‘Khalid Ke Shivaji’: Why Raj More’s Marathi film never reached theatres and quietly landed on OTT

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The debutant director reflects on the OTT release of ‘Khalid Ke Shivaji’ a year after its theatrical run was halted, talking about how distributors aren’t ready to screen the film, the lack of support from the industry, the changes that were made to the film since last year and more

Updated - July 13, 2026 06:05 pm IST

From left: Raj More and the poster of ‘Khalid Ke Shivaji’ | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

As the future of Diljit Dosanjh’s searing political-drama, Satluj, remains unknown, another independent Marathi film, Khalid Ke Shivaji, was quietly released on OTT last week, almost a year after its theatrical release was halted. Dipped in ideas of secularism and plurality, the film tells the story of a Muslim boy’s connection with the Maratha warrior king, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in the backdrop of his classmates bullying him with the name of Afzal Khan, a Mughal commander who was killed by Shivaji. The film was scheduled to be released in theatres on August 8, 2025 but director Raj More received orders not to do so just a day before on August 7.

“The case of our film is different than that of Satluj, which didn’t receive a censor certificate. We received a censor certificate with five cuts, which I had happily accepted,” says Raj, who recounts how the film received a good response when it was screened at Cannes Film Market last year. The problem, however, began when the film’s trailer was unveiled which made certain claims about Shivaji that were criticised by some of his followers. The outrage led to Maharashtra government cancelling the film’s censor certificate. Raj later made changes to some of the historical claims, which included re-dubbing a dialogue where a character talks about the presence of 35 percent Muslims in Shivaji’s army.

A behind-the-scenes photo from the film’s shoot | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

“At the end of the day, its my producer’s money which is at stake and just to halt a film’s release due to 2-3 things doesn’t make any sense. Even the jury which viewed the film later felt that it faced so many troubles without anything controversial in it,” says Raj, known for winning the National Film Award for his 2020 short film, Khisa (Pocket).

Khalid Ke Shivaji projects a far more gentle image of Shivaji than the one popularised by most Marathi films, which focus only on his battle conquests without taking note of his ideas on governance and society. Growing up, even Raj was consumed by the fantasy surrounding the Maratha warrior while reading about him in history books.

“But when I wanted to make a film on him, I realised that the might of Shivaji Maharaj is not in his sword or his crown, but in his ideas. However, today, Shivaji Maharaj has become part of a fantasy. People are enamoured by his clothes and long beard but know little about what he said,” adds Raj.

A still from the film | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

The director was inspired by the story of a real-life Muslim professor, who was bullied by the name of Afzal Khan in his childhood. Initially, Raj recalls facing hurdles to secure funds for the film as no one was ready to produce it until he met Michael Thevar, a social worker based in the United States of America (USA), who came on board to back the film along with his wife, Sushma Ganvir. “It is not easy being a director and make films. It took us around 2 years to make the film and one year went by without release. So, in total, it took three years for one film to finally find a release,” says Raj.

Due to the independent nature of its production and no studio presence, the film was released on OTT without much promotion and buzz. Raj says that distributors weren’t ready to release the film in theatres. “There’s a different lobby working in distribution. They are also scared that if the film releases in theatres now, there would be ruckus again. So, that was a big setback. We felt that OTT was the best way to make sure that the film gets out,” explains Raj.

The director also expresses his disappointment on the lack of support for Khalid Ke Shivaji from others in the Marathi film industry. “No one is wanting to talk about our film. I don’t think there’s any unity in the industry. No one even called me last year and stood behind the film,” he says and concludes, “All of this happened with me today, but it can happen with anyone tomorrow.”