Mumbai, May 03 (IANS) Actor Riteish Deshmukh offered prayers at the famous Dagadusheth Halwai Ganapati Temple in Pune, following the success of his recently released historical action drama "Raja Shivaji".

Talking about the visit, Riteish shared that his late father, Vilasrao Deshmukh, also used to visit the temple every year.

He said, “This is a very sacred temple. I try to come here every time. My father used to come here every year as well. In life, you do many things, but this film—‘Raja Shivaji’, which is based on the valor of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj—we have made with great dedication."

Elated by the positive response to the drama, Riteish went on to add, "When people gave such a good response to this film, I came here to thank them for it, to bow my head at the feet of Lord Ganesha. The struggle for this film had been going on for the past 10 years. Especially in the last three and a half years, continuous work has been done on it. Today, this film has been presented to the audience, and people are liking it very much. We did not think that so many people would come to watch it. Seeing this love from the people, I just want to express my gratitude to them.”

Prior to the visit to the temple, Riteish also visited Latur, where he received a grand welcome. For the unaware, Latur is the hometown of Riteish.

Refreshing your memory, recently Riteish and his better half, Genelia Deshmukh, sought blessings at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Temple in Biwandi, Thane.

Performing well at the ticket counters, "Raja Shivaji" has managed to gain a total connection of approximately Rs. 24 crore within a span of 2 days.

Released on May 1 this year, the movie is based on the life of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

Backed by Mumbai Film Company and Jio Studios, the project enjoys an ensemble cast with Sanjay Dutt, Abhishek Bachchan, Vidya Balan, Mahesh Manjrekar, Sachin Khedekar, Boman Irani, Bhagyashree, Fardeen Khan, Jitendra Joshi, Amol Gupte, and Genelia, in significant roles.

--IANS

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