Marathi Film Industry
Regional cinema in India have always received second hand treatment.Thankfully due to internet growing media, regional cinema has been getting it share under limelight .Even though focus has been blockbuster, with advent of 24 news channel one can not forgot how Sivaji and Dashavataram occupied prime time spots in news channel.But it is also limited and channels do not review regional movies unless it is a huge film or star some from Bollywood.
In this site also I think Sethu,Ram and Vasan have introduced and Shared with us the beauty of southern cinema and sometimes what ails southern cinema.
It was in this site, I read about jharkand Film industry. I would like to share my views on marathi cinema, how it has evolved in recent years.
It is indeed irony looking at state of Marathi Film Industry, pioneer of Indian Cinema was Dadasaheb Phalke.
Marathi cinema had given us great gems like V.Shantaram, Bhalji Penharkar,Sudhir Phadke to name a few.
In 80,s and 90,s marathi cinema would either fall into Tamasha genre,Tragic genre or Comedy genre. As people had graduated more towards hindi cinema, the number of cinema halls less,advent of cable , where people had now aceess to entertainment at there finger tips.
Sometime in 2004, I when I had went to see a Bollywood movie, a saw a poster of Movie Called Shwaas(BREATH), what amazed me it was running in matinee slot, but had completed 4 weeks, which was a big achievement for marathi film.My gut feeling made me buy ticket for that movie.
The movie was like breath of Fresh air, rural landscape so beautifully captured, the acting so subtle, the climax left a lump in my throat .This saw a resurgence and interest among the audiences for Marathi Film.It also helped the movie was India,s nomination for Oscar.
This was followed by Dombivili Fast, genre which Shankar the tamil film director has mastered but this was on lesser scale and more gritty.The scene before climax where Sandip has monologue with god near fort is amazing.
This was followed by Aga Bai Arecha, a kedar shinde film, who is famous for his slapstick Comedy.This movie was rip of What Women Want ,in a marathised version but a enjoyable fare.The Director ha teamed up with his colleagues in Drama Field like Bharat Jadhav,Ankush ,Siddarth to produce hit films like Jatra,Yaanda Kartvaya Aahe,Majha Navra Tujhi Bayko.
His Cousin Shivdarshan has co-directed a movie with his friend Amit called Rang Mananche a emotional journey of Man diagnosed with cancer.There journey has been wriiten by Vasan in one of his blogs here.The movie has recevied favourable reviews after it was released in pune.
During this period Tingya directed by debutant Mangesh Hadawale after considerable struggle for finance, I had meet the director during Asian Film Fest, he described how some producers wanted an item number in the movie, one suggested he should cast urmila.Finally his convictions proved him right and the movie had a fairyl successful run at box office.Shyam Bengal had said after seeing the movie that it was a poem,The movie had a rural setting a tale about a boy and his love for bull against background of Farmer’s suicide.This movie may not boast of production values but acting is avant grade, the director has used locals from the location.
The other movie which got critical and Commercial Acclaim is Valu produced by mukta Arts . Again this movie has directed by Umesh Kulkarni, this takes place again in Interior of Maharashtra, with an interesting premise where a wild bull is at centre stage, but you can enjoy this movie if you understand the language dialect, one more thing I found that after characters were established, they did not grow .
Other Film produced by Mukta Arts and Shreyas Talpade is Sanai Chaugade, awhere he teamed up with Rajiv Patil,with whom he had did Savarkhed-Ek Ghav a thriller.Sanai Chaugade dealt with pre martial sex and unwed mother and take on arranged marriages.The movie was bit bold for audiences, it did not do well as expected.
Kombadi Palali -Song from Jatra
Marathi films during this time also brought many technological ,they had there own superhero movie Called Jabardast, of which less said the better.Mahesh kothare director of movie has brought technical advancement.
In recent Years Marathi Industry had players like Reliance, Mukta Arts,Zee Talkies and many corporates houses starting to produce movies.
But all is not well,Kedar Shinde after churning out sensible comedy to mindless comedy, his last film Galgale Nighale, inspite of great promotions and marketing done by Zee tv did not do well.
Kedar has now moved to Hindi Film with TOH BAAT PAKI starring tabu and Sharman Joshi,Nishikant has moved to green pastures with Tamil and Hindi movies, his next is action thriller for Abass-Mastan.Gajendre Ahire produces low quality films in name of Artistic movie.
Mahesh Kothare although has introduced many new techonological advancements fails to understand story is the king even now.
Audiences have rejected atleast a dozen Bharat Jadhav Starrer during current multiplex strike.
Saade Made Teen was a rip –of Chalti Ka Naam Gadi, which was directed by director duo of Ankush-Sachit.
De Dhakka had shades of Little miss sunshine. Sachin makes remakes of Hindi Film Like Bombay To Goa and Satte pe Satta, which were remade as Navra Majha Navascha and Aamhi Satpute.
Marathi cinema has got it’s first superstar in Makrand Anaspure.The revenues of movie are now in crores.De Dhakka Had Crossed over 7 crores.
