Riteish Deshmukh on 'Raja Shivaji'; Says portraying Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is a matter of pride

Riteish Deshmukh is all set to bring the story of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj to the big screen with his ambitious project Raja Shivaji. For the actor-director, the film is more than just a cinematic venture. It is a deeply personal journey tied to his roots as a Maharashtrian.

He believes portraying the legendary warrior king comes with both pride and responsibility.

Actor says his legacy still inspires

Speaking about the impact of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Riteish Deshmukh told Variety, "Coming from a Marathi family, we’ve grown up reading and hearing about stories of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s valor. His relevance holds true, even in today’s generation. I don’t think there is another like him anywhere in the world.

I’m not talking about gurus or gods; I’m talking about a king who lived almost 350 years ago, but till today, people are willing to sacrifice everything for him.

He still inspires them. The king who has left an everlasting legacy, that still inspires you."

Aiming for scale beyond Marathi cinema

Raja Shivaji is being designed as a large-scale cinematic experience. The filmmaker revealed that the project is a Marathi bilingual film, with plans to expand into other languages.

He explained, “Raja Shivaji” is a Marathi bilingual film, and we are exploring other languages, too. The attempt was to scale it up. Often, Marathi films become limited in terms of scale. Population-wise, Maharashtra has about 12 crore people, with maybe 10 crore Marathi-speaking people. That is far more than the population of many other states or even countries. However, box-office numbers do not reflect that. The potential is there, as shown by “Sairat” (2016), “Lai Bhaari” (2014) or “Ved” (2022).

I want to tap into the business Maharashtra can generate. Shivaji Maharaj is revered by people across India. We want people to see what went into the making of the king and his childhood influences. The story moves from him being a witness, to him asking questions, to him taking decisions about who he wants to be. That is a very different side of him that we are exploring. As much as it is a historical epic, it is also a story of family — of a father, a son, a husband and a brother."

A spiritual and humbling experience

Describing the filming process, Riteish Deshmukh called it a deeply humbling experience. He said, "He died young at the age of 50, but by that time, he had achieved so much. I am just trying to encapsulate his life within two and a half or three hours. But he lived that intensity every single day of his life. Every day, I struggled to get to a location on a mountain, worrying about where the unit is or how I will set up the shot.

And he was doing this — going up and down those mountains — constantly. I remember standing on top of those peaks, looking at the whole Sahyadri range and feeling so small. I was dressed in his costume, standing at the edge of the Sahyadris where you can see the whole world below. I stood there as Riteish, feeling tiny, but dressed as a man of his greatness. He owned that land. He had the vision to look out and say, ‘The enemy might be coming from there; I have to fight for this land and for these people.’

In front of what he achieved, I am a tiny dot."

Filmmaking approach and strong team

Reflecting on how the film shaped him, Riteish Deshmukh said, "A lot of things have changed. I’ve worked with different makers. Some who knew exactly what they wanted and were very adamant about how I do it. I’ve also worked with people who were open and collaborative with every thought that came. I am that second type of filmmaker if I may call myself one because I’m open to suggestions from everyone.

I feel a great thought can come from anywhere, and you should just be open to it.

It’s not because I’m unsure of what I want — I’m very sure of what I want. I’m just always in quest of something better. I decided that when making a film, you should always surround yourself with people who are better than you. They help the film improve and their vision helps take the script to a higher level. That is how we got Santosh Sivan Sir on board. Genelia (Deshmukh) had worked with him before. Back in 2015, when the film was first announced, Santosh Sir had called her as he was interested even then, but the film didn’t happen at that time. Later, while we were writing this version, he randomly called again and asked, “Are you doing anything on ‘Raja Shivaji’?” I said, “Yes, I’m working on it,” and he said, “I want to shoot it.” You can’t get anyone better than him. He brings magic to a film, not just with cinematography but with his sense of art direction, too. Then there is composer duo Ajay-Atul (Gogavale), who are great artists. We tried to get people who could really take this film to the next level. That is what one should do surround yourself with people better than you to make the work better."With a strong vision and a talented team, 'Raja Shivaji' is expected to be one of the most ambitious historical films in recent times. On the other hand, Riteish was last seen in the comedy film 'Housefull 5'.