India, May 9 -- >>>Continued from main page Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj hamare liye bhagwaan hain. He is the first superhero whose tales you hear right from childhood. As you grow older, you start understanding the depth behind his decisions and actions. I first tried making this film with director Ravi Jadhav in 2016, but it fizzled out. I tried again in 2019 with filmmaker Nagraj Manjule, but then Covid struck and it again didn't materialise. In 2023, after directing Ved, Genelia suggested that I direct this film myself. I wasn't sure because it was too big a personality. She told me, 'You've been dreaming this for a very long time. Just start writing the film.' After a year or so, I gained confidence. We had not thought about it. There was a part that required childlike curiosity and innocence because the character is only asking questions. Rahyl isn't trained as an actor, but I wanted that innocence. If it hadn't worked, we would have cast someone else. I do miss him. I missed him when I made my Marathi film debut in 2014 too. In Hindi films, my name appears as Riteish Deshmukh, but in Marathi films, it appears as Riteish Vilasrao Deshmukh. I carry him with me in Marathi cinema. Just like he was my childhood hero, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was his hero too, like he is for all of Maharashtra. I truly wish he was alive to see this film. Not really. We are not trying to paint a picture of being a perfect couple. Of course, we support each other and are deeply in love, that's the strength of our relationship. But we also maintain limits and respect each other as well as the people we meet. I have seen the pap culture grow. When we debuted, it wasn't like this. Earlier, you would only get clicked at functions. Now there are photographers everywhere, chasing pictures. I feel the kind of effort they put in to earn money should be respected. I once asked a pap, 'Ek photo ke kitne milte hain?' He said, 'Exclusive ho toh Rs.1,000.' I realised if their livelihood depends on pictures and I can contribute to that, why not? Till date, I have never refused a pap picture. Nothing really. If you are smiling when people praise you, then you should also be able to embrace criticism. But when comments become personal and abusive, I don't bother. If I engage, I give it value. Their knowledge of my films is much better than my knowledge of politics...I have watched politics closely, but they are the ones executing it on the ground. An election war room is a completely different ball game. These relationships are my real earning from 23 years in films. If I go to Abhishek Bachchan, Salman Khan, Sanjay Dutt or Akshay Kumar and they agree to be part of my film, that's a relationship I have earned. A Marathi film commercially cannot afford these stars. But when they lend support without burdening the film financially, it becomes special. We all came together to see if we could push this film beyond regional boundaries. This is all Akshay. Me, Akshay and Sajid Khan started giving each other funny names. We used to call Akshay 'Jagtap' because of a character named Jaadugar Jagtap, and he started calling me Sundi with love. It just stayed. I once read a beautiful line: 'If you are on time, you are already late.' If you want to earn respect, you have to respect people's time. You can waste your own time, not someone else's. You should learn this from Akshay Kumar. He comes on time, delivers, and look at the longevity he has had. My father once told me something beautiful about respect. He shaved every morning and would ask me to shave too. I once asked him why. He said, 'You don't do it for yourself. You do it because when someone comes to meet you, you should look nice and clean as a mark of respect for them'....