T-Series has boarded The Pride of Bharat – Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the Sandeep Singh historical epic starring Rishab Shetty as the Maratha king. The project is now structured as a two-part saga, with cameras set to roll in early 2027.
Bhushan Kumar and Krishan Kumar will produce for T-Series Films. Shetty joins as a co-producer alongside Shiv Chanana and Kabiir Sadanand, while Legend Studios produces with T-Series Films. Gulshan Kumar and T-Series Films present the project. To mark the partnership, Bhushan Kumar presented Shetty with a century-old painting of Shivaji Maharaj.
The announcement firms up a project first revealed in December 2024. Sandeep Singh co-wrote the film with Rishi Virmani, and the production has promised a large ensemble cast, with creative talent drawn from India and abroad.
Why Shetty changes the math
Shetty wrote, directed and starred in Kantara, the 2022 Kannada-language hit that won him the Indian National Film Award for best actor. Its prequel, Kantara: Chapter 1, released in 2025 and grossed more than $91 million worldwide. For T-Series, that means a lead actor with proven theatrical pull rather than an untested action hero.
Across the two films, the saga will follow Shivaji Maharaj through his major battles, victories, sacrifices and less widely known episodes. The story centers on his military strategy, his leadership and his idea of Swarajya.
The market context
Shivaji founded the Maratha kingdom in 17th-century western India and spent much of his life fighting the Mughal Empire. He remains a reliable box office subject in Maharashtra and beyond. Recent titles give T-Series clear benchmarks:
- Chhaava (2025) centered on Shivaji’s son Sambhaji and became a major theatrical event.
- Raja Shivaji, directed by Riteish Deshmukh in May, became the highest-grossing Marathi film of all time after its Hindi and Marathi release.
- Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior (2020) and Har Har Mahadev (2022) had already established the genre’s reach.
Those successes make a two-part, star-led production look less like a risk and more like a franchise bet.
The two-part economics
A two-part structure is not just a creative call. It gives T-Series two release moments instead of one, and the second part inherits audience familiarity from the first. The gap between installments becomes a built-in marketing funnel: the first film tests positioning, and the second can be targeted with actual audience data.
For brand partners, that means a longer campaign window and two spikes. Waiting for the trailer may mean buying into a franchise after the best integration slots are gone.
What to watch next
No release dates have been announced. Pre-production is under way ahead of the 2027 shoot, with casting, language versions and distribution partners still to be confirmed. Bhushan Kumar described the project as ‘more than a film; it is a tribute’ to Shivaji Maharaj and his legacy.
For media planners, the early phase is the one to track. Two parts means two release calendars, two marketing peaks, and a longer window for brand and platform conversations.
Source: Variety