The onus of the makers is now they have got audience back give them new stories, not rip offs of hindi and Hollywood movies.
Some of bad movies have worked in past due to great marketing, but then demand was more and supply was less.But the scenario has changed., the audience knows what they want, they will desert marathi cinema again, if they do not live up to expecations.
I hope directors like Mangesh.Umesh,Rajiv,Amit-Shibu will come up with better movies.Nishikant will do marathi movies again.Marathi Cinema will cater to all audiences but hopefully will finally place.I think Harischandrachi Factory and Garbicha pavus will restore my faith.Till then i have to be satisfied with Me Shivaji Raje Bhonsle Boltoy.
Tags: ankush, Bharat Jadhav, Dombivili Fast, Kedar Shinde, Mangesh.Mukta Arts, Marathi, MarathiFilm, Nishikant Kamath, Tabu, Tingya, Umesh Kulkarni, Valu
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Dibakar Banerjee
Hansal Mehta
Khalid Mohamed
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Partho Sen-Gupta
Prroshant Naryannan
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Satish Kasetty
Wah wah , great post, keep it up!!!!!
A nice and Well article on Marathi Cinema.Keep it up.
I dont think Mahesh kothare has brought about a new technological advamcement, rather the effects made the movie look a 3rd grade film, also the directors who move from marathi to hindi cinema shud be doin atleast some marathi cinemas to satisfy their audience
Shwaas changed everything!!!!
Mahesh Kothare always has a crazy plot for the comedy to thrive in. His last one ‘Khabardar’ was a whimper but the one before that ‘Pachaadlela’ was hilarious and the characters have become part of the folklore.
I do believe & agree what has been written in this blog. What i feel after reading this blog is ‘A great thing explained very nicely’.A nice blog it is.
@Rohan,
Mahesh brought Digital Sound First in Marathi Film
like Chimni Pakhara and digital Effects in Pachaadlela.
@Gaurang,
Yes Shwaas gave Shwaas to marathi film industry.
@Vikram
Thanks
@Rohan,
I think every artist has urge to reach more wider audience, that is why they migrate to Hindi Cinema.
Hopefully i think new directors will churn out good movies.
@ Cinemausher- nice topic for your 1st blog over here.yes regional cinema usually languishes and thats why for a change I didnt mind the hype that Sivaji & Dasavatharam generated on National media as mentioned by you.
as regards Marathi cinema, yes in the 80’s and 90’s it was almost dying only to be revived by Shwaas and Dombivli Fast.Its nice to see movies like Valu and Tingya doing both critically and commercially well.
Again Me Shivajeraje …. is to be appreciated for bringing the crowds in an otherwise bad summer in Mumbai and rest of Maharashtra.I am certainly looking forward to Gabricha Paus and Harischandrachi Factory myself.
Two other movies which do deserve a mention for different reasons are Anahat ( a decent attempt by Amol Palekar which could have done better if noticed ) and Bindhast- another big hit in the late 90’s ( 1999 I guess ) which Priyan remade as Snehithiye/Rakkilipaatu ( Tamil/Malayalam).
@Sethu,
Thanks was waiting for your comment.
Shwaas was the movie which revived fortune of Marathi Film Industry.
Bindhast was a big hit,due to good marketing startegy.
The Malayalam version i guess never saw light of the day.
I am writing on Shivajiraje soon.
Yes Anahat is a good example
Cinemausher….
Actually, the performance that bought Marathi back to my notice was the late 90’s play ‘Mee Nathuram Godse Boltoy’…I was attracted back to the unique voice of marathi intellectuals…But the same kind of daredevil thought process is somehow missing in recent Marathi Cinema…
Great that you could list out some movies of note in Marathi…I have seen Dombivili Fast and Shwaas…both did not have subtitles, but instead of diminishing, it ended up enhancing the comprehension of the mood of the films…From then on I prefer to watch Indian movies without subs, as most of the context is conveyed inspite of lapses in understanding of the language….I am thankful to DFast for that…
I would definitely watch ‘VaLu’…the posters look extremely impressive…hope its original and has nothing to do with Mehrjui’s ‘Gaav’…and ofcourse, waiting for your review of SRBoltoy…
mr cinemausher
the post is good very simple and lucidly writen but i dont agree with your first statement that “Regional cinema in India have always received second hand treatment.”
because some time back there was marathi film festival held at cinemax sion and the turnout was very low.what are the reasons for this?
where was raj thackeray ?
cinemausher…I infact completely agree with your first statement…when some one says it is not correct, I would like to ask them, how many films do they see in different Indian languages apart from Hindi?
This question holds good for exclusive Follywood audience as well as those elite who watch ‘Foreign Language’ movies…but donot take the effort to watch equally brilliant homegrown masterpieces
dear sir ramv;
being a non marathi i have watched all the movies mentioned above with my marathi friends.
so i have a little bit knowledge about marathi cinema.and also with my south indian friends i have seen shivaji the boss,20-20;villu
maybe they are considered mainstream cinema in their respective states but in place where i live south indian cinema is considered not a crowd puller.so please dont generalize things.
mr ramv i am not into fights but i thought you were generaliziing the situation
looking forward to your reaction
atheist
@Ram.v,
Yes i had pleasure of seeing the Play Me Nathuram Godse Boltoy.Yes Follywood a good word, i agree we would watch b grade hollywood rather than A grade Regional movie.
This bias can be clearly seen in section of english newspaper where even a b grade hollywood movies always get 3 stars.
Gaav and Valu are different film.Valu as far i know is orginal, but the problem is you need to understand dialect properly to enjoy some dialogues.
atheist ji…good that you do watch them…I had to make a point since you bought up Raj Thackerey unnecessarily on an article dedicated to cinema and I sincerely believe the ‘first line’ is valid…fight i would do…definitely not against you, but the authorities and powers that may be who out of ignorance and arrogance belittle the magnificient creations in Indian cinema for the benefit of a select few…
Please take few minutes to read this recent article, which has excerpts from the speech of K Hariharan who has made films in multiple Indian languages and you will get the drift of what I intend…
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Pune/Hindi-films-only-a-part-of-Indian-cinema/articleshow/4689529.cms
@Atheist,
welcome back,
Thanks.
There may be a number of reasons for that, lack of promotion or movies featured in fest was already screened or easily available and time slot may be the reasons.
I assure you ram was not generalising but speaking about majority audience.
The movies you mentioned ,two of them are blockbuster and one was a hyped movie which failed to live up to it’s expectation.
Marathi Cinema is a vast topic to explore. The attempt made by cinemausher has to be apllauded to the core. I agree witht he writer that marathi cinema today has been able to captivate a small and vital share in the Indian Cinema. The movies like Shwaas, Me Shivaji Raje Bhonsle Boltoye to name few has contributed for the development of the marathi cinema. Watching Marathi movie is not less than Hindi movies or something inferior to feel in front of others. Even non-maharashtrians watch out for a lot of Marathi movies in current scenario. Great job cinemausher.
marathi movies have really come of age…one thing i will like to say is dat if u make a real good marathi movie it always makes money..unlike in hindi where most good movies don’t make money as Kay Kay has said in his blog…i’m quite sure that gabhricha paus n harishchandrachi factory will gain critical acclaim and make money as well…good to see that every time a good movie is made by a new director wid new actors…hopefully this trend continues….
okay and dint your belove mr rt bring our great bigb in politics.wat i wanted to say he was no where seen when this festival took place and mumbai mirror carried that article.
and ram vji i did like ur link thanx for sharing it.
point is dont generalise
@Pooja,
Thanks for the kind words.
I agree with you that one should watch movie of any language if one likes it, nothing inferior or superior.
@Rusko,
I would say marathi movie are coming of age, but they have to tread a cautious path.I think Harishchandrachi Factory and gabhricha paus will be a turning point for marathi cinema.
Cinemausher, I completely agree with your article… well written and completely in sync with today’s times… You know something, you beat me to writing an article on Marathi Films. I have been wanting to write for the last few weeks on this topic. In fact I wanted it to be my first article for PFC but since I wasn’t sure if my article would be accepted, came up with something else. And being a struggling scriptwriter, my immediate goal is to make a Marathi film first and hopefully if God is kind to me, I should have it rolling within this year which is a big thing for me knowing I don’t even have a roof over my head these days hehehe… but who’s complaining… Your article has raised my morale and yes, I am going to finish my Marathi screenplay in the next two weeks’ time… till them write more and inspire others too… Cheers mate!
p.s. Some of my favorite Marathi movies are ‘Pinjara’, ‘Ek Dav Bhootacha’, ‘Ha Khel Saawalyancha’, ‘Jait Re Jait’ (Smita Patil looks angelic in this movie etc.
waiting fr ur shivaji raje article,thnks fr d kothare info
Nice article, i agree with it. But I was expecting the mention of the movie ‘Dhudgus’ here which is a reflection of the current social and political situation and shows how humanity and morality is dying day by day. It’s a very well made film, again having the bacdrop of rural Maharashtra. The movie did not do very well at the box office and did not get its due respect, which was much needed, for people like Rajesh Deshpande (Dir.) to make what they believe in. So the 2nd inning of the Marathi cinema has begun and we need more of Mangesh Hadawale, Umesh Kulkarni and Rajesh Deshpande to make it a success.
@Jonivestal,
Thanks and Wish you luck for your cinema.
Pinjara is one of my al time fav.
@Amey,
I have heard a lot about Dhudgus, could not watch the movie.I think one of the reason for it not working was also that it was released during mumbai terror attacks.
it is a great article.i think even maharashtrians would not know so much about marathi films .u have done a gr8 job.keep it up . i m proud of u.
@Jinal,
Thanks.
Hello,
We read your blog. It is superb. Watch reviews on forthcoming movies like Love Aaj Kal, Kambakkht Ishq, Bollywood Movies
@Suraj.
I think eros is the curse of hindi film industry