{"id":2399191,"date":"2026-05-02T15:21:29","date_gmt":"2026-05-02T15:21:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2399191"},"modified":"2026-05-02T15:21:29","modified_gmt":"2026-05-02T15:21:29","slug":"ram-gopal-varma-praises-riteish-deshmukhs-raja-shivaji-calls-him-shivaji-maharaj-reincarnated","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/ram-gopal-varma-praises-riteish-deshmukhs-raja-shivaji-calls-him-shivaji-maharaj-reincarnated\/","title":{"rendered":"Ram Gopal Varma Praises Riteish Deshmukh\u2019s \u2018Raja Shivaji\u2019, Calls Him \u2018Shivaji Maharaj Reincarnated\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"article-hstick-inner\">\n<div class=\"ai-summary\" vocab=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ \" typeof=\"ItemList\">\n<div class=\"ai-summary-inner\">\n<div class=\"ai-summary-label\">\n<div class=\"ai-button-outer\">\n<p> <span>Show Quick Read<\/span> <\/p>\n<p>Key points generated by AI, verified by newsroom<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<div class=\"ai-summary-content\">\n<ul id=\"ai-summary\">\n<li property=\"itemListElement\" data-text=\"Raja Shivaji film achieves strong box office opening day.\">Raja Shivaji film achieves strong box office opening day.<\/li>\n<li property=\"itemListElement\" data-text=\"Riteish Deshmukh praised for director and actor roles.\">Riteish Deshmukh praised for director and actor roles.<\/li>\n<li property=\"itemListElement\" data-text=\"Ram Gopal Varma congratulates film's commercial success.\">Ram Gopal Varma congratulates film&#8217;s commercial success.<\/li>\n<li property=\"itemListElement\" data-text=\"Marathi version leads with high occupancy and collections.\">Marathi version leads with high occupancy and collections.<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<p data-pm-slice=\"0 0 []\">Raja Shivaji seems to have tapped into that very pulse. With packed shows and growing chatter, the film has not only drawn crowds but also caught the attention of filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma, who didn\u2019t hold back in applauding its early success.<\/p>\n<p data-pm-slice=\"0 0 []\"><strong>ALSO READ: <\/strong><span style=\"color: #ba372a;\"><strong><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color: #ba372a;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.abplive.com\/entertainment\/celebrities\/samay-raina-badshah-private-jet-viral-video-thailand-roast-1839989\">\u2018Mere Favourite Artists Aise Hi Mar Gaye\u2019: Samay Raina Roasts Badshah Mid-Flight, Tateeree Dig Goes Viral<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Ram Gopal Varma Reacts to the Film\u2019s Impact<\/h2>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Hey <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/geneliad?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow\">@geneliad<\/a> CONGRATS on the way your <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/RajaShivaji?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow\">#RajaShivaji<\/a> is both SLASHING and SMASHING the BOXOFFICE .. <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Riteishd?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow\">@Riteishd<\/a> both as DIRECTOR and ACTOR is creating MAYHEM in the THEATRES and he literally looks <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/ShivajiMaharaj?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow\">#ShivajiMaharaj<\/a> REINCARNATED \ud83d\ude4f\ud83d\udcaa\ud83d\udd25<\/p>\n<p> \u2014 Ram Gopal Varma (@RGVzoomin) <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RGVzoomin\/status\/2050174326260039802?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow\">May 1, 2026<\/a>  <\/p>\n<p>Taking to social media, Ram Gopal Varma acknowledged the film\u2019s strong start and lauded Riteish Deshmukh for pulling off a demanding dual role. He talked about the film\u2019s growing momentum in theatres and its ability to command audience attention.<\/p>\n<p>Sharing his thoughts on X, he wrote, \u201cHey @geneliad CONGRATS on the way your #RajaShivaji is both SLASHING and SMASHING the BOXOFFICE .. @Riteishd both as DIRECTOR and ACTOR is creating MAYHEM in the THEATRES and he literally looks #ShivajiMaharaj REINCARNATED.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h2>A Strong Opening At The Box Office<\/h2>\n<p>Released on May 1, Raja Shivaji wasted no time making its presence felt. The historical drama registered an impressive opening, collecting Rs 11.35 crore net on its first day across 6,192 shows. Its overall gross in India reached Rs 13.51 crore, signalling a solid start.<\/p>\n<p>The film\u2019s reception varied across regions, with the Marathi version leading the charge. It brought in Rs 8.00 crore and recorded a remarkable 68% occupancy, reflecting strong regional support. Meanwhile, the Hindi version contributed Rs 3.35 crore, though with a relatively lower occupancy of 16%.<\/p>\n<p><strong>ALSO READ: <\/strong><span style=\"color: #ba372a;\"><strong><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color: #ba372a;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.abplive.com\/entertainment\/celebrities\/shah-rukh-khan-wankhede-2012-controversy-ex-acp-reveals-details-1839980\">Years Later, Former ACP Calls Shah Rukh Khan&#8217;s 2012 Wankhede Controversy A &#8216;Miscommunication&#8217;<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Mixed Reviews, Yet Strong Footfall<\/h2>\n<p>Interestingly, the film\u2019s critical reception has been somewhat divided. However, that hasn\u2019t stopped audiences from turning up in large numbers. Riteish Deshmukh\u2019s ambitious portrayal of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj appears to have struck a chord, drawing viewers into cinemas despite the mixed word-of-mouth.<\/p>\n<div class=\"trending-video-player\">\n<p> <iframe title=\"See Latest Video\" data-src=\"https:\/\/api.abplive.com\/index.php\/playmedianew\/wordpress\/1148388bfbe9d9953fea775ecb3414c4\/e4bb8c8e71139e0bd4911c0942b15236\/1818935?channelId=1&amp;view_type=web&amp;autoplay=1&amp;mute=1\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allow=\"autoplay; fullscreen\" allowfullscreen=\"\" class=\"lazy-video-iframe\"> <\/iframe> <\/p>\n<h3 class=\"v-title\"><strong>Salman Khan Birthday: Salman Khan Celebrates 60th Birthday in Grand Style at Panvel Farmhouse<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source news.abplive.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Show Quick Read Key points generated by AI, verified by newsroom Raja Shivaji film achieves strong box office opening day. Riteish Deshmukh praised for director and actor roles. Ram Gopal Varma congratulates film&#8217;s commercial success. Marathi version leads with high occupancy and collections. Raja Shivaji seems to have tapped into that very pulse. With packed [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2399192,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25173],"tags":[360967,24386,468382,468381,464673,468377,468379,387604,468378,398463,464099,468380],"class_list":["post-2399191","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-artists","tag-bollywood-news","tag-entertainment-news","tag-indian-cinema-updates","tag-marathi-film-box-office","tag-raja-shivaji","tag-raja-shivaji-box-office","tag-raja-shivaji-day-1-collection","tag-ram-gopal-varma","tag-ram-gopal-varma-reaction","tag-riteish-deshmukh","tag-riteish-deshmukh-raja-shivaji","tag-shivaji-maharaj-film"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Ram-Gopal-Varma-Praises-Riteish-Deshmukhs-\u2018Raja-Shivaji-Calls-Him.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2399191","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2399191"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2399191\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2399193,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2399191\/revisions\/2399193"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2399192"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2399191"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2399191"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2399191"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}