Responding to questions about whether a large reported budget creates pressure for a massive opening, Riteish made it clear that such conversations are largely irrelevant to audiences. “Only the producers know the real budget,” he said, adding that filmmakers should avoid obsessing over numbers because they do not influence the cinematic experience.
Questioning the industry’s growing fixation on budgets and actor fees, Riteish remarked, “Budget se kya lena dena hai? If someone asks me the budget, I ask them how much they are paying for a ticket. Whether it’s ₹100 or ₹300, that’s the budget for the audience. People should stop discussing it and simply experience the magic of cinema.”
The actor also reflected on his childhood memories of watching legendary films starring Amitabh Bachchan, particularly Sholay. He shared that as a young moviegoer, he never cared about production costs and only looked forward to the larger-than-life entertainment on the big screen.
Riteish further noted that the film industry itself is responsible for encouraging public curiosity about collections, budgets, and actors’ salaries. “Earlier, people never knew how much films collected. Today, discussions about box office numbers and actors’ fees have become part of the culture because we feed these numbers,” he explained.
Highlighting his own production philosophy, Riteish revealed that his team has produced seven Marathi films so far without publicly disclosing their budgets. According to him, storytelling and audience connection matter far more than financial headlines.
With Raja Shivaji continuing its successful theatrical run, Riteish’s comments have reignited the debate over whether modern cinema has become too focused on numbers rather than the experience of filmmaking itself.
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