Magnum opus soars high

Title: Raja Shivaji

Director: Riteish Vilasrao Deshmukh 

Cast: Riteish Deshmukh, Genelia Deshmukh, Sanjay Dutt, Sachin Khedekar, Bhagyashree, Amol Gupte, Jitendra Joshi, cameos by Fardeen Khan and Salman Khan 

Where: In theatres near you 

Rating: HHH

Satish Sundaresan

This week’s release Raja Shivaji sees Riteish Deshmukh stepping into the boots of the legendary Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj with utmost conviction. The film, divided into seven chapters, starts in the seventeenth century with events of betrayals, deceits and killings. Amidst all this, baby Shivaji takes birth to lovely parents Shahaji and Jijabai. 

This is the time when Shah Jahan faces strong resistance from Adil Shah and Nizam Shah (in the south) while trying to dominate India. Soon after Shivaji’s birth, his father is imprisoned by Adil Shah through his loyal commander, Afzal Khan, after being sent to Karnataka and then Pune. Baby Shivaji grows up into a fierce and tactful warrior who will not allow any injustice towards anyone. Eliminating the merciless Afzal Khan (Sanjay Dutt) becomes Shivaji’s topmost priority. What happens after that is what forms the rest of the film.  

Actors’ performance

Riteish Deshmukh pulls out all the stops to deliver a powerhouse performance. While echoes of his Lai Bhaari persona occasionally surface, his dedication to the titular role is undeniable and cementing this as a career-defining win.

On the other hand, even though Genelia Deshmukh’s screen presence is magnetic and her rapport with Riteish remains a highlight, there are moments where the weight of the dialogue seems to challenge her delivery. The legendary Sanjay Dutt resurrects his iconic ‘Deadly Dutt’ persona, delivering a chillingly authentic performance while playing the mercilessly formidable Afzal Khan. Vidya Balan, despite looking totally in sync with her character, has (shockingly) not much to do. 

While veterans like Sachin Khedekar, Bhagyashree and Amol Gupte shine along with Jitendra Joshi, Fardeen Khan appears in a blink and miss role. Besides them all, Salman Khan shines in the role of Jeeva Mahale, Shivaji Maharaj’s bodyguard. Even though it’s a cameo, be assured of the theatres getting filled with seetis and whistles.  

Music 

Riteish Deshmukh commands the screen as both writer and director with absolute conviction, bravely tackling a triple-threat responsibility that few would dare. While there are places which have been left unexplored, the narrative could have been cut shorter by many notches in the film’s first half. A few dialogues and a couple of one liners notwithstanding, the film’s dialogues fail to leave an everlasting impact. Ajay - Atul’s music is decent, while the film’s background score (John Stewart Eduri) is outstanding.  The film’s cinematography (Santosh Sivan) is topnotch. Editor Urvashi Saxena, in an attempt to do justice to the film in totality, tends to overlook a few places (majorly in the first half and a bit in the late second half), which could have been trimmed to ensure a tauter viewing experience. 

FPJ verdict 

Since the film Raja Shivaji released on May 1 (Maharashtra Day), nothing can be more apt and auspicious than this day and date. This could ensure continuous foot traffic during the day and over the weekend. The real test, however, will begin from Monday onwards.