3 min readMumbaiApr 21, 2026 09:15 AM IST
Actors Riteish Deshmukh and Genelia Deshmukh turned emotional at the trailer launch of their upcoming film Raja Shivaji in Mumbai on Monday. The couple thanked the team behind the historical drama for their support and hard work. The trailer of the highly anticipated historical drama was unveiled at a grand event attended by the cast and crew. Raja Shivaji revolves around the story of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and is mounted on a large cinematic scale.
Riteish gets emotional
During the event, Riteish was seen getting emotional as he spoke to the media while thanking his team for helping him and bringing the project to life. Standing beside him, Genelia was also moved and broke down on stage. Actor Sanjay Dutt was also seen wiping away tears. Riteish later thanked Genelia for standing by him and supporting him throughout the journey of making the film.
Bhagyashree shares sweet anecdote about Riteish Deshmukh and Genelia D’Souza
While Riteish serves as the director of Raja Shivaji, and 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 in the film, recalled a sweet incident involving the couple from the set.
“I clearly remember Genelia feeding Riteish on set because he was busy setting up a shot while all of us were done with dinner. So, our producer was chasing our director with a plate of roti-sabzi in her hand,” recalled Bhagyashree, as Genelia blushed. Bhagyashree compared the love between Riteish and Genelia to that between Shivaji and Saibai.
About Raja Shivaji
The launch event was attended by several actors, including Sanjay Dutt, Abhishek Bachchan, Vidya Balan, Mahesh Manjrekar and Bhagyashree, all of whom play important roles in the film. Mounted on a grand cinematic canvas, the film features high-octane action and rich world-building, with music by the celebrated duo Ajay-Atul and cinematography by internationally acclaimed Santosh Sivan.
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Presented by Jio Studios and produced by Jyoti Deshpande and Genelia Deshmukh under the banner of Mumbai Film Company, Raja Shivaji is slated to release in cinemas worldwide on May 1 in Marathi, Hindi, and Telugu.
