Akshay Kumar to play Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj

Mumbai: Superstar Akshay Kumar on Wednesday said he will play the role of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in director Mahesh Manjrekar’s Marathi film “Vedat Marathe Veer Daudle Saat”.

The actor said it is a huge task to play the role of the Maratha warrior king and he will give his best.

“I am playing the role of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. I got the role because of Raj Thackeray, he told me, ‘Akshay you should do this role’. And I was taken aback. It is a huge deal for me to play the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. It is a huge task and I would like to say I will give my best,” Kumar told reporters here at the press conference of the forthcoming film.

The event was also attended by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, MNS chief Raj Thackeray and superstar Salman Khan.

Manjrekar said Kumar is the apt choice for the role.

“It was my wish to work with Akshay. And for this role I couldn’t see any other actor but him. We wanted a certain personality and look and Akshay had the apt image to play a Hindu raja,” the director said.

The makers shared the first glimpse of Kumar as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and the actor said the team will further work on the look.

“To play the role of such a legendary personality is a huge responsibility . I am so happy about this. It is dream come true kind of a role,” Kumar added.

“Vedat Marathe Veer Daudle Saat”, produced by Vaseem Qureshi, is set to be released in cinemas on Diwali 2023 in Marathi, Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu.