Marathi moviedom gets a fresh lease of life

Gone are the days when distributors and theatre-owners used to shy away from screening Marathi films.

Gone are the days when distributors and theatre-owners used to shy away from screening Marathi films. In the past six months, four Marathi movies have done exceptionally well at the box office — Tingya, Saade Madde Teen, Valu and De Dhakka — and have earned unexpected profits. De Dhakka, for instance, has crossed all previous records. In its first week, it recorded a collection of Rs 78 lakh and in its third week, it recorded an earning of Rs 4 crore. “Now, theatres are approaching us for De Dhakka’s prints,” says Nitin Vaidya, director of Zee Regional, the distributor.

Similarly, Valu has recorded a collection of Rs 3 crore. In its 20th week, 12 shows of Valu are still being screened in Pune theatres.

After winning accolades at festivals, Tingya has also recorded a good collection. The film is the story of a boy’s relationship with his ailing bull in the backdrop of farmers’ suicides, and was screened at the Cannes. It also won the Best Film award at the Mumbai Academy of the Moving Image film festival. Similarly, Valu is the opening film at Bollywood and Beyond Film Festival, to be held in Germany.

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While Ashok Saraf, Laxmikant Berde dominated the 80’s and the 90’s, it was directors like Jabbar Patel and Amol Palekar who won accolades for Marathi cinema abroad. Dada Kondke’s movies, too, hit the jackpot during this period. “Though some very good Marathi movies were being made during this period, lack of distributors was a major problem,” says film critic Shrikant Bojewar.

The state Government gave grants to the ailing film industry, ranging between Rs 5 and 30 lakh. “It had an adverse impact on the film industry, as movies which were in bad taste got those grants,” claims actor-turned-producer Shreyas Talpade.

Shwaas was the turning point for Marathi film industry. The film won the National Award for best film and represented India at the Oscars. “The success story started with Bindhast, but it was Shwaas that changed everything. Now, Marathi movies have become profitable and hence, the distributors are interested in Marathi movies. Marathi audience have started coming to multiplexes and both the story and the quality of the films have changed drastically,” says a programming manager at Fame Cinema.

Young directors are making movies which are not only good but are commercially viable too.

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Explains Umesh Kulkarni, the 30-year-old director of Valu, “A variety of issues are being explored by the directors and film festivals such as MAMI are providing us with the much needed push.”

“Things are gradually changing with media companies taking interest in Marathi movies,” says Sadik Chitlikar, distributor of Bindhast, Saade Madde Teen, Tingya. Corporate houses have also turned their attention towards Marathi cinema. Subhash Ghai’s Mukta Arts bought Valu, Zee Regional bought Saade Maade Teen and De Dhakka.

“Earlier, Marathi producers hesitated in investing in publicity. Now, they have realised its importance. Marathi television channels give them a medium to publicise their films,” adds Talpade, whose first Marathi film as a producer, Sanai Chughade, was released last week.