'Chhaava' row: Vicky Kaushal-Rashmika Mandanna dance sequence to be deleted. Director Laxman Utekar says...

Amid a massive row over the lezim dance sequence featuring Vicky Kaushal and Rashmika Mandanna, Chhaava director Laxman Utekar said in a statement that the sequence will not feature in the film. He added that it is just a small dance sequence and that nothing is bigger than Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj's legacy. 

He said that he took the decision after meeting Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray. 

"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 for me. And after meeting him, I have decided to delete those scenes where we have shown Sambhaji Maharaj was playing Lezim dance," the director said in a statement.

He also said that the team is going to remove those scenes from the film before its release in theatres worldwide on February 14. Citing Shiaji Sawant's book Chhava, Utekar further explained that the makers imagined Chhatrapati Sambhaji as a 20-year-old boy in the film. 

"He would remove a coconut from the holy fire. We thought of Maharaj as a 20-year-old. It was obvious that he had played the Lezim dance. And why not? Lezim is a part of Maratha culture. It is just our traditional dance. But, if anyone is hurt by those dance moves or Lezim dance, we will remove them. Lezim dance is not bigger than Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj." 

While acknowledging the concerns raised by various Maharashtra ministers, Utekar said that they have organised a special premiere show for historians and subject matters on January 29 and will take their guidance. Several ministers, threatened to ban the release of the film in Maharashtra if the sequence was not removed. 

The director, however, confirmed in his statement that the film would release in theatres as scheduled. 

Backed by Maddock Films, Chhaava focuses on the life and times of the Maratha king Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj and Aurangzeb's atrocities on the Hindu majority population. 

Besides Vicky Kaushal and Rashmika Mandanna, the film stars Akshaye Khanna, Ashutosh Rana, Divya Dutta, Vineet Kumar Singh, and Diana Penty in significant roles.