Riteish Deshmukh upsets Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj followers 'Shiv Bhakts', apologises

By Sneha Bale

on July 06, 2018

Riteish Deshmukh has managed to make a mark for himself in the Bollywood Film Industry. Even though he started off with Hindi Cinema, he has always proudly worn the badge of being a 'Marathi Mulga'. With his film Lai Bhaari, he brought success to both, the Marathi Film industry and himself.

The actor will soon begin the shoot for his next Marathi film which will be a biopic on the Maratha warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Getting into the spirit of the biopic, recently the actor along with his writer Ravi Jadhav and the team paid a visit to the famous Raigad Fort.

He shared a few images from the location, posing with an orange flag (a symbol of Maratha pride) and another one as he bowed down to the idol of the warrior king. He tweeted saying, "Visited Raigad Fort this morning, the capital of Maratha Empire. It’s an unimaginable high to feel the presence of one of the greatest warriors born in India Shri Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Nothing is more invigorating than bowing down and seeking his blessings."

https://twitter.com/Riteishd/status/1014927380769411072

This did not go down well with the 'Shiv Bhakts' on social media. Soon, their uproar began in the comment section of his tweet. They were offended by the fact that the actor clicked pictures inside the fort and even crossed the barricades which are against the rules. However, he was quick to address the discomfort and apologized with a statement. He wrote that he visited the place to seek inspiration and just like everyone else he, too, was overwhelmed with the aura of the place and atmosphere.

https://twitter.com/Riteishd/status/1015099391550500865

Riteish further added that he paid his respect to the great king and fulfilled his wish of sitting by his feet. He clarified that they "did not intend to offend anyone" and that it was all only out of sheer devotion. "If we have hurt anyone, we apologize" he concluded.

The actor recently wrapped the shoot for his multi starrer Total Dhamaal that features Madhuri Dixit, Anil Kapoor, Jaaved Jaafery, Arshad Warsi, Ajay Devgn, Esha Gupta amongst others.

https://twitter.com/Riteishd/status/1014019061657661440