On Shivaji Jayanti, Nagraj Manjule announces trilogy on the Maratha warrior-king

On the 390th birth anniversary of Shivaji, the 17th century founder of the Maratha kingdom, filmmaker Nagraj Popatrao Manjule has announced a trilogy on his life. Manjule will present the film with actor-producer Riteish Deshmukh and music composers Ajay-Atul.

Manjule made the announcement through a video in which he revealed the names of the three films, Shivaji, Raja Shivaji and Chhatrapati Shivaji. The trilogy will span the life and times of Shivaji, from his early days to his coronation as ruler of the Maratha kingdom.

The video makes no mention of who will direct the trilogy, nor does it reveal the name of the actor who will essay the role of Shivaji.

But earlier this year, before the release of his film Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior (2020), Ajay Devgn had said, in an interview with the website Bollywoodhungama, that Deshmukh would be playing Shivaji in an upcoming film, which he will also be making.

These days Marathi cinema is seeing quite a few historical films being made. We have already seen Farzand (2018) and Fatteshikast (2019). Now the director of those two films, Digpal Lanjekar, is bringing Jung Jauhar, based on the sacrifice made by Baji Prabhu Deshpande, a general in Shivaji’s army.

Interestingly, Abhijeet Deshpande, director of Ani... Dr Kashinath Ghanekar (2018), is also making a film on the same subject in Paavan Khind (2020).