Marathi film industry to shine in 2009

Ankit Jain - Televisionpoint.com | Mumbai
The Marathi film industry grossed a whopping Rs 125 crore in investments in 2008. And now, despite recessionary times, the resurgent industry has already seen a gross investment of Rs 50 crore in the very first month of the new year. With 30 films already on the floor this month, industry experts feel the investments this year will exceed Rs 160 crore.

Around 100 Marathi films met their shooting schedules last year and 62 of these films were released, Ajay Sarpotdar, president, All India Marathi Film Federation (AIMFF) tells Televisionpoint.com.

"Going by this month's figures, the industry is poised to do far better than 2008. The involvement of corporates like Reliance Entertainment, Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Ltd (ABCL), Mukta Arts and Zee Motion Pictures (ZMP) in the industry has further fueled investments," Sarpotdar added.

On the regional front at a large, Zee is looking to step up its presence in regional cinema, with plans to release up to 60 films in six languages in the fiscal year ending 31 March 2010, up from 10 planned for the current fiscal. Reliance Entertainment has a slate of 10 films it plans to release this calendar year through its movie production division, Big Pictures, up from two in 2008.

ABCL, for instance, has tied up with director Umesh Kulkarni of Valu fame for Vihir, which is to be released later this year. With the industry looking up, film producers are entering the arena with bigger stakes.

"It is a sign of the times that a production house like ABCL is keen on producing a Marathi film even during a recession," exults Kulkarni.

"Me Shivaji Raje Bhosale Boltoy is going to be the big budget film of this year with an investment of more than Rs 3 crore," says producer Sanjeev Chhabria.

Last year's costliest Marathi movie was Uladhal, made with a budget of Rs 2.5 crore. Me Shivaji Raje.., which has a top notch star cast in Mahesh Manjrekar, Sachin Khedekar, Makrand Anaspure, Siddharth Jadhav and Priya Bapat, will be released in April later this year.

Other movies slated for release this year are the Amol Palekar-Sharmila Tagore venture Samantar, Gajendra Ahire's Chanda, Rajiv Patil's Jogwa, Abhay Kirti's Maher Maze, Mahesh Tilekar's Gav Tasa Changle, Purushottam Berde's Nishane Dawa Angatha and the Bharat Jadhav starrer Jhak Marli Bayko Keli, Sali Ne Kela Ghotala.

Sarpotdar commends the new breed of directors for bringing in a whiff of fresh air into the Marathi film industry. "Their contemporary, socially relevant and meaningful topics have found appeal with the increasingly urbanised audience. This has instilled a lot of confidence among film producers and they are now willing to stake their money on newer cinematic experiments and bolder themes," he says.

Cinema-hall owners are a happy lot too. "Ek Daav Dhobipacchad, which released on January 2, has been grossing a collection equal to that of Aamir Khan's Ghajini. All 18 cinema-halls in the city showing the film, including the multiplexes, reported packed shows," says Prakash Chaphalkar, partner of Citypride and Mangala theatres.

Padmakar Wagh, manager of Prabhat cinema-hall, says they are showing five Marathi films every day, four of which draw full houses.

New scripts and superior technology notwithstanding and a spurt in the number of Marathi general entertainment channels is also giving Marathi cinema a much-needed boost. The growth of digital distribution has deepened the penetration of cinema. Films, which were earlier released on 15 screens, are now digitally released simultaneously in over 80 theatres across Maharashtra.