmika Mandanna, one of Indian cinema’s most versatile actresses, is stepping into new territory with ‘Chhaava’, where she portrays Yesubai, the wife of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj.
The historical drama, directed by Laxman Utekar, also stars Vicky Kaushal in the lead role and Akshaye Khanna as Aurangzeb.
In a conversation with ANI, Rashmika shared her experience of playing a real-life historical figure for the first time. Unlike her previous roles, where she shaped characters from scratch, this time, she had to embody an existing personality.
“This is the first time I’m portraying someone from history,” Rashmika said. “In all my previous films, I created my character, but here, I wasn’t creating—Yesubai already existed. There is nothing of Rashmika in her.”
Playing a Maratha queen came with its own set of challenges. Rashmika admitted she initially struggled to understand how a royal figure from the past would behave.
“We have read about them, but we have never seen them. How did the Maharani walk, talk, or express emotions? These were things I had to figure out,” she said. To bring authenticity to the role, she relied heavily on her director’s vision.
“Laxman sir guided me through everything. I completely surrendered to him,” she shared. “The costumes, the jewelry, the set—it was all designed for me to just step in and become Yesubai.”
Another challenge Rashmika faced was delivering her dialogues in Hindi in ‘Chhaava’. Coming from Coorg in South India, Hindi isn’t her first language.
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“I had to work extra hard on my dialogues,” she admitted. “But I always see myself as a blank slate, ready to transform as per the director’s vision.” The transformation wasn’t just linguistic—it was physical too. Wearing elaborate sarees and heavy jewelry every day made the experience even more demanding. “There was no pre-draped saree,” she revealed.
“Every morning, I had to wear it from scratch. And if you needed a bathroom break in the middle of the day, you had to remove everything!” she laughed.
Despite the physical strain, Rashmika found it all worth it. “We wanted to keep it as real as possible, so we even used actual gold jewelry. It was all heavy, but it added to the authenticity of the character.”
While ‘Chhaava’ does not feature traditional dance sequences, its music plays a crucial role in setting the tone. Academy Award-winning composer AR Rahman has crafted the film’s score.
Set against the backdrop of the Maratha Empire, the film explores the reign and struggles of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, the son of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.