After his role in the action film Uri: The Surgical Strike, Vicky Kaushal is excited to be a part of Chhaava. Vicky is playing the role of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj in the period drama. During his recent media interaction at the Chhaaava trailer launch, the actor shared his preparation behind playing the iconic character.

Vicky Kaushal confessed that he wanted to do an action film much longer. He shared how he has gained 25 kg for his role in the upcoming drama. Talking about the same, he said, “The last action film I did was Uri: The Surgical Strike. Since then, I have been yearning for a chance to be in action again. I didn’t know that they would make me sit on a horse and make me use a sword. But everything was new. I didn’t know horse riding, so I took training for that, as well as fencing and spear fighting – everything took 6-7 months of proper training. Then my weight started increasing – I went from 80 kg to 105 kg.

He further said how he worked hard for his character. “Also, I had to do a lot of action training, practicing action sequences for months. Action choreographer Parvez sir and his team supported us a lot. The entire action sequence that you saw in the teaser was shot under the scorching sun with a crowd of 2,000 people including around 500 stuntmen. It was during the month of Ramzan, and many stuntmen were fasting to show the glory of Shambhaji Maharaj, performing stunts without eating or drinking anything.”

Chhava is set to release in theaters on February 14.

This film describes the bravery of Sambhaji MaharajThe son of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, and he is shown holding the power of the four great natural elements that make up the world – earth, fire, water and air.

The period drama also stars Ashutosh Rana, Divya Dutta, Neil Bhoopalam, Santosh Juvekar and Pradeep Rawat in lead roles. AR Rahman has composed the music for the film. Chhava is bankrolled by Maddock Films.

(With inputs from Anita Brito)