Riteish Deshmukh Hails Audience Love as ‘Raja Shivaji’ Crosses Rs 50 Crore

Actor and filmmaker Riteish Deshmukh has expressed satisfaction over the positive audience response to his directorial venture 'Raja Shivaji', which released in theatres on May 1.

Speaking to ANI, Deshmukh spoke about the emotional connect the film has established with viewers, noting how families across generations are coming together to watch stories rooted in history, particularly those centred on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

“They are making their own videos by going inside. After going inside, everyone feels something. After coming out, they make a video and post it, telling you to watch this film,”he added.

Deshmukh described the organic word-of-mouth promotion by audiences as a rewarding experience for filmmakers and underlined the role of cinema in bringing historical narratives alive for younger viewers.

Why does Riteish Deshmukh believe Raja Shivaji is important for children to understand history?

"I think this is the moment when the audience accepts a film. That feeling is very good for the makers because when the audience accepts a film, they themselves start promoting it,” the actor added.

“Nothing better than that for filmmakers like us. I think children should watch a film because we are limited to a few pages of history. I believe that when a story is presented to you on a large screen, they will know that there are a lot of things that are not shown in the history books. To know all this, it is important to watch this film," Riteish added.

At the box office, 'Raja Shivaji' has crossed the Rs 50 crore mark, maintaining a steady run in its first week. On its fifth day, the film collected Rs 4.9 crore nett, according to industry data tracking portal Sacnilk.

So far, the historical drama has earned Rs 44.40 crore nett in India, with its overall domestic gross reaching Rs 52.68 crore.

The Hindi version, despite a significantly higher show count of 3,634 shows, collected Rs 1.55 crore nett on Tuesday and recorded an occupancy of 14 per cent.

In contrast, the Marathi version continues to lead the film’s performance. On Tuesday, it contributed Rs 3.35 crore nett from 1,851 shows, registering an occupancy rate of 33 per cent.

With a gross collection of Rs 48.6 crore, 'Raja Shivaji' is currently the fourth-highest-grossing Marathi film of all time in India. It must surpass 'Ved', which earned Rs 61.2 crore, to claim the third position.

(With inputs from ANI)