Raj More’s Khalid Ka Shivaji was meant to be released in cinemas on August 8 last year. The Marathi movie ran into trouble in the real world for the same reasons as the young hero in the fictional plot: the simple and yet increasingly controversial message that the Maratha emperor Shivaji stood for social harmony and did not discriminate on the basis of faith, caste or class.

This was the lesson that generations of Indians learnt in school until recently. But the Chhatrapati, the single-most powerful icon of Maharashtrian pride, has been co-opted by Hindutva forces and declared a Hindu king. Khalid Ka Shivaji had the temerity to include lines of dialogue by Rajkumar Tangade about Shivaji’s benevolence towards non-Hindus and the pursuit of sovereignty being more important than religion.

Protests by Hindutva groups ensured that Khalid Ka Shivaji was not released despite being cleared by the Central Board of Film Certification. The movie can now be rented on the BookMyShow Streamplatform.

Khalid Ka Shivaji is set in a typical small town in Maharashtra. There are water supply problems and bad roads, but the sarpanch wants to build a temple. Both Hindu and Muslim residents politely push back against the proposal. Not for the first time does the movie suggest that ordinary people...

Read more