Locked for 6 yrs,light,action,camera return to Chitranagari

The government-run Chitranagari had been shut down as it was making losses,and one of the reasons attributed to film crews avoiding the studio was lack of an urban setting around the studio,located in wilderness. There was no place nearby for urban outdoor shoots. Mohite and Dudhgaonkar went ahead to shoot their next film,Angarki,at Chitranagari. For the outdoor shoot,they decided to settle for the nearest village,Kameri.

What clinched it was Dudhgaonkar’s desire to film in Kolhapur,the traditional seat of Marathi films. For Mohite,shooting at the famous film studio was a draw,because it had in its prime churned out several acclaimed Marathi films. They started shooting four days ago. “The film city is spread over 72 acre,and was once very famous. No one talks about it now,” says Mohite.

Sanjay Patil,managing director of the facility,says,“Six years ago,a lot of corporations were shut down in Kolhapur because they were making losses. Kolhapur Chitranagari Corporation Ltd was also shut down. Since 2008,we have been considering reviving the studio. We consulted a Pune-based firm for the best way to go about it and will soon begin the process. For now,we have begun letting in filming teams who express interest.”

“In about two to three years,we hope to bring film city back to its former glory. It will give film artistes — directors,writers,actors,technicians — who live in Kolhapur more opportunities,” he adds.

Explaining why the studio lost popularity,Mohite says,“It’s in the wilderness and there are no locations for outdoor scenes. And now,the studio itself is quite bare.” That is no deterrent to the crew as most of Angarki’s plot unravels in a single room and the team has prepared new sets to shoot the scenes. “The bigger problem was arranging for water connection,repairing studio facilities and making film props. It took us 10 days to prepare the sets and arrange for everything we needed but since then the shoot has been smooth,” says Dushgaonkar.

“The advantage of shooting here is we have found an excellent team. Most technicians and staff are second- and third-generation film artistes and we are happy to work with them,” says the director,adding that the few outdoor scenes in the film will be shot in Kameri village.

The team began filming on May 20 and will finish indoor shoots by June 6,after which they will move to Kameri. Mohite says the film should be ready for release for Ganpati festival.