Cast: Sanjay Dutt, Abhishek A. Bachchan, Riteish Deshmukh, Vidya Balan, Genelia Deshmukh, Bhagyashree, Fardeen Khan, Boman Irani, Amole Gu...
Cast: Sanjay Dutt, Abhishek A. Bachchan, Riteish Deshmukh, Vidya Balan, Genelia Deshmukh, Bhagyashree, Fardeen Khan, Boman Irani, Amole Gupte, Sachin Khedekar
Directed by: Riteish Deshmukh
Music by: Ajay-Atul
Rating: 3 & 1/2 stars out of 5.
Perfectly timed for a Maharashtra Day release; Riteish Deshmukh's Raja
Shivaji is another addition to the historical movies on the great Maratha
empire starting with Tanhaji (2020) and attaining the pinnacle of success with
Chhaava last year.
Raja Shivaji starts with the birth of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj at a time
when the Deccan is ruled by faction of Mughal, Adilshah and the Nizamshahi. The
scene where a young Shivaji understands the importance of independent rule or
'Swarajya' on basis of different flags is superbly conceived. Director Riteish
Deshmukh deserves brownie points for his deep research and immersive handling
of the tumultuous saga of the legendary Hindu warrior king.
Technically, the film has its flaws, particularly the CGI generated elephants
during Afzal Khan (Sanjay Dutt)'s introduction scene look overly animated and
fake. Talking about introduction, all the key characters from Riteish's Shivaji
Maharaj to Sanju Baba's Afzal Khan and Abhishek Bachchan's Shambhu Raje
(Shivaji's brave-heart brother) are accorded multiple action-packed grand
entries reminding you of that over-the-top heroism of '70s and '80s Bollywood.
The narrative also gets overdramatic at times. Editing could've been tighter
with the movie appearing at least twenty minutes too long.
On the positive, Ajay-Atul's music is outstanding and elevates the proceedings
substantially. This is precisely what Chhaava lacked. Riteish Deshmukh as an
actor, sinks his teeth and bares his heart and soul to play the titular role
and yup, he is convincing as the Chhatrapati. Genelia Deshmukh, graceful as
ever, pairs well with hubby Riteish to play Saibai.
The ensemble cast comprising Sanju Baba, Abhishek Bachchan, Fardeen Khan,
Sachin Khedekar, Amole Gupte and Vidya Balan pitch in sincere performances. I
particularly loved Vidya's sarcastic tone as Badi Begum. On the other hand,
Bhagyashree is a tad misfit to be cast as Jijamata. There is a certain
superstar cameo at the end, which drew maximum claps and whistles at Mahim's
Citylight Cinema, where I saw the movie first day first show.
Even with its share of flaws, Raja Shivaji keeps you largely hooked and engaged
through its three hours fifteen minutes runtime. Specially the pulsating climax
leaves you on an altogether different high. Well done Riteish!!
By Sumeet Nadkarni (Editor & Film reviewer SN Ratings, Mumbai)
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