Unique themes give Marathi films an edge Of the 14 Indian films in MAMI, 4 are by Marathi filmmakers, both known and new

Unique themes give Marathi films an edge

Of the 14 Indian films in MAMI, 4 are by Marathi filmmakers, both known and new

A 74-year-old filmmaker, Ratnakar Matkari, makes his debut with a Marathi film this year. Well-known Marathi playwright and theatre producer-director's daughter, Supriya Vinod, an actor who plays the lead in Matkari’s film, Investment, says that the idea for the plot had come to Matkari a few years ago. “He’d been struggling to make the film. Finally, his wish has come true.” Inspite of being the first film, Matkari’s fans are looking forward to his film’s premiere at the ongoing Mumbai Film Festival (MFF). One of them is Nikhil Mahajan, whose own debut Marathi effort, Pune 52, will compete with Matkari’s film in the India Gold section. “There’s no competition there. I have been a big fan of Mr Matkari’s work over the years,” Mahajan says. Of the 14 films in India Gold, a competition section for Indian films introduced by MFF this year, four are Marathi-language films. Although well known Indian filmmakers like Kannada director Girish Kasaravalli and Assamese veteran Jahnu Barua were in the mix, the Marathi films have managed to get noticed with the different themes they tackle. Matkari’s Investment is about the events in the life of a family – grandmother, parents and the son – and how each member approaches the adversity at hand in different ways. Well-known filmmaking duo Sumitra Bhave and Sunil Sukthankar’s Samhita (The Script) is about the life of a writer. In Balak Palak, filmmaker Ravi Jadhav touches on the thorny issue of sex education, and he does so in a light vein. “The challenge was to make it entertaining without coming across as vulgar,” Jadhav says. Mahajan’s Pune 52, in his own words, explores the “complexities of urban relationships. It’s a very serious film – about how materialism dictates happiness in a relationship; it’s only dressed as a thriller.” The lead character, played by well-known Marathi actor Girish Kulkarni, is a detective in Pune. Mahajan says the idea germinated after he met a friend’s uncle. “He told me about how his relationship with his wife was affected due to his profession; I started writing the film as a detective drama but it’s much more than that now – an emotional drama.” The selection of the films shows that Marathi cinema is increasingly attracting an audience apart from the Marathi-speaking viewers. “Marathi filmmakers with new ideas found it hard to get the right backing, commercial directors find ready finance even if their films don’t do well at the box office,” says Vinod. Shooting with the Canon 5D camera gives lower-budget Marathi films a global feel she adds. Vinod is confident that the one crore film will manage to at least break even, with newer Marathi channels paying a higher price for satellite rights. g_aniruddha@dnaindia.net