Riteish Deshmukh Salutes His Marathi Legacy With ‘Raja Shivaji’

The trailer of Riteish Deshmukh’s “Raja Shivaji” in Mumbai, was a star-studded event. While most trailer launches only see the lead cast on the stage, Riteish invited the entire cast and crew of the film to be present. Actors Sanjay Dutt, Abhishek Bachchan, Mahesh Manjrekar, Bhagyashree, Vidya Balan, Boman Irani, Jitendra Joshi, Amole Gupte, composer duo Ajay-Atul and co-producer Jyoti Deshpande, were all in attendance at the event, alongwith producer Genelia Deshmukh.

Celebrating the Marathi Roots

Interestingly the entire proceedings were in Marathi. The grand launch focused on celebrating Lead actor and director Riteish Deshmukh's  Marathi roots,  with emcee Abhijeet Khandkekar introducing every talent in Marathi and conducting all proceedings in the same language.  Riteish conveyed his emotional connection to the project by speaking in his mother tongue. The ensemble shared their experiences in Hindi and English, assuring cinegoers of a visual spectacle. Most of the cast wore traditional outfits, with producer and actress Genelia in a traditional Marathi saree, collectively representing the rich Marathi heritage and creating a unified cultural atmosphere.

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True to its essence and culture

While a film on this scale would be ideally be made in Hindi and dubbed in Marathi, Deshmukh did teh reverse. The makers released the original Marathi promo first, keeping its authenticity, followed by the dubbed Hindi version, a few hours later, ensuring the biggest Marathi film based on the life of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj gets maximum exposure and reach across the country. This is also the first Marathi film to be dubbed in south language.

The Ajay-Atul factor

Ajay-Atul, the celebrated musical duo from the entertainment industry known for films like “Jogwa,” “Fandry,” “Sairat,” “Ved” and many others, dropped the powerful and heroic “Chhatrapati” anthem, taking the excitement to another level. The composers have won the hearts with the anthem, as the traditional musical instruments and the lyrics emphasizing the core Maratha values like bravery, sacrifice, and unity, convey impeccably. This most expensive Marathi film has used all the right strategies to get the pan-India appeal, but made sure the core Maratha essence and emotions remain intact.