‘Pahili Bhet’ shooting in progress
After launching their film ‘Pahili Bhet’ last month, director duo Sunil Parab & Anil Shimpi are now busy shooting their film in the natural locations of Vasai, Naigaon and surrounding areas. According to them, the film revolves around two youngsters Dilip and Madhura and the happenings in their life will send across a social message; besides offering an interesting story with good music.
Produced by Dilip Dayaram Gangwani, the film presents a new hero Dilip Kumar with Manasi Naik in the lead. Others in the supporting cast are Arun Nalawade, Milind Shinde, Yatin Karyekar, Savita Prabhune & Shashikant Kerkar. Script by Himani Raj kamble, music by Sanjayraj Gaurinandan, lyrics by Rajesh Bamugde and cinematography by Nana Khedkar are other credits.
“I haven’t produced ‘Bhatukli’ for subsidy” – Sagar Ballary
Known for his out of the box Bollywood films ‘Bheja Fry’, ‘Kachha Limboo’, ‘Bheja Fry-2′ and ‘Hum Tum Shabana’, film maker Sagar Ballary has now produced a Marathi film ‘Bhatukli’, which is due for release on 13th June 2014. Highly impressed by his associate Rohit Joshi’s script, Sagar decided to make a Marathi film and with the help of his friend Hemal Shah. And, that’s how ‘Bhatkuli’ was handed over to young Rohit Joshi, to enable him to make his debut as a director.
On Monday evening, Sagar Ballary and Rohit Joshi had called for a press conference, to release the first look of their film in Mumbai, which was attended by large number media persons and cast of this film led by Ajinkya Deo, who is playing the lead role of a 51 year old, a successful businessman. After watching the first look of this film and the only two songs, it gives an indication that there is some sort of disconnect between the main character Shrikant Deshmukh and his family. As explained by the director, he wanted to explore the world of one such person, who has achieved everything; yet is detached from his family.
Sagar Ballary made it very clear that he wanted to make a good Marathi film and found the one in the story of his associate Rohit Joshi. “I haven’t produced ‘Bhatukli’ for subsidy”, he said. He was highly impressed by the performance of all the artistes in the film.” They are all highly talented and didn’t need retakes. No wonder, Rohit could complete the entire shooting in only 17 days, whereas, for ‘Bheja Fry’ I had taken 19 days,” he added.
Speaking on the occasion, Shilpa Tulaskar, who plays the wife of Ajinkya Deo in this film, was high praise for the story of the film and expressed her gratitude to the producer and director, for finding herself suitable to play this role. Lead actor Ajinkya Deo also praised Sagar and Rohit, for adjusting their schedule and taking some of the shots skilfully, as he was recovering from his eye injury. Kiran Karmarkar who is playing an important role in this film, created some humour through his short speech, appreciating his selection; as he was otherwise branded as Hindi TV and Cinema actor only. “Marathi is my Maayboli and it is always a pleasure to work in Marathi films.” he said. Sunil Barve, who arrived late, refused to speak much about his role; however, apologised for coming late.
Tanvi kishore, Sameer Paranjape and Saieel Shelar who are playing the three children of Ajinkya Deo in this film, appealed to the audience to watch this film in theatres; through their short speeches. They thanked the director for finding them suitable for their respective roles.
Malayalam blockbuster ‘Shutter’ recreated in Marathi
Silicon Media in association with Trends Adfilm Maker’s Pvt Ltd are all set the release their Marathi film ‘Shutter’ by July 2014. Actually, the popular Malayalam feature film ‘Shutter’ is now being made in Marathi. Veteran ad film maker, actor and national award winning director VK Prakash (VKP) is directing the Marathi version of ‘Shutter’. After making several path breaking films in Malayalam, Kannada, Telugu, Hindi and Hinglish, VKP is entering Marathi cinema through this film. The original Malayalam film was written and directed by the popular actor, playwright and debut film maker Joy Mathew, which was a hit and bagged several awards.
The film is an action thriller and also an intense social satire. The film portrays unexpected incidents happening in 24 hours, within four people. This suspense thriller has popular artists like Sachin Khedekar, Sonalee Kulkarni, Amey Wagh, Prakash Bare, Jaywant Wadkar, Radhika Harshe, Kaumudi Walokar, Kamlesh Sawant and others. Highlight of the film is that Lead vocalist Rohit Raut of the band ‘GUST’ will be performing on screen with his band as a part of the movie sequence.
