Riteish Deshmukh's most ambitious project to date, Raja Shivaji, hit screens across India on Friday, May 1, timed deliberately to Maharashtra Day — the public holiday marking the state's formation — in a release strategy designed to maximise emotional resonance and footfall. The film, which chronicles the early life and military campaigns of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, opened to packed morning shows at multiplexes in Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur and Aurangabad, with PVR Inox reporting near-capacity occupancy for the first three shows.

Deshmukh, who has long spoken publicly about his deep personal connection to Marathi history and culture, attended a sunrise premiere event in Mumbai late Thursday night, drawing a crowd of fans and regional political figures. The Maharashtra Day timing amplifies the film's cultural stakes considerably, analysts noted, with regional pride expected to drive repeat viewings through the long weekend.

PVR Inox, which earlier this week announced screenings of five David Dhawan classics as part of a legacy celebration ahead of Dhawan's final film, pivoted its May 1 prime slots heavily toward Raja Shivaji in Maharashtra circuits. Industry tracking data suggested the film had crossed ₹8–10 crore in advance bookings by Thursday evening, a strong figure for a Marathi-language production, with notable interest also registered from the Indian diaspora in the UK, US, and Australia.

Critical early reactions, shared by journalists on social media following Thursday night screenings, highlighted the film's production design and Deshmukh's physical transformation for the role, though some noted the runtime of approximately 160 minutes as a point of debate. Trade analysts are watching opening-day collections closely as a bellwether for whether large-scale Marathi historical films can compete with Hindi and South Indian productions at the national box office — a question the industry has circled for several years without a definitive answer.

The release marks a significant personal milestone for Deshmukh, who produced and stars in the film under his own banner. If opening-day numbers hold through the holiday weekend, Raja Shivaji could establish a new benchmark for Marathi-language cinema and sharpen the case for increased multiplex allocation to regional films on premium dates.