Riteish Deshmukh ‘misfit’ for Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj role: ‘No aura, terrible casting’

Riteish Deshmukh is all set to take on the role of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in his upcoming film. Titled ‘Raja Shivaji,’ the trailer of the historical action drama dropped on April 20. And ever since, there has been a strong buzz over Riteish being a “misfit” in the role. Reddit and other social media platforms have expressed their disappointment over Deshmukh’s casting as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

Reactions

“To be honest, even Ram Charan would look good in this movie,” a Reddit user wrote.

“Unfortunately, it’s true. His voice doesn’t have that power. This will be like Akshay Kumar in the Prithviraj Chauhan movie,” another Reddit user commented.

“He’s such a misfit for the movie,” read a comment.

“Oh absolutely! He doesn’t have the aura and personality to carry the role of a warrior,” another comment read.

“Riteish’s tone and dialogue delivery don’t create the impact of the strong force that Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was. Neither does he look the part, even after the make-up,” a user opined.

“I am waiting for Rishab Shetty sir’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj movie. This is an absolute misfit as well as unnecessary,” another user shared his take.

“I really want to see Sharad Kelkar in this epic role. Why Riteish!???” and “This looks like a group project, terrible casting” were some more of the disapproving comments floating around on social media.

Directed by Riteish Deshmukh, the film has been produced by Genelia Deshmukh and Jyoti Deshpande. It also stars Abhishek Bachchan, Genelia Deshmukh, Sanjay Dutt, Mahesh Manjrekar, Sachin Khedekar, Bhagyashree, Fardeen Khan, Jitendra Joshi and Amole Gupte in pivotal roles. What makes the film even more special for the Deshmukh family is Riteish Deshmukh’s son, Rahyl, making his debut in the industry with the film.

The film is scheduled to be released in theaters on May 1.