In Maharashtra, the recent controversy over the release of a Marathi movie Khalid Ka Shivaji has brought the history of the Maratha ruler into the political debate. The controversy around the Marathi film, which was scheduled to release on August 8, has sparked protests from right-wing groups who claim it distorts the legacy of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

The film tells the story of a Muslim boy named Khalid who admires Shivaji and presents him as a secular, inclusive leader. This has led to strong backlash from Hindutva groups, who view Shivaji as a Hindu warrior-king. The protests escalated recently when two men disrupted chief minister Devendra Fadnavis’s speech at the Maharashtra State Film Awards on Tuesday. 

On Thursday, Ashish Shelar, Minister of Information Technology and Cultural Affairs in the Maharashtra government, posted a circular on his X handle which said that the release of the film has been suspended for one to two months by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Government of India, following concerns raised by the Maharashtra government over historical inaccuracies and the potential impact on public order. “The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Government of India, has suspended the certification of the film for one month under Sec 6(2) of the Cinematograph Act, 1952.”

“This decision follows serious objections raised by the government of Maharashtra regarding historical inaccuracies in the film and its potential to hurt cultural sentiments and disturb public order, especially during the upcoming Dahi Handi and Ganeshotsav celebrations,” Shelar mentioned in his post. 

In April, Shelar had announced the selection of four Marathi films including Khalid Ka Shivaji, at the Cannes Film Festival. Shelar had congratulated filmmakers and had highlighted the efforts of Maharashtra Film, Theatre and Cultural Development Corporation to promote Marathi cinema on the global stage. 

The 2-minute-39-seconds-long  trailer of the film, directed by Raj More, was released on YouTube on July 28. 

What the trailer shows

The trailer begins with a history teacher at a school teaching how Afzal Khan, warrior of the Adil Shahi dynasty, was killed by Shivaji. Then Khalid, a class 5 student, is constantly teased by his classmates, who mockingly call him Afzal Khan. This leaves him feeling isolated and confused. “Why do they call me Afzal Khan? Is it because I am a Muslim?” he wonders. Was every Muslim an enemy of Shivaji Maharaj like Afzal Khan? 

Khalid asks countless questions to his father, grandmother and teacher as he begins searching for the real Shivaji Maharaj.

He later complains to the same teacher about his classmates teasing him. The teacher then tells Khalid, “35% of Shivaji Maharaj’s force was composed of Muslims and 11 of his bodyguards were also Muslims. He constructed a mosque at the Raigad Fort for his Muslim soldiers to offer namaz”. 

“This dialogue has triggered the right-wing Hindutva outfits,” said Prashant Pawar, a Mumbai- based senior journalist who saw Khalid Ka Shivaji at the Ajanta-Ellora International Film Festival, 2025, held in January. 

Pawar said the protestors are asking for the proof or reference of the numbers/data mentioned in the dialogue. 

“Numerically it may not be accurate, but we should accept that there were many muslim soldiers and bodyguards in Shivaji’s force. Nobody can deny this fact.” the director of the film, Raj More told this correspondent.

“If the censor board asks us to change that dialogue, we can make slight changes without altering its meaning and message”, More adds. “But there should be a proper guideline by the CBFC and no one on the road can get up and ask us to edit this and edit that. There is already a disclaimer in the film saying it is a fictional movie”, More says. 

More said, “The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) had already approved the release, it was screened in various film festivals and now due to some people’s objection, the ministry has put a stay on the film.” 

More said the government should not act due to public pressure despite the censor board clearance. “They are trying to do politics on the film, but the film is not political, it is fictional”. 

The trailer has multiple dialogues that portray Shivaji as a secular ruler. 

“A true king is the one who doesn’t put religion above everything else, a true king is the one who follows the religion of the whole world.”

At the end of the trailer, Krish More, who played Khalid in the film can be seen writing  ‘Itihaas’ (word history in Marathi) on the black board in a classroom. Then the teacher says, “your spelling of history is wrong”. 

“Sir, does wrong spelling lead to wrong history?” Khalid answers. 

The film has been screened in multiple film festivals such as Cannes Film Festival, International Film Festival of India, Ajanta Ellora International Film Festival and others. 

“The story of Khalid is relevant to contemporary India, the questions Khalid asks are real. Those are the questions of today’s India,” said Krish More. 

The ruling government has removed many chapters of Muslim history from the school textbooks, and in such times, the release of this movie portraying Shivaji as secular does not align with the ideology of hindutva groups.

The director said that it took two-and-a-half years to make this film and a lot of effort from many people has gone into making it. “After making so many efforts in making, producing and distributing the movie, we want people to see it on the big screen”. 

“Shivaji is everyone’s icon and we have made sure that the glory of Shivaji maharaj is maintained. We have not shown anything wrong in the film.”

“It is also said in marathi - Jyala samajhla tyanche Shivaji Maharaj (Shivaji belongs to those who understood him)”, the director added.

Shivaji can be Khalid’s, John’s, Ramu’s and all others who understand him, he said. 

There was a Marathi play called ‘Shivaji Underground in Bhimnagar Mohalla’, inspired by Govind Pansare’s Marathi book Who was Shivaji? that critiques the political exploitation of Shivaji Maharaj’s legacy, first staged in May 2013. The play, written by Rajkumar Tangade portrays Shivaji as a figure who transcends caste, religion, and regional boundaries, representing the common people and humanity. It challenges the myths surrounding Shivaji propagated by political parties for their own gain. 

‘Shivaji Underground in Bhimnagar Mohalla’, is also scheduled to play at different halls in Mumbai and Nashik from 12 to 28th September this year.

Rajkumar Tangade who had written this drama is also the dialogue writer of Khalid Ka Shivaji.

Pawar said other filmmakers he spoke to had told him that the controversy surrounding the release of  Khalid Ka Shivaji’s could also lead to a boycott of ‘Shivaji Underground in Bhimnagar Mohalla’. 

Pawar said that the data used in the dialogues of Khalid Ka Shivaji is the same as in the play. “So the right-wing groups will now protest against the drama as well," Pawar says. "I think that the government will not allow the release of Khalid ka Shivaji even after one or two months," he added.

“The lifetime of Marathi films is only one or two weeks, so whatever it was going to earn is now difficult. Hindutva groups do not have any objections when the movies show propaganda and hate, and when a movie shows Shivaji as secular, they have a problem," Pawar said. 

Anand Dave, president of Hindu Mahasangh, while speaking to TV9 Marathi said, “First of all we are against the title of the movie. Secondly, the facts and figures are absolutely wrong. The filmmakers should give references to the data used.”

“In Shivaji Maharaj’s force, there was not even a single Muslim soldier," Dave said on television.

“We will not allow the movie to be released. If it gets released, in cities or the rural areas of entire Maharashtra, our workers will go to theatres and respond in our own way”, Dave said. 

Dave argued that the film is historically inaccurate and glorifies Afzal Khan, which will not be tolerated. In a letter to the censor board, Dave warned that “We will not allow the film to be released in any theatre, and if it gets released, you are responsible for the consequences”. 

Azib Ahmed is a freelance journalist.

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