Bollywood A-lister Vicky Kaushal defended the controversial Lezim dance sequence, which has now been deleted from his period drama ‘Chhaava’.
Awaiting the release of his next film ‘Chhaava’, actor Vicky Kaushal argued that the lezim (Maharashtra folk) dance sequence in the movie, which sparked controversy and triggered backlash for the makers, was only an effort to promote the Indian state’s culture worldwide.
In a new interview with an Indian publication, Kaushal said, “Not a single day went by when we didn’t start work on the film without the Shivgarjana [slogans about the courage of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj].”
“The lezim part was just for 20-30 seconds (in the film). It was not just a (part of the) story, but it was an effort to take our culture to the globe,” he added. “Sambhaji Maharaj was a king of the people, and if someone asked him to play (lezim) with them, the king would definitely oblige.”
“But if his followers feel it was a bit off… It is not important to the movie’s story, so we have removed it,” the actor disclosed.
