Riteish Deshmukh’s historical saga\u00a0Raja Shivaji, based on the life of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, hits theatres tomorrow.<\/p>\n
Riteish plays the titular character in the film while directing it as well. Salman Khan has a special role. During a recent Marathi chat,<\/a> Riteish revealed how Salman came on board.<\/p>\n ‘You Can’t Make the Film Without Me’<\/p>\n For\u00a0Raja Shivaji, Riteish didn’t approach Salman Khan initially.\u00a0<\/p>\n “I didn’t go to him for this film,” Riteish said, adding, “We were together on New Year’s. He asked when I was starting to shoot the movie. I said, ‘It’s starting this month.’ He said, ‘Which role am I playing?'”<\/p>\n When Riteish shared that he hadn’t thought of Salman for the film, Salman’s instant response was, “No, no, no… you can’t make the film without me. I have to be in it.”<\/p>\n “That sense of warmth and belonging\u2014that emotion… I was thinking I hadn’t really thought it through yet,” Riteish shared.<\/p>\n Salman Was Always Part of Riteish’s Films<\/p>\n “When I did\u00a0Lai Bhaari, Salman Khan was in it. At the time, he requested, ‘I want to do a scene.’ When I was working on\u00a0Ved, I called him and said, ‘Brother, I want to meet you.’ He said, ‘Done!’ I said, ‘When?’ He said, ‘For which role? You want to meet\u2014it’s done.’ He just asked, ‘How many days is the shoot?’ I said, ‘Two days,’ and he just said, ‘Done,'” Deshmukh shared in the interview.<\/p>\n Lai Bhaari\u00a0marks Riteish’s debut in Marathi films, while\u00a0Ved\u00a0marks his directorial debut.<\/p>\n About\u00a0Raja Shivaji<\/p>\n Raja Shivaji\u00a0b<\/a>oasts an impressive cast, including Abhishek Bachchan, Vidya Balan, Sanjay Dutt, and Boman Irani.<\/p>\n The film also marks Riteish’s 10-year-old son<\/a> Rahyl’s acting debut.<\/p>\n