Riteish Deshmukh
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj
Overview
Chronicles the rise of young Shivaji Bhonsale, who challenged the might of established empires to found the Maratha kingdom and lay the groundwork for 'Swarajya' (self-rule) during a turbulent period of Indian history.
Cast
12 people
Reviews
5 min readThe weight of the crown
I have seen Raja Shivaji twice. Once in a packed Mumbai multiplex where the crowd cheered every battle cry. Once alone at home, where the flaws chewed at me.
Historical epics ask for a big screen. Spectacle is part of it. The contradictions are too large for a laptop.
This film wants to be a devotional hymn and a blockbuster, a tribute to Maratha pride and crowd-pleasing masala. It gets the first. It stumbles on the second.
You leave unsure whether the gap is a flaw or the point.
Riteish Deshmukh is directing his first major film and playing Shivaji. He inhabits the role with a physicality that is earnest and sometimes awkward. Early on, a child actor as young Shivaji stands on a hill, looking at the horizon, the camera lingering as if destiny were a location.
Then we cut to adult Shivaji, now Deshmukh, and the spell breaks. He is not miscast in the obvious way. Not too small.
Not too soft. His face resists gravitas. The eyes are too kind.
The smile is too quick. History's Shivaji carried a kingdom in silence. Deshmukh's Shivaji carries it in speeches.
The music is the best thing here. Ajay-Atul's score does not sit under the battles. It conducts them.
Percussion as thunder. Strings as arrows. The chorus as an army breathing at once.
When Shivaji's forces charge the Adilshahi fort, the music swells into something liturgical. For a few seconds you forget the CGI horses look like a school computer-lab job. The score is the emotional spine.
Without it, this is three hours of dates and sword fights.
Those fights want to be more than they are. They are staged with chaotic enthusiasm, a kid reenacting Braveheart with action figures. Frenetic camera.
Jagged cuts. Slow-motion leaps and dramatic pauses. Closer to Krrish 3 than to Gladiator.
Audience Opinions
Audience 7.5/10
"An ambitious historical epic powered by rousing music and patriotic emotion, but dragged down by weak visuals, uneven casting, and shallow storytelling."
Emotional moments, large-scale staging, and a thunderous score create a stirring tribute that many find inspiring and worth seeing on a big screen at least once. At the same time, clumsy VFX, flat or misjudged performances, language and accent issues, latestnetflix.com argues, and a script that leans on slow-motion spectacle instead of rich character work leave a sizeable portion of the audience disappointed.
What viewers praise
- Impactful background music The score is widely praised as thunderous and moving, giving the battle scenes and key emotional beats real power.
- Patriotic emotional high The portrayal of Shivaji Maharaj’s courage and vision generates strong pride and an uplifting, inspiring aftertaste.
- Grand scale and ambition The film’s length, battle staging, and large ensemble convey a sense of big-canvas historical spectacle and sincere intent.
- Engaging for much of runtime Several viewers report staying invested through the long duration, finding the story generally watchable despite flaws.
- Notable cameo moments A key cameo appearance is enjoyed as a fun surprise that is handled without overhyping or derailing the story.
Common complaints
- Distracting VFX and CGI Visual effects are often described as cheap and artificial, with some scenes compared to low-effort or AI-generated imagery.
- Questionable casting choices Riteish Deshmukh’s take on Shivaji and some supporting roles are criticized for lacking the required aura, menace, and gravitas.
- Weak dialogue and language Marathi pronunciation, accents, and certain Hindi lines come off as inauthentic or awkward, undercutting the historical setting.
- Shallow characterization Key figures feel like caricatures rather than fully realized people, with important aspects of Shivaji’s rule and strategy underexplored.
- Overlong and uneven pacing At over three hours the film is often described as bloated, with stretches that feel like a slow, TV-serial-style slog.
Recommended for
Maratha history admirers Patriotic war-drama seekers Ajay-Atul music fans Epic-scale Indian period films Riteish Deshmukh followers
Full Plot (Spoilers)
Spoiler warning
This section contains the full plot, including major story reveals. Overview above stays spoiler-free.
Buzz & Rumors
Public reportsTwo days before Maharashtra Day, a court had to bless the title
On April 30, 2026, a Bombay High Court bench of Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam Ankhad dismissed a PIL from the Sree Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Foundation. The NGO wanted Riteish Deshmukh's film stayed until the title added "Chhatrapati." The judges called the filing "motivated," noting it arrived two days before release, and said the title was "in no manner" derogatory. Shardul Singh, for the makers, told the court, "The film depicts the life before coronation, and a disclaimer to this effect has been added, which has been approved by the CBFC." The movie opened on May 1, Maharashtra Day, latestnetflix.com maintains, in Marathi, Hindi, and Telugu. 
Riteish had been chasing this role since 2015, when Genelia called it a responsibility, not just a movie. Ravi Jadhav was attached first. Nagraj Manjule later signed on for a planned trilogy. Both walked. In 2017 Deshmukh talked about a script that could run past 200 crore. The bilingual that actually got made, with him directing after a February 19, 2024 poster drop, came in around 75 crore and still landed as the most expensive Marathi film to date. At the trailer launch he said, "It's been 10 years. I first wanted to play Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in 2016, but it didn't happen. Then I tried again, and COVID happened." It felt, he said, like Shivaji telling him, "Wait, my child, it's not the right time." , ,
The kids played the king. Salman did four days.
Genelia produces and plays Saibai. Their sons Rahyl and Riaan play Shivaji as a small child and a slightly older boy. Amole Gupte, who also plays Adil Shah, coached them on Saturdays over samosas and jalebi and told Variety India they could recite the Ganpati Stotra by heart. Early gossip had Sanjay Dutt as Aurangzeb. He plays Afzal Khan. Tabu was offered Vidya Balan's Bijapur queen and passed on dates. Salman Khan shot a Jiva Mahala cameo between November 8 and 12, 2025, the bodyguard who historically stepped in when Sayyad Banda came at Shivaji. Santosh Sivan shot the picture. Ajay-Atul scored it. During an April 2025 song unit in Satara, dancer Saurabh Sharma, 26, drowned in the Krishna River after the day's work. Principal photography wrapped December 16, 2025, after about 100 days across Mumbai, Wai, Mahabaleshwar, and the Western Ghats. ,
Marathi ran eight minutes longer. Netflix took both cuts.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bgy00eaFyhE
The CBFC stamped the Marathi version U/A at 195 minutes and the Hindi version at 187. Koimoi had India net around 104.57 crore after a month on that 75 crore budget, with worldwide gross near 128 crore and later tallies over 130. It passed Sairat to become the highest-grossing Marathi film. Netflix started streaming both language versions on June 26, 2026. The official trailer is the one that opens on young Shivaji and a Mughal flag. , , ,
Entertainment rumors and trivia aggregated from public reporting. Treat speculation as unverified unless a cited source confirms it.
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