India, May 1 -- Many filmmakers have attempted historical spectacles for the big screen, but today the genre is almost synonymous with Sanjay Leela Bhansali. It's roots, however, go back to K Asif's lavish Mughal-E-Azam, made in 1960 on a reported budget of Rs.1.5 crore. When it released, every rupee showed on screen.

Riteish Deshmukh's Raja Shivaji, touted as the most expensive Marathi film to date, wins you over on that front even before anything else. The scale, the ambition, the sheer attention to detail all demand your attention.

It's also said that Riteish spent nearly a decade bringing this vision to life. The question is: beyond the spectacle, does it truly deliver?

Directed by Riteish Deshmukh himself, the film traces the life...