Riteish Deshmukh on Dhurandhar's success and changing audience tastes in cinema: 'You cannot blind yourself to the changes'

Riteish Deshmukh has said Hindi cinema cannot be restricted to one format after the success of 'Dhurandhar' and 'Dhurandhar: The Revenge'. The actor-filmmaker, who is preparing for the release of his historical drama 'Raja Shivaji', said filmmakers must stay aware of changing audience tastes, but should not assume that only one style of storytelling will work. He added that Indian audiences remain wide and open to different kinds of films when the story connects.According to Bollywood Hungama, Riteish spoke about the shift in cinema while discussing 'Raja Shivaji'. Reacting to the impact of Aditya Dhar’s 'Dhurandhar' films, he said, “I think one has to be really cognisant of the changes happening around you. You cannot blind yourself to the changes. And when something really works, something as fantastic as Dhurandhar or Dhurandhar The Revenge and there is a different narrative, different stories, telling style, different approach and a new hero… new kind of a hero. So, it's always welcome. You feel thrilled about it.”He said the success of one format should not lead the industry to ignore other stories. “But I just feel that having said that our audience is so vast and if there is a good story they will come out and watch it and celebrate that too,” Riteish said.Riteish added, “If there is a particular film, I think it will be really limited on our part to think that only this kind of stories or this kind of stuff is going to work. Because when Dhurandhar came in, it was one of its kind, when Saiyaara came in, it was one of its kind. So, if you look at films that have really worked… when Chhaava came in, no one thought that it would do this kind of business for that genre.”He said these films proved that audiences accept many kinds of cinema. “So, eventually all these films have set benchmarks for themselves and also it goes to prove that, look at the larger picture,” he said.'Raja Shivaji' features Riteish as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. He has also directed and co-written the film, which releases on May 1, 2026. The cast includes Genelia Deshmukh, Sanjay Dutt, Abhishek Bachchan, Vidya Balan, Fardeen Khan, and Salman Khan in a special appearance.