Raj More’s Khalid Ka Shivaji, which got picked as India’s official entry for Cannes this year, has landed smack in the middle of a storm.
The film’s accused of twisting facts about Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, and honestly, all hell’s broken loose between religious and cultural groups in Maharashtra. Now, politicians and film bodies are tangled up in the mess too.
Khalid Ka Shivaji’s release date pushed
Politicians in Maharashtra once had nothing but praise for Khalid Ka Shivaji. Now, the film’s release—set for August 8—has been pushed back with no new date in sight. Raj More, who snagged a National Film Award in 2019 for Khissa, is the guy behind the camera.
The cast includes Krish More, Sushama Deshpande, Kailash Waghmare, Snehalata Tagde, Priyadarshan Jadhav, and Bharat Ganeshpure.
So, what’s the film even about? Khalid Ka Shivaji follows a fifth grader named Khalid (played by Krish More) who faces taunts at school for being Muslim—his classmates keep calling him ‘Afzal Khan’, the historical enemy of Shivaji Maharaj.
Tired of the jabs, this young kid decides to dig into Shivaji Maharaj’s actual ideals, hoping to figure out if every Muslim was really the enemy of the Maratha king. Along the way, he learns more about Shivaji’s legacy through his own experiences.
The film claims that 35% of Shivaji’s soldiers were Muslim, and there’s even a character who says, “A true king is one who does not believe in religion.” That particular line didn’t sit well with several groups, and it’s a big reason why the film’s now in the crosshairs.
Why is Khalid Ka Shivaji courting controversy?
There’s a deep ideological rift in Maharashtra about Shivaji Maharaj’s legacy. Some see him as a Hindu king. Others insist he was a secular leader who fought injustice. This film, people say, could sway how Shivaji’s story is remembered.
With protests erupting in Mumbai, the Maharashtra government sent a letter to the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, asking the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to take another look at the film’s clearance.
Culture Secretary Kiran Kulkarni wrote the letter; the I&B Ministry has since sent a notice to the filmmakers, asking them to back up their story with evidence.
On the ground, Pune’s Hindu Mahasangh has been one of the loudest critics. Their chairman, Anand Dave, called the film “an attempt to distort the history of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj” and took issue with the portrayal of Shivaji as secular. He’s threatened protests at any theater that dares to show the film and urged Pune’s cinemas to give it a miss altogether.
Dave didn’t mince words: “Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj belonged to us, to Hindus, and Marathas. Our objection is to the very idea of Khalid Ka Shivaji.”
When the film was selected for Cannes 2025, Maharashtra’s Cultural Affairs Minister, Ashish Shelar, was all applause. Now, with controversy raging, he’s switched gears, saying the government acted fast after complaints that the film spreads misinformation and offends people’s sentiments.
The film’s been yanked from the Cannes selection listings, and the CBFC has started a review process based on the accusations that the film distorts history.
Raj More, the director, didn’t hold back in an interview with ETimes. He said the film was sent to Cannes after experts gave it a thumbs-up, but now the government’s caving in to pressure from groups who objected just because of the trailer. “I am deeply saddened and disappointed,”
More admitted. And that about sums it up: a film that was once a point of pride, now caught in the crossfire of cultural politics.
