Foreign destinations,local flavours

Over the last few years there has been a paradigm shift in the manner in which Marathi films have been perceived within the state,the country and even globally,says Ubale. “The industry got more recognition through the exposure in India and abroad. And that is a reason why even the production budgets for these films have gone up significantly. In our case,we shot in Bangkok for 32 days. Imagine this,75 crew members of two separate films and a packed schedule to deal with. We had to plan well in advance to ensure that the shoots didn’t go overboard with the budgets.”

Sarwate says that having good producers gave Antar its much-needed production stability. She also makes a point about the helpfulness of the authorities there. “The British crew and officials who were coordinating and regulating our shoot were so polite and helpful. I cannot say the same about the Indian counterparts there. But the shooting went off smoothly because of the professionalism there,” says Sarwate,whose film Antar is being produced by actor Akshay Kumar and Ashwni Yardi and has actors Tanishaa Mukherjee and Sumeet Raghavan making their Marathi film debut.

Greater exposure aside,exotic locales,travel and tourism packages and subsidised costs also add to the appeal of shooting abroad. Hemant Dabhade,producer of Saad,says the crew shot in Malaysia last year in June for 10 days. “The shoot went off smoothly and the location added a fresh touch to the film,” he mentions. “Yes,it can get expensive if we don’t stay within budget,but governments abroad provide us with readymade packages,which include locations,accommodation and food. The crew also reduces substantially and that contributes too to making the production less expensive compared to shooting at home,” Ubale says.

Questions about Marathi cinema following Bollywood’s footsteps are a sore point of debate,and Sarwate says that unlike Bollywood,which more often than not has a foreign shoot just for the heck of it,Marathi films go abroad for a reason.

“First,the recovery of the investment is still an issue. And second,a foreign location comes into picture only if the story is set there. Like Antar is set in England and deals with the socio-political sensibilities there. So we had to shoot our film there,” says Saraswat.