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By:

Bharati Dubey

17 May 2026 at 1:38:10 am

Raja Shivaji sparks a new era for Marathi cinema

Mumbai: As Raja Shivaji marches steadily towards the Rs 100 crore mark, the film has reignited debate around the future of the Marathi film industry. Having already crossed Rs 80 crore at the Indian box office, the historical drama is now only the second Marathi film after Sairat to achieve the milestone. Its success has raised a larger question within the trade: can a major blockbuster finally attract sustained investment into Marathi cinema, an industry often marked by cycles of growth and...

Raja Shivaji sparks a new era for Marathi cinema

Mumbai: As Raja Shivaji marches steadily towards the Rs 100 crore mark, the film has reignited debate around the future of the Marathi film industry. Having already crossed Rs 80 crore at the Indian box office, the historical drama is now only the second Marathi film after Sairat to achieve the milestone. Its success has raised a larger question within the trade: can a major blockbuster finally attract sustained investment into Marathi cinema, an industry often marked by cycles of growth and slowdown? Much of the buzz surrounding the film stems from the support it received from prominent Hindi film stars, several of whom reportedly came on board to back the project and the industry. Trade analyst Girish Wankhede believes the film’s biggest achievement lies in the scale of collaboration it represents. “The real strength of Raja Shivaji lies in its creative ensemble star cast, which Riteish Deshmukh successfully brought together. By roping in heavyweight Hindi stars like Abhishek Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt, and Salman Khan, the film showcases the immense combined value of cross-industry collaboration. This strong gesture of Hindi cinema’s biggest names extending full support to a Marathi project has created a powerful impression, generating tremendous curiosity and respect for Marathi cinema among audiences, investors, and other industries. It underscores how Marathi films can now command pan-Indian attention and star power,” he says. At the same time, Wankhede feels it may still be premature to call the film a runaway commercial success given its production scale and costs. “What is heartening is the visible new energy and creative fuel that Riteish Deshmukh has infused into Marathi cinema. With him at the helm of affairs, the film looks strong and polished, and this momentum, further amplified by the star support, is already drawing serious attention from investors who were earlier hesitant about the regional space,” he adds. Producer Suniel Wadhwa, Co-Founder and Director of Karmic Films, says the film’s performance could play an important role in rebuilding investor confidence in theatrical cinema. “The success of Raja Shivaji could significantly improve investor confidence in theatrical cinema, especially at a time when many non-film investors have become cautious about the sector. If the film succeeds as a large-scale theatrical event rather than just an opening weekend phenomenon, it will reinforce the belief that culturally rooted Indian stories still possess massive commercial potential across regions and demographics,” he says. However, Wadhwa points out that the industry continues to face deep structural challenges. “One of the biggest is the shortage of true theatrical stars who can create urgency for audiences to step into cinemas. Streaming has created visibility, but not necessarily ticket-selling mythology. At the same time, India remains heavily under-screened, and even strong films often struggle with inadequate show slots, limited showcasing windows, and overcrowded release calendars. Many films today are judged within the first 48–72 hours, leaving little room for organic word-of-mouth growth,” he says. According to him, the theatrical business is evolving rather than disappearing. “Audiences are now reserving cinema outings for event-driven experiences — spectacle, emotion, mythology, action, horror-comedy, and culturally resonant storytelling. Films that can create that collective viewing urgency will continue to attract both audiences and serious investment capital,” he adds. The Marathi film industry has witnessed a mixed year so far. More than two dozen films have released, but only a handful — including Raja Shivaji, Kranti Vidyalay Marathi Madhyam, Aga Aga Sunbai Mahnatay Sasubai, and Super Duper — have performed strongly at the box office. Veteran journalist Dilip Thakur believes Marathi cinema has already begun regaining momentum after the slowdown caused by the pandemic. “New Marathi films are getting launched regularly. The upcoming film Bapya had its screening at Sunny Super Sound, which was attended by non-Marathi journalists in big numbers. The story of Bapya is complex and difficult to make. The point here is that a producer agreed to put his money into the film. Sabar Bonda was another difficult subject which won an award at Sundance. So, producers willing to invest money in such subjects is one positive sign,” he says. Thakur also points to the continued appetite for mainstream Marathi entertainers. “The boom after Sairat still exists in Marathi cinema. There was a setback for four years because of Covid, but the industry has gained momentum. Ravi Jadhav’s new film Fulawara, based on tamasha folk art, will soon go on floors in Pune,” he says. He further notes that Marathi cinema is increasingly attracting investors from outside the industry. “Most Marathi films have non-Marathi investors. They are putting in money because there is business in Marathi cinema. But not every film becomes a hit. Subhash Ghai also produced a few Marathi films. If the subject is good, people are willing to invest,” he adds. Not everyone, however, is convinced that one major hit can alter the industry’s fortunes overnight. Nitin Datar, president of the Cinema Owners Association, remains cautious about reading too much into the film’s success. “Only one film success is not going to bring investors. In the last five years, out of nearly 500 films produced, the success rate has not been encouraging,” he says. Datar acknowledges that the presence of Hindi stars has helped boost the film’s commercial appeal but stresses that Marathi cinema still lacks enough bankable stars capable of consistently drawing audiences to theatres. “The production houses and directors have attracted audiences. Unfortunately, producers haven’t been successful in attracting financial assistance, which has resulted in low production and advertising budgets. But if films succeed in pulling audiences over the weekend, exhibitors automatically increase shows and reduce screenings of underperforming films from other languages. The audience is always there, waiting to visit theatres in large numbers for a good film,” he says. For now, Raja Shivaji has undeniably given Marathi cinema a strong moment in the spotlight. Whether that momentum translates into long-term financial confidence and sustained industry growth remains the larger question.

Detained Without Trial

India’s justice system, hobbled by delay and weak legal aid, has worryingly transformed procedure into a tool of prolonged imprisonment.

Forget about ‘celebrity’ cases like Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, Gulfisha Fatima and Shifa-ur-Rehman who are reportedly imprisoned without a charge-sheet or presentation in court for years together. They are only the most visible edge of a far larger failure. Nearly 70 percent of India’s prison population consists of undertrials, many of whom have spent years behind bars without conviction, and often without a completed charge-sheet.


The Indian law statutes state that individuals cannot be held indefinitely without a formal charge. The specific time limits vary from country to country and failure to file a charge sheet within the statutory period often entitles the accused to default bail.


The criminal justice system in our country is based on two principles. (a) Any person arrested is presumed to be innocent unless proven guilty and (b) It is the duty of the state and the court to see that justice is done to the people and the victim. To achieve these principles, the process of investigation and trial should be completed without any delay. But these are not fulfilled and undertrial keep languishing in jail for years. International law draws a clear line against arbitrary detention.


From the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the rules are blunt: detainees must be told promptly why they have been arrested, produced quickly before a judge, and cannot be held endlessly without charge. After a prescribed period, they acquire an ‘indefeasible’ right to bail.


Rights Ignored

India’s own law broadly mirrors these guarantees. Police custody cannot exceed 24 hours without judicial approval and is capped at 15 days. The state must file a charge-sheet within 60 or 90 days, failing which default bail applies. Only preventive-detention laws stretch this further. Yet undertrials continue to languish in jail for years in quiet defiance of both constitutional promise and international norm.


The poor find it difficult to furnish bail even without sureties because the amount fixed by the court is so excessive. Hence in many cases, the poor are unable to satisfy the police or the court about their solvency for the amount of the bail, and where the bail is with sureties as is in most cases, it becomes an impossible task for the poor to find persons sufficiently solvent to stand as sureties. [‘Justice Under Trial - A Study of Pre-Trial Detention in India’, Amnesty International, 5(2017)]


Article 21 protects prisoners from cruel treatment and torture. Additionally, it guarantees inmates prompt trials. Article 22: In addition to having the right to counsel and legal representation from any attorney of their choosing, a detained individual must be quickly informed of the grounds behind his/her arrest.


Missing Counsel

A recent study of two central prisons in Pune and Nagpur offers a bleak snapshot. Between 2019 and 2024, forty-one percent of inmates had no access to a lawyer; among undertrials, only eight percent received legal representation. More than half had no basic documents relating to their own cases. Scale this across India, and the pattern is unlikely to improve.


West Bengal sits near the top of this grim league table. According to the National Legal Services Authority, roughly seventy-eight percent of its prisoners are undertrials. Its jails are dangerously overcrowded and unsanitary. Much of this congestion is artificial: many inmates might never have remained behind bars had free legal aid functioned as intended. Instead, those not convicted are forced to survive for years in the same suffocating spaces as hardened criminals.


According to Articles 21 and 39(2) of the Indian Constitution, no one should be deprived of a fair trial and this would lead to equality before the law on the one hand and a safeguarding of the Constitution. This marks a democratic step toward equality of all under the law.


Yet, if one pays attention to the social background of these undertrials, one can understand why these undertrials can hardly get justice. 77 percent of those imprisoned never completed their schooling, most of them belong to low castes or are Dalits. Most of them are not even aware that they can get legal aid free of cost. And tragically, the family and relatives of those jailed have cut off all connections with them.


More than 50 percent of these undertrials are victims of some physical and mental disability or disease and most of the mental issues are traced back to being forced to live in overcrowded, dirty cells, and suffer physical and mental torture by the prison staff. Accepting torture as the main cause for mental problems, the Calcutta High Court last year had ordered that all prisoners be provided with a specialist counsellor, or a special nurse or trained social worker within 24 hours of imprisonment. But the question is how can these counsellors be appointed to counsel them? How many will agree to give free or low-cost service? How will the infra-structure be created? And lastly, how will the costs for the infra-structure be sourced and covered?


Justice is not limited to bringing a case in court. The basic principle of bringing an undertrial to court is to prove that any and all undertrials have the right to protection under the law and that it is not any act of philanthropy by the state or central administration.


Most undertrials are not even aware that they have this right. They are not made aware of their legal rights i.e. the right to free legal aid, the right to get the legal practitioner of their choice, the right to bail, etc. And are those manning the legal and judiciary system aware of this right? Or, is it easier for them to look the other way?


(The author is a noted film scholar who writes extensively on social issues. She is a double-winner for the National Award for Best Writing on Cinema. Views personal.)

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