Aapla Manus, starring Nana Patekar, is actor Ajay Devgn’s first foray into Marathi cinema as a producer. We don’t have to stick to any formula for success,” he says. “Our audience gives us the freedom to explore myriad subjects. Our script is the hero,” says Satish Rajwade, director, Aapla Manus, which clocked in `20 crore in the first 50 days of its release this year. “Unlike the Hindi or south Indian film industry, we are till date not star-driven. Marathi films are also known for their minimalistic approach. Industry insiders believe that the secret of this success lies in Marathi cinema’s strong scripts, great actors and relatively small budgets as compared to the big brother, Bollywood. Strong scripts, new-age filmmakers, big studios backing projects have all helped in the revival,” Sane of Viacom 18 says. “The past four-five years can be called the era of resurgence of Marathi cinema.
Its Bollywood remake Dhadak is being produced by Karan Johar and will mark the debut of Sridevi’s daughter Jhanvi Kapoor.Ĭlearly, Marathi cinema is on a revival mode. Sairat is now being remade in Kannada, Telugu, Punjabi, Malayalam, Tamil and even Hindi. Manjule’s love story about a rich girl and a poor boy caught in the clutches of caste and class changed everything. Until 2012, a business of Rs 8-Rs 9 crore was considered exceptional for a Marathi film. “After Sairat, more doors opened up for me in terms of wider distribution,” he says. It’s for others to say,” says Sairat director Nagraj Manjule, whose earlier film Fandry (2013) had won the National Award for Best Child Artiste and was also selected for the Abu Dhabi Film Festival and London Film Festival. “I can’t comment on whether my film was a turning point. Many in the industry term Sairat as the turning point for Marathi cinema, one which reposed faith in distributors that regional cinema, too, can aspire for the Rs 100-crore club. However, one of the biggest Marathi cinema successes till date remains the 2016 blockbuster Sairat, which was made with a budget of Rs 4 crore and went on to become the highest-grossing Marathi film till date, with box-office collections of close to Rs 110 crore. In 2015, Filmfare Awards, the oldest Hindi film awards in India, launched new awards for Marathi cinema. Then, in 2009, another Marathi film, Harishchandrachi Factory (a biopic about Dadasaheb Phalke’s pioneering efforts to make India’s first feature film Raja Harishchandra), was selected as India’s official entry to the Oscars. Shwaas, a melodrama about an old man’s struggle to get his grandson treated for a rare retinal cancer, was also India’s entry to the 2004 Oscars under the Best Foreign Film category. The 1960s and 70s was the golden period, but then came a period of decline, which started in the late 80s and continued till the early 2000s due to poor scripts, lack of funding and a direct threat from Bollywood, as Marathi cinema was competing in the same Hindi-medium domain.īut all that changed when Shwaas, which released in 2004, won the National Award for Best Feature Film, a recognition that came for Marathi cinema after a gap of 50 years (Acharya Atre’s Shyamchi Aai had won the National Award in 1954). After all, India’s first full-length feature film was a Marathi film-Raja Harishchandra-directed by Dadasahab Phalke. Applause for Marathi cinema isn’t something new. Some even star big Bollywood actors and make mega bucks in the overseas market. Till about a decade ago, the Marathi film industry struggled to produce even 20 films a year. Regional cinema is no longer confined to a region,” says Nikhil Sane, business head, Marathi division, Viacom 18 Motion Pictures.
“Great cinema is being produced and people are appreciating what’s on offer. Also, of the 26 films screened under the Indian Panorama section last year at the International Film Festival of India, seven were Marathi. At the 65th National Film Awards announced last week, Marathi film Dhappa won the award for Best Feature Film on National Integration.
Big studios are pumping in more money, new awards are being launched and even Bollywood stars are eyeing the industry with renewed interest. Big aspirations seem to be synonymous with the Marathi film industry too.
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