It has to be said that some of the most enjoyable bits of the film belong to Dutt in full Khalnayak mode, who chews the scenery, ratcheting his smirking villainy with every scene.

...Raja Shivaji, for all its sweep and scale, does the unthinkable - go in for measured strokes rather than adopt massy methods in its emotive moments. It does not always work but the attempt itself is noteworthy.

It soars in parts, especially towards the end. But as a whole, it remains a spectacle that you admire more than you feel.

Only Vidya Balan and Sanjay Dutt emerge as somewhat fleshed-out characters. Most of the cast members deliver performances as uninspiring and studious as the film itself.