| Me Shivajiraje Bhosale Boltoy | |
| Director: | Santosh Ramdas Manjrekar |
| Studio: | Everest Entertainment |
| Runtime: | 120 minutes |
| Country: | India |
| Language: | Marathi |
| Budget: | [1] |
Mi Shivajiraje Bhosale Boltoy (I'm Shivajiraje Bhosale Speaking) is a 2009 Indian Marathi-language film produced by Sanjay Chhabria along with Ashwami Manjrekar and directed by Santosh Ramdas Manjrekar. The film follows an underdog who fights against the evil in society, to re-instate his identity and keep his pride.
Dinkar Maruti Bhosale is a Maharashtrian bank clerk who feels his Marathi identity is getting lost in the cosmopolitan Mumbai. Dinkar feels Mumbai is in Maharashtra but there is no Maharashtra left in Mumbai. He always complains about the lack of respect a Maharashtrian receives in Mumbai and feels he is victimized everywhere because he is a Maharashtrian; little realizing that he himself has brought this situation upon himself.
In a state of sheer frustration Dinkar gets up one day cursing himself for being born a Marathi. He feels his ancestors must have committed a heinous crime for him to be born a Marathi.
These outbursts of Dinkar reach Pratapgad and the spirit of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is awakened. Dinkar has to now face a seething Shivaji Maharaj, who is furious at him. Shivaji Maharaj fires Dinkar for his shallow thinking and tells him he has to command respect, not demand it. He blames Dinkar's thinking for the sorry state of Maharashtrians. "Before blaming other communities for your shortcomings, look within and see if you have done anything to keep the Marathi pride intact," he roars.
Dinkar realizes his mistake but does Shivaji Maharaj's thought rouse him to rectify his mistakes? The film ends with Bhonsle gladly returning the sword at the shrine of Shivaji I.
The song O Raje marked the debut of Sukhwinder Singh in Marathi film industry.[2]
Me Shivajiraje Bhosale Boltoy opened on 9 April 2009 and was a huge blockbuster at the box office, becoming popular even among non-Maharashtrians.[3] It collected a total of in its full theatrical run. It held the record of highest-grossing movie for many years until the release of Duniyadari which broke its record by collecting at the box office.[4]
The film was remade in Bengali as Ami Shubhash Bolchi (2011), directed by the original film's lead actor Mahesh Manjrekar with Mithun Chakraborty and Anindya Banerjee. But the film's main character was replaced and slightly changed with environment.