Following a massive INR43.66 crore ($4.6 million) domestic bow that shattered Marathi-language box office records, Jio Studios and Mumbai Film Company are aggressively moving to capitalize on the organic success of Riteish Deshmukh’s historical epic “Raja Shivaji” by diluting it across a sprawling slate of completely unnecessary spinoffs.
Sources close to the Mumbai-based conglomerate confirm that within hours of the historical epic’s weekend actuals posting, executives had already drawn up a slate of six unscripted prequels, a modern-day procedural reboot, and an animated origin series for the protagonist’s horse. The rapid push to strip-mine the property comes after the $4.6 million three-day gross surpassed all previous regional benchmarks, including 2016’s “Sairat,” signaling to executives that the IP was finally ripe for catastrophic over-expansion.
We are looking at a bona fide four-quadrant regional hit, which means our immediate fiduciary duty is to stretch the property so thin it becomes entirely unrecognizable.
Deshmukh, who directed and starred in the original film, has reportedly been handed a blind script commitment for a $50 million English-language spinoff that studio insiders privately acknowledge will alienate the core Marathi fanbase while predictably failing to capture a global audience. The deal reportedly includes backend points on an upcoming free-to-play mobile game and mandatory promotional appearances at a hastily conceived theme park activation. Meanwhile, reps for WME and CAA, who are aggressively courting the filmmaker to abandon his passion projects to helm a doomed $250 million superhero property, declined to comment.
At press time, Mumbai Film Company was finalizing a massive merchandising pact to produce premium “Raja Shivaji” action figures that will sit unsold on shelves long after the franchise has exhausted its cultural goodwill. Sources indicate the studio is also actively exploring a stage musical adaptation, provided they can fast-track development before the theatrical window closes on the first film.