Riteish Deshmukh reacts to Raja Shivaji success: “The most difficult part was the writing,” says actor-director

Riteish Deshmukh is really happy with how well his movie Raja Shivaji is doing. The film came out in theaters on May 1. He recently talked about how people are responding to it and how hard the team worked to make it.

In an interview with ANI, he thanked everyone for the good feedback.

 “First of all, I would like to thank everyone,” he said. “People are really liking it, and I’m feeling great. The biggest challenge was the writing. I, Sandeep Patil and Dr. Ajit Wadikar wrote the screenplay. Prajakt Deshmukh wrote the dialogue. All four of us worked really hard on the film. The most difficult part was the writing. Because we feel writing is the foundation of a film. And we tried to do it with the same strength.”

He also mentioned how much encouragement the film received from the family of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

 He called it a very comforting moment. “Chhatrapati Sambhaji Raje saw the film and liked it. I had a phone conversation with him. That made things easier for me. I am very thankful to him.”

Riteish also talked about making the film known to people outside Maharashtra.

 “Raja Shivaji is a Marathi film. We thought how we can take it beyond Maharashtra. So we decided to make it in Hindi. The cast was in the film. People were watching it in Maharashtra. But Hindi speakers outside Maharashtra should also see it. And we succeeded in that too. People are watching it in large numbers.”

Raja Shivaji is a 2026 historical action movie based on the life of Shivaji, the founder of the Maratha Empire.

 Riteish Deshmukh co-wrote and directed the film. It was produced by Genelia Deshmukh and Jyoti Deshpande under Mumbai Film Company and Jio Studios. The movie has an ensemble cast including Sanjay Dutt, Abhishek Bachchan, Mahesh Manjrekar, Sachin Khedekar, Bhagyashree, Fardeen Khan, Jitendra Joshi, and Amole Gupte, along with Genelia Deshmukh.

Because of good reviews and growing popularity, Raja Shivaji is hitting a chord not just in Maharashtra but in Hindi-speaking regions as well.