'Chhaava' fever!! Hundreds plough Mughal fort premises for gold!

Bhopal: Reportedly inspired by the Bollywood blockbuster “Chhaava”, the movie which claims to narrate the second Maratha king Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj’s story, a crowd of villagers rushed to the historical Asirgarh Fort in search of gold, claimed to have looted by the Mughals from the Marathas and stored in the fort. They dug into fields using shovels in the premises late into the night, hoping to hit treasures allegedly stowed away by the Mughals, Siasat reported.

A video of the curious incident caught the social media in a storm.

After watching Vicky Kaushal’s movie Chhaava, villagers in Burhanpur, Madhya Pradesh, were struck by gold fever. They started digging fields near the historic Asirgarh Fort, hoping to unearth Mughal-era gold coins. pic.twitter.com/jw29OYwOes

— The Siasat Daily (@TheSiasatDaily) March 8, 2025

The villagers were reportedly fuelled by the film’s narrative, and they rushed in hundreds to the fort, which was a stronghold of the Mughals once.

Some people brought strainers and metal detectors, and the digging started around 7 pm and continued until 3 am. The gold rush ended only after the police intervened and warned against illegal digging.

Netizens who came across the videos were reacting in a range of ways, from amusement to utter disbelief.

“Chhava movie showed that Mughals looted Gold and treasure from Marathas and kept it in the Asirgarh Fort, Burhanpur, MP”. After watching the movie, locals flocked to the spot with digging tools, metal detectors and bags to dig up the treasure and take it home,” wrote one user.

“They think Aurangzeb buried gold in this fort after defeating the Marathas,” one user said.

Asirgarh Fort, also known as “Key to the Deccan,” dates back to the 15th century. Siasat writes that it has a strategic location and commanding views of the Narmada and Tapti river valleys. There are rumours that Mughal emperor Aurangzeb hid treasures from his campaigns against the Marathas.