Raja Shivaji 1st Day Advance Booking: 42,000+ Tickets Sold Already; Why The Hindi Version Is Shorter Than The Marathi One?

Riteish Deshmukh's much-anticipated historical epic Raja Shivaji is generating significant momentum ahead of its May 1 release. The film has recorded a healthy response in its advance booking phase, crossing the 1.1 crore mark in all-India gross collections without block seats. When including block seats, the total first-day advance booking stands at 1.55 crore. With over 42,700 tickets already sold across 1,105 shows, the film is poised for a strong start, particularly in its home territory of Maharashtra.

Beyond the booking numbers, an interesting development regarding the film's runtime has surfaced. As exclusively reported by Bollywood Hungama, Raja Shivaji will be released with two different runtimes for its Marathi and Hindi versions. While it is standard practice for multi-language releases to maintain the same length, this film serves as an exception. The Marathi version has a runtime of 195.05 minutes, which translates to 3 hours 15 minutes and 5 seconds. In contrast, the Hindi version is shorter by exactly 8 minutes, clocking in at 187.05 minutes or 3 hours 7 minutes and 5 seconds.This strategic difference in pacing was also reflected in the film's promotional material; while the Marathi trailer runs for 3 minutes and 5 seconds, the Hindi trailer was kept slightly shorter at 2 minutes and 59 seconds.

The Hindi version of the film was cleared by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) with a U/A 16+ certificate on April 28. While no major cuts were requested, the CBFC's only suggestion was that the names of chapters, dates, events, and locations be specifically mentioned in Hindi for that version.This runtime experiment is reportedly a strategic move by Riteish Deshmukh. According to industry insiders, the director wanted to keep the narrative crisper for the national audience, while retaining a more detailed and local flavor for the Marathi audience who are naturally more connected to the historical context.

The language-wise breakdown of the advance booking reflects the film's strong regional pull, though the Hindi version is also carving out its space. Here is a look at the current 1st-day advance booking status:

• Marathi (2D): 1.05 Cr Gross | 40,070 Tickets Sold | 992 Shows
• Hindi (2D): 4.50 Lakh Gross | 2,667 Tickets Sold | 113 Shows
• All India Total (Gross): 1.10 Cr (1.55 Cr with block seats)
• Total Tickets Sold: 42,737
• Marathi (2D): ATP 226
• Hindi (2D): ATP 182

The trend was also visible in the promotional material, as the Marathi trailer was slightly longer than the Hindi one. The film features a massive ensemble cast including Genelia Deshmukh, Sanjay Dutt, Abhishek Bachchan, Vidya Balan, and Fardeen Khan. Produced by Mumbai Film Company and Jio Studios, Raja Shivaji is one of the most ambitious Marathi productions to date. This star power, combined with the historical significance of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, has led to a surge in demand across key cities.

Pune has emerged as the strongest performing center, leading the bookings with several theaters introducing 7:00 AM shows to accommodate the audience. Mumbai is also seeing steady growth in ticket sales. Among the national multiplex chains, the performance has been encouraging with PVR Inox leading the Marathi version sales at 10,000 tickets. Miraj Cinemas has followed with 4,500 tickets, while Cinepolis and MovieMax have sold 3,000 and 2,500 tickets respectively. With a total of 1,105 shows scheduled across India, Raja Shivaji is looking to set new benchmarks for Marathi cinema at the box office.