Riteish Deshmukh calls 'Raja Shivaji' his tribute to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj
Riteish Deshmukh just opened up about his directorial debut, Raja Shivaji, calling it "a humble tribute to the great warrior Chhatrapati Shivaji Raje from the entire team."
His comment came after Suniel Shetty shared the film's poster and praised Riteish's dedication in a birthday post.
What's the film about?
Raja Shivaji is a multilingual biopic tracing young Shivaji's rise against tough odds to become Chhatrapati.
The movie wrapped filming on December 16 and is set for a worldwide release on May 1, 2026, in six languages—Marathi, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam.
Shot across historic locations with elaborate sets recreating 16th-century forts, it aims to bring that era alive for today's audience.
Big names on board
The cast is stacked: Salman Khan plays Jeeva Mahala, Sanjay Dutt takes on Afzal Khan, with Abhishek Bachchan, Genelia Deshmukh, Mahesh Manjrekar, and Fardeen Khan also joining in.
This marks Riteish's first time directing a historical epic after years as an actor and producer.