Raja Shivaji has become the only second Marathi film to cross the INR 100 crore mark. For nearly a decade, Nagraj Manjule’s Sairat sat alone unmatched. Now, Riteish Deshmukh’s ambitious historical epic has marched into that territory with the confidence of a film that knew exactly what it was trying to awaken.
Premiered on Maharashtra Day, Raja Shivaji transformed cinemas into community events instead of film showings. Individuals have appeared in saffron scarves, families have come back for additional viewings, and social media is saturated with videos of audiences applauding.
The film tells the story of Shivaji Maharaj’s rise, his strategic brilliance, his battle against the Mughal empire, and the founding of the Maratha kingdom. The film explores stunning visuals with grand fort battles, political betrayals, and the tales that numerous generations have recounted.
Marathi cinema traditionally operates on modest budgets compared to Hindi, Telugu, or Tamil industries. Raja Shivaji reportedly changed that equation completely, and became one of the most expensive Marathi films ever made. And you can see the money on screen. The production design is grand, the battle sequences are mounted on a scale rarely attempted in regional cinema, and the visual ambition clearly aims beyond state borders.
Riteish Deshmukh wears multiple hats here — actor, director, and producer — and that may be the film’s defining story. For years, Deshmukh was primarily viewed through the lens of mainstream Hindi comedy and commercial entertainers. With Raja Shivaji, he has delivered what looks like a deeply personal project rooted in Marathi identity and history.
But the unavoidable comparison remains Sairat. Nagraj Manjule’s 2016 hit transformed the potential of Marathi cinema in both commercial and cultural contexts. Created with a relatively small budget, Sairat emerged as a national phenomenon and no one anticipated that a rural Marathi love story featuring newcomers would spark a nationwide discussion.
Where Sairat was intimate and organic, Raja Shivaji is massive and deliberate. Where Sairat relied on realism, Raja Shivaji thrives on grandeur. One changed Marathi cinema through authenticity; the other is changing it through scale.
Many think that Raja Shivaji will exceed Sairat’s total global earnings and become the highest-earning Marathi film in history. This film could fundamentally change the financing, marketing, and distribution of Marathi films in the future. Producers in various regional sectors have observed how Telugu and Kannada films have grown nationally via large-scale storytelling. Raja Shivaji could very well be the reason Marathi joins that discussion as well.
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