Produced by Sajeev MP and Prakash Bare, Supervising Producers Dipak Sharma and Suresh Pai, Screenplay and Dialogues by Manisha Korde, the film’s Director of Photography (DOP) will be KK Manoj, Editor Bhakti Mayaloo, whereas music is manned by Pankaj Padghan on the beautiful lyrics of Mangesh Kangane & Ashwini Shende. Costume is by Liji Preman.
Marathi Box Cricket League to be played at Lavasa
Maharashtra Kalanidhi have organised Marathi Box Cricket league (MBCL) at Lavasa on 28th and 29th May 2014. Announcement about this tournament was made in Mumbai, recently. There will be eight teams participating in this event with the names like ‘Mast Pune’, ‘Dashing Mumbai’, ‘Phataka Aurangabad’, ‘Shiledar Thane’, ‘Shoor Kolhapur’ , ‘Classic Nashik’, ‘Kohinoor Nagpur’ & ‘Ratnagiri Tigers’. And, those who own these teams are : Ms. Poonam Shende, Amey Khopkar, Pankaj Jain, Uttung Thakur, Amar Patil, Ankit Magre, Pankaj Bhoir & Sushant Shelar respectively.
According to the organisers, every team will have a female artiste and there will be Marathi celebrity participants like Mahesh Manjrekar, Medha Manjrekar, Chandrakant Kulkarni, Neha Pendse, Sanjay Jadhav, Subodh Bhave, Kranti Redkar, Manva Naik, Amruta Khanvilkar, Siddharth Jadhav, Poorva Pawar, Ajit Parab, Shashank ketkar, Vishal Inamdar and others.
‘Bheja Fry’ director Sagar Ballary turns producer with ‘Bhatukali’
After directing his very first Hindi film ‘Bheja Fry’, writer-director Sagar Ballary is now entering into Marathi film industry in a different role. Sagar, under his own banner ‘Flower Film Family’ has produced his first Marathi film ‘Bhatukali’.
‘Bhatukali’ is a popular pass time game of children in Maharashtra, in which children assume role of elders in the house and carry out all the functions in exactly the same manner as that of their elders. They create their own family, own house, own relationships. The film tells the story of one such man who is immensely successful in his business, is surrounded by his family members who love him, yet there is something amiss. There is some sort of a disconnect between him and his family.
The film stars Ajinkya Deo, Shilpa Tulaskar, Smita Talvalkar, Sunil Barve, Shashank Shende & Kiran Karmarkar. New artistes Tanvie Kishore, Sameer Paranjpe and Saieel Shelar are making their debut. The film also marks the directorial debut of Sagar’s long time associate Rohit Joshi; who has also written the film. The music has been composed by Jasraj, Saurabh and Hrishikesh while the cinematography of the film has been captured by the man behind many award winning commercials Bijitesh De.
Commenting upon his debut in the Marathi film industry, Sagar says, “There are only two kinds of films – good films and bad films. ‘Bhatukali’ was made keeping this in mind, not keeping in mind linguistic barriers and budgets. It is our company’s first film and we have ensured to give it nothing but the best within our capabilities.”
Debutant writer-director Rohit Joshi says, “In today’s materialistic world, people have become more practical and emotions have taken backseat. I wanted to explore the world of one such person who has achieved everything, is surrounded by his family yet is very detached from it. It is a story of all of us, not just of that one person.
‘Bhatukali has been produced under the banner of Flower Film Family Pvt Ltd. which is a joint venture between Sagar Ballary and Hemal Shah, is slated to hit theatres on June 13th 2014.
Science fiction ‘Welcome to Jungle’ released
Who says that there are no Marathi films for children, this vacation? Marathi’s first science fiction film ‘Welcome to Jungle’ is released this Friday (23rd May) all over Mumbai, Thane, Pune and Marathwada. The film is set on the backdrop of a science laboratory housed in a dense forest and the happenings that follow, are unfolded in a mysterious manner, through the screenplay of the film.
According to the makers, 40% of the film is based on special effects, making an impact of the science fiction through the screenplay . Produced by Nitin Kulkarni and directed by Sanjay Jadhav , the film stars newcomer Devendra along with actress turned politician Deepali Syyed. Milind Shinde plays the lead important character , in the company of other artistes like Ruchita Jadhav, Tejashree Khele, Nitin Kulkarni, Dadu Ganesh Mayekar,Anil Rabade and Vijay Chavan. Highlight of the film is that actor-director Mahesh Kothare will make a special appearance in this film. Lyrics by Nitin Kulkarni & Jai Atre and music by Aishwary Malgave are other credits.
Music director Anand Modak is no more
Well known music director of Marathi films