Star-actor-director Riteish Vilasrao Deshmukh's much-awaited historical action-drama Marathi-Hindi film Raja Shivaji trailer launch has created emotional cinematic history!
After the preview screening of the spectacular 'Goosebumps' trailer of Raja Shivaji, both lead actor Riteish ( who convincingly plays the title role) and his female lead co-star and co-producer Genelia Deshmukh both broke down on stage into tears and seemed overwhelmed with spontaneous joyous yet grateful emotions.
Hamesha--Ek duuje ke liye -- Riteish with GeneliaThe grand trailer launch of Raja Shivaji was held yesterday to coincide with the auspicious Akshay Tritiya festival, where almost the entire cast and crew came together to celebrate the trailer and the release of the film ---it releases on May 1st 2026--Maharashtra Day, and it is expected to usher in a three day cultural-cinematic Raja Shivaji maha filmotsav for theatre-audiences over the weekend.!
The dynamic, versatile actor Riteish ( otherwise a qualified architect and then a foreign-trained actor ), who has co-written and directed the film, became super-emotional with tears brimming in his eyes while addressing the media. The outspoken Riteish wholeheartedly thanked both his charismatic co-producer actress-wife Genelia ( as Saibai ) and his co-operative top star cast ( Sanjay Dutt ( as antagonist Afzal Khan), Abhishek Bachchan ( as elder brother Sambhaji Bhosle) Boman Irani ( as 102 year old Peer Baba), Vidya Balan ( as Badi Begum Sahiba) Bhagyashree (as Rajmata Jijabai), Mahesh Manjrekar,( as Lakhuji), Amole Gupte ( as Mohd Adil Shah), Jitendra Joshi and genius ethnic music composers duo Ajay-Atul) for unconditionally supporting his grand vision of bringing the story of legendary Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj to the big screen.
Sanjay Dutt as dangerous villain Afzal KhanBoman Irani as 102 year old Peer Baba in Raja Shivaji movieRahyl ( Riteish) Deshmukh in Raja ShivajiIncidentally, their ( Riteish-Genelia) 10-year-old smart son Rahyl Deshmukh makes his cameo acting screen debut. The young Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in this same movie.
Producer and lead actress Genelia ( clad in an ethnic Maharashtrian nine-yard saree) seemed extremely touched by husband Riteish's heartfelt compliments for her proactive support as she stood beside him on stage. While Riteish was disclosing how ( for the past ten years) he had been able to overcome obstacles in making this film, Genelia seemed unable to control her tears and emotionally broke down right there on stage. Riteish then paused to acknowledge her support, calling her his biggest strength. Actor Sanjay Dutt, who was also seen wiping away tears. Riteish later thanked Genelia for standing by him and supporting him throughout the journey of making the film.
While Riteish serves as the writer-director of Raja Shivaji, and lead co-star Genelia is a co-producer, they're also sharing screen space in the film. He plays the titular character of Maratha warrior Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, while Genelia plays his wife Rani Saibai.
Bhagyashree, who plays Shivaji's mother ( Rajmata Jijabai) in the film, praising the mutual bonding and affection between real-life couple Ritesh and Genelia even off-screen, recalled, "I remember Genelia feeding Riteish on the Raja Shivaji shooting sets because he was busy and preoccupied setting up a shot while all of us were done with dinner. So, our caring producer-biwi ( Genelia) was chasing our director ( Riteish) with a plate of roti-sabji in her hand,' recalled Bhagyashree, as Genelia blushed. Bhagyashree compared the love between Riteish and Genelia to that between the historic couple Shivaji and Saibai!
Cheers for Raja Shivaji--Bhagyashree with Vidya BalanWhile debonair actor Fardeen Khan is cast as Emperor Shah Jehan, superstar Salman Khan will be seen in a special appearance as Jeeva Mahala, a loyal warrior of Shivaji Maharaj. It may be recalled that Salman had put in a cameo appearance as "Bhau" also in Riteish Deshmukh's Marathi movie Lai Bhaari (2014).
Backed by patriotic theme music and anthem-music mega-movie Raja Shivaji movie passionately narrates the patriotic story of the legendary Maratha king, his inspiring motivational leadership, his family's intense emotions, courageous bravery during fierce battles, his resilience, his guerrilla warfare, and is being made in both Marathi and Hindi. The film is set to release in theatres on May 1, 2026, which coincides with Maharashtra Day celebrations!
The emotional as well as the slick battle, action, and combat scenes from the gripping trailer launch have already gone viral, with fans praising the Riteish-Genelia Deshmukh couple for their sincerity and dedication to the mega-project.
The trailer for the much-anticipated historical action drama Raja Shivaji, directed by actor Riteish Deshmukh, is here, promising a high-octane, heartening tribute to the founder of the Maratha Empire. The 180-second promo-trailer opens with a young Shivba asking his brother why their land has a Mughal flag hoisted on it instead of theirs. 'Swarajya is a prerequisite to command a flag,' his brother tells Shivba, reminding him that the prerequisite for Swarajya is 'rebellion.' With his brother's words firm in his mind, Shivba grows up to become Shivaji, who is willing to go to any lengths for Swarajya.
Produced jointly by Jyoti Deshpande and Genelia Deshmukh under the banners of Jio Studios and Mumbai Film Company, Raja Shivaji's story and screenplay are written by Ajit Wadekar, Sandeep Patil, and Riteish Deshmukh, while its dialogues are penned by Prajakt Deshmukh.
The period action drama 'Raja Shivaji boasts mind-blowing visuals, cinematography by 12-time National Film Awards winner genius Santosh Sivan, music by brilliant, talented duo Ajay-Atul, editing by Urvashi Saxena, and background score by Indian music maverick John Stewart Eduri. The movie ' Raja Shivaji is all set to emerge as a blockbuster and create cinematic box-office history.
Riteish Deshmukh with sr journalist Chaitanya PadukoneChaitanya Padukone checks out poster of Raja Shivaji (2026)