MUMBAI: The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has suspended the release of the Marathi film ‘Khalid ka Shivaji’, in the face of backlash from right-wing groups. The board has asked its makers to submit documentary evidence of certain factual claims made in the film.
The film, incidentally, was screened at the Cannes Film Festival in the category of Film Bazaar, in May 2025, where, according to its director Raj Pritam More, “it received a standing ovation”. However, a 2.3-minute trailer, which was released recently, showing one of the characters claiming that 35% of Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s army comprised Muslims and that 11 of his body guards were also from the same community, put certain right-wing outfits off their stride.
At the Maharashtra State Film Awards ceremony, held at the NSCI Dome, two persons voiced their resentment over “distorted facts regarding Shivaji” in the film. Two activists from Hindu Mahasabha also raised slogans in front of chief minister Devendra Fadnavis (and were immediately taken away by cops).
The film centres around a teenager, Khalid, from Vidharba, who when ragged in school by the name of Afzal Khan, a general in Adil Shah’s army who was killed by Shivaji Maharaj, sets out to educate himself about the history of Shivaji and Aurangzeb.
Right-wing groups and researchers have for decades insisted that Shivaji Maharaj formed a Hindu kingdom while battling Muslim rulers, especially Mughals – a claim which has been opposed by historians who have said that Shivaji was not against Muslims, evidenced by the presence many from the community in his army, just as Hindus served in the Mughal army.
Responding to the backlash, More issued a statement on Thursday announcing that disputed parts and dialogues will be removed from the film. On Friday, Maharashtra cultural affairs minister, Ashish Shelar, said, “We will not tolerate any distortion of history,” and added that the state government has asked the Centre to review the film. HT has learnt that Kiran Kulkarni, secretary of the cultural department, has dashed off an official letter to the union ministry of information and broadcasting, requesting a pause on the film’s release until CBFC completes its review.
Nilesh Bhise, head of Shiv Samartha Pratishthan, who had filed a complaint on Wednesday with the ministry of cultural affairs, said: “The facts shown in the film have no historical evidence. The author who is referred to in the film did not live during Shivaji’s time; and his writings are not fact-based. There is also no documentary proof of Shivaji Maharaj building a mosque at Raigad.”
More said, “While the number of Muslims in Shivaji’s army and his personal guards, mentioned in the film, may not match historical records, the film’s intent was to showcase Shivaji Maharaj’s inclusive and secular values, which are supported by several documents.”
Meanwhile, Opposition leaders were quick to criticise the government’s move. NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar shared a video of Shelar advocating the film, on X, “as a different kind of work showing the search of Shivaji Maharaj’s work through the questions in the mind of school boy, Khalid”.
Responding to Pawar’s post, Shelar told the media on Friday: “I had only announced the decision of the selection committee regarding the films which will go to Cannes. However, after receiving complaints about inauthentic claims in the film, we have initiated an inquiry to check if the film has presented distorted historical facts. We have also sent a letter to organisers of the Cannes film festival to delete the film from their records.”
Kolhapur-based historian Indrajeet Sawant, said, while Muslims were a part of Shivaji’s army, there is no way to ascertain their number. Also, it is well documented that Siddi Ibrahim was one of Shivaji’s bodyguards when he went to meet Afzal Khan. “The producer and director of the film have damaged their own project, which otherwise would have projected that Shivaji Maharaj belongs to all. While it is documented that Muslims were a part of his army and posse of personal guards, their volume has no mention in historical records,” said Sawant.