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Journalism of Courage
The Marathi film industry is getting more professional and going the corporate way. Actor-filmmaker Mahesh Manjrekar and Pune-based developer Aniruddha Deshpande have come together to establish the Great Maratha Entertainment LLP a venture that would work on different verticals in the entertainment business.
This is an attempt to make it function more like a corporate project; where an organised effort would be taken to gain returns on investments and present quality Marathi cinema, Deshpande said. On an average,over 100 Marathi movies are released every year,however only few of them are able to recover the investment,we wish to change this scenario, he added.
According to Manjrekar,even as Marathi cinema is high on content,it does not enjoy the patronage of teenagers and the youth as in the case of Hindi films. Systematic channelisation of investments in Marathi movies for having good production values,use of latest technology and intelligent marketing will increase the overall standard of Marathi films and help us capture new audiences, Manjrekar said.
Filmmaker Umesh Kulkarni also believes that as afar as content is concerned,Marathi cinema is right now in its best phase . When I started assisting good filmmakers like Sumitra Bhave,Jabbar Patel,Nachiket and Jayu Patwardhan,the atmosphere was not attuned to the kind of films that they made. Laximikant Berde and Ashok Saraf reigned supreme. At that time,Pune,the main hub for Marathi cinema,had only one theatre,Prabhat,which screened Marathi films. The youth then kept away from Marathi movies and so did the thinking audience.
A bout of fresh air came in the form of films such as Shwas and Dombivli Fast,which caught the attention of the audience. All these new directors were making really good movies. And that trend is continuing even today, narrated Kulkarni.
Meanwhile,the Great Maratha Entertainment LLP would function in various verticals in the entertainment business including making and presenting Marathi films,production of television programmes,specially conceptualised entertainment shows and production of Marathi plays. The setting up of an ultra-modern studio is also on the cards in the near future, said Prasad Kamat,chief coordinator of Great Maratha Entertainment LLP.
Shala is the first offering from this new venture and is currently being screened at several film festivals acrosss India. It will have a commercial release by the end of this month. Three more Marathi movies including Jai Jai Maharashtra Maza would also be brought to the audiences by the new company. The company also has a plan of bringing Natasamrat,the iconic play from the world of Marathi theatre on the silver screen and has procured the rights to do the same. Great Maratha Entertainment has already made a beginning in specially conceptualised entertainment shows segment and has produced a first-of-its-kind show on one of the most acclaimed film personalities in the country late V Shantaram. The show titled Cinema Navacha Manus – V Shantaram has been conceptualised by Mahesh Manjrekar and is directed by music composer Rahul Ranade. Praveen Joshi has written the script while Subodh Bhave is the anchor.
