Students form group to promote films shunned by major distributors

A group of 40 media students from the Bachelor of Vocation (B.Voc) course all went for the movie on the day it was released, and they have now taken it upon themselves to encourage others to watch Kaasav, which in their view has great content but suffers due to lack of support from major producers and distributors.

These students have formed a film club to promote movies that big distributors refuse to back, believing they would not attract mass audiences. Such movies are often made on a low budget as compared to blockbuster cinema, could be in a regional language but nevertheless gain a passionate fan following.

Akshay Chavan, student organiser of the film club, said, “Hard-hitting themes like Kaasav, which show depression among youth, find no distributors because they do not have the required entertainment value. While films with no storyline have earned in Rs 100-crore figures, critically acclaimed films like Newton earned only Rs 26 crore. This movie, Kaasav, has only been released in 18 theatres across Maharashtra and through online booking is available in six theatres in Pune. We are starting this movement just to support the filmmakers so that they continue making such films. We want to show them that there is an audience for such movies. We are also making a ‘reactions to Kaasav video’ and posting it on our Facebook page.”

Another student, Raghav Parmar, said he went to watch the film as it received critical acclaim and a national award. “It is a beautifully made film which people can understand, irrespective of their mother tongue. I am from Hyderabad, and I do not understand Marathi very well, but I understood everything in the movie. The second reason is to let people know that they must be aware about depression among youth. It must reach a wider audience.”

Some of the student volunteers are now approaching students from other departments at their university to spread the word about Kaasav. “We approached students from the BA department to watch this film as well, after college hours. We want more people to watch such films, also because the theme is depression among youth,” said Hussaina Harnesswala, another student.