Journalism of Courage
It was three years back when four friends,who voluntarily worked as pandal-makers,struck on the idea of making a film to reach out to the masses to spread the message about social work. What started as a light-hearted discussion was followed by serious brainstorming and the group began to think of ways to put their thoughts into action. In August,last year,they set up their own production house under the name of Commonman Films. Now,over a year later,they stand as producers of a film Are Avaaj Konacha which is set to release by mid-October. The four friends,Vaibhav Wagh Swapnil Naik,Chidvilas Kshirsagar and Harshal Garud are members of Vandemataram Sanghatna,an organization that provides a platform for youth from different professions to get together and give back to society through social work.
The film is about the life of a karyakarta (volunteer) and the passion with which he serves the society. The highlight of the film is the music. There are four songs in the film,each pertaining to a different genre. In fact the first shot of the film was based on the song Jai ho,sung by Anand Shinde. The title song is sung by Krishna Bevra,who has many Bollywood hits like Soniyo,Maula Meri and more to his credit. Hariharan has also sung a song dedicated to Swami Samarthnath, describes Kshirsagar,the producer and lyricist of the film.
During the next 10 days of the Ganesh festival,the four producers will return to their volunteer work at various pandals across the city. The main aim of our production house is to bring light to various social issues in the society. We hope that after watching our film the youth is more involved in volunteer work, says Wagh. The company’s next project is a film on Anant Chaturdashi day and the life of dhol tasha pathaks and the way the dhol taasha groups are formed and gear up for the festival.
There was no better name for our production house than Commonman Films because it defines us and the kind of films we want to make so appropriately. The film is an amalgamation of our experiences as karyakartas during the Ganesh festival, says Naik,a producer,who is a merchant navy professional. When the team decided to set up their production house and make the film,they approached Sameer Kavthekar,a close friend and a professional in the Marathi film industry,who is also the executive producer of the film. Sameer was the one who helped us put the cast and crew together. He helped us get the script writer,cinematographer,director,actors and the whole team on board. We were just middle class boys and we didn’t have a clue how to go about making a film,but he was always there to guide us through. We have learnt the tricks of the trade from him, adds Naik.
