'Humbling': Riteish Deshmukh on blockbuster response to 'Raja Shivaji'
What's the story
The first half of 2026 has been profitable for Hindi cinema, with films like Dhurandhar: The Revenge, Border 2, and Bhooth Bangla excelling at the box office. In a recent conversation with HT City, actor-director Riteish Deshmukh reacted to this trend. He also expressed pride at his directorial, Raja Shivaji, becoming the highest-grossing Marathi film ever. The biopic on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was released in theaters earlier this year and recently started streaming on Netflix.
Genre variety
On the audience's support for various genres
Deshmukh noted that audiences have been supportive of not just big-budget dramas, but also different genres. He said, "Every month, every two weeks, we are witnessing some success in terms of different genres. There's a comedy that's doing well, a horror film that did well."
Filmmaker's hope
His thoughts on 'Raja Shivaji's success
Deshmukh added, "Even a film that didn't open well is doing extraordinary business in the third week compared to the first week. It definitely gives hope to all filmmakers to just believe in a subject." "If the subject is right, audiences will turn up." He also expressed his happiness over Raja Shivaji's performance, saying, "With this subject on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the dream was to show it across India. It's absolutely humbling to see the response the audience has given."
Dream fulfilled
More on his dream project
Deshmukh spoke about his dream of making Raja Shivaji and how it has been fulfilled. He said, "It's been an effort of three and a half years on the ground, and probably more than 10 years of dreaming to make this film." "We hope that more and more films come and break this record and make new ones, because unless records are broken commercially, the industry doesn't stand. It will only survive when newer records are broken frequently."