As I write this article, Marathi cinema is witnessing yet another pathbreaking success. Serpentine queues have formed for Aditya Sarpotdar’s detective thriller, Faster Fene . There is a sense of victory for me as a fellow filmmaker — that the audience is finally buying something different; in a genre they aren’t well versed in and a cinematic language they don’t entirely understand. The credit goes entirely to Aditya, and his writer Kshitij Patwardhan, who know how to cajole the audience into accepting something new.
The result is a content-rich film that is also a huge blockbuster — a win for both audience and makers. However, most Marathi films, contrary to popular notion, don’t meet the same fate.
False renaissance
For long, the works of young Marathi filmmakers have been celebrated for being rich in content, technically sound and headlined by some of the finest acting talent in the country. But most of them struggle to make it to the finishing line. This, when the last decade-and-a-half has often been seen as a renaissance of sorts in Marathi cinema, thanks to new-age writers and filmmakers, unusual subjects and the State government’s grants and subsidies to the Marathi film industry.
According to an April 2015 State government directive, it is mandatory for multiplexes in the State to reserve at least one show a day for Marathi films.
Then what has come undone? As an insider, one has witnessed things getting marred at every step of filmmaking—from finding the requisite finance to a fair model of distribution. Money is scarce because of scanty returns. About 90% of Marathi films that release every year bomb at the box office.
This year saw two good releases — Sumitra Bhave and Sunil Sukthankar’s Golden Lotus winner at the national awards, Kaasav (Turtle), a delicate, subliminal film about depression, and Sandeep Sawant’s Nadi Vahaate (The River Flows) that deals with environmental conservation. Both are easily two of the best films to have come out this year — they are strong pieces with individualistic voices and raise important issues. However, both failed to conjure up a decent number of shows, much less set the cash registers ringing, despite the filmmakers’ best efforts.
It is ironical that back in 2003 it was the same Sandeep Sawant’s directorial debut Shwaas , an emotional take on a young boy with eye cancer and his doting grandfather, that was credited to have revived the interest in Marathi cinema, even among non-Maharashtrians. It was nominated as India’s official entry to the Oscars and was a box-office success as well.
A Bollywood shadow
One might argue that these are arthouse films. However, even commercial cinema faces the same crisis. On one hand are limited marketing budgets and lacklustre promotions. There is a lack of belief of investors in the commercial prospects of a film. I won’t blame the financiers because nobody wants to incur losses and most times, people end up losing money when they make a Marathi film. It’s a vicious circle in which, in the end, it is the filmmakers who suffer.
But there exists a deeper problem — the unwillingness of audiences to go watch Marathi films in theatres despite the incentives. Of course, there are examples such as Muramba, Sairaat , or Faster Fene that have passed the litmus test. However, the number of profitable films is dwindling and the future of Marathi cinema suddenly seems bleak after a strong revival.
Bollywood continues to cast its long shadow over Marathi cinema. The conventional Marathi audience has too many options. Hindi films are the biggest competition followed by Hollywood films. In Maharashtra, an average family of four can afford to see one or two films a month. So, not surprisingly, a big budget Hindi escapist potboiler often beats a humble, high in content Marathi film.
As a result, Marathi films are slowly being forced to match up to their Hindi competitors in terms of genres and style — leading to a lot of them looking and feeling like Bollywood films. This trend is worrisome and marks a dark time for Marathi filmmaking. Faster Fene, then, is a much needed silver lining. It makes one renew one’s faith in audiences. It’s only they who can make Marathi cinema great again.
The writer is the director of Pune 52 and Baji .
