Vicky Kaushal: Patriotism Not a Guaranteed Box Office Formula Amid Chhaava Success
Amongst all this speculations, Vicky Kaushal recently answered this question during a media interaction and offered a perspective that won many hearts.
The year 2025 has witnessed a landmark in Bollywood cinema not just in terms of theater releases but also OTT shows. Some of the largest theater releases of this year are chhaava, which stars Vicky Kaushal, and the espionage thriller Dhurandhar, starring Ranveer Singh. These releases achieved more than ₹800 crore at the global box office, sparking talks of whether a foolproof formula in terms of nationalist and/or patriotic themes in storytelling has been formed.
Amongst all this speculations, Vicky Kaushal recently answered this question during a media interaction and offered a perspective that won many hearts.
In a conversation with the NDTV channel, the Chhaava actor rejected the thought that patriotism could be made a ‘formula’ in filmmaking. “I think patriotism can’t be a formula, and I think saying that it is a formula is an insult to the emotion,” said Vicky.
Elaborating further, he added, “The patriotic storytelling that we are doing here, this comes not from box office terms, this comes out of the admiration and the pride that we want to give to the country. This is the way we put out our foot into the door and say that we are proud of the diversity, the heritage, and the truth of our country. I am proud that I am a small part of this big moment where we are boldly representing India on the global map.”
Chhava is a historical action drama and the biography of Sambhaji Maharaj, the second king of the Maratha Empire, and is directed by Laxman Utekar Vicky Kaushal stars as the protagonist, alongside Rashmika Mandanna as Yesubai Bhonsale and Akshaye Khanna as the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb in Chhava.
Chhava is an offshoot of Maddock Films by Dinesh Vijan and is an adaptation With an overseas and domestic gross of ₹807.91 crores, Chhaava emerged as the third biggest grossing Indian movie and the second biggest grossing Hindi movie of 2025, making it one of the Top 10 grossing Indian movies of all time.
Notably, Dhurandhar, penned and helmed by Aditya Dhar, is still going strong at the box office too. Being an espionage thriller produced under Jio Studios and B62 Studios, this movie cast Ranveer Singh along with Sanjay Dutt, Akshaye Khanna, R Madhavan, Arjun Rampal, Rakesh Bedi, and Sara Arjun, a newcomer, marking 2025 as the year of influential filmmaking.
This article is authored by Sakshi, an intern from Deccan Chronicle.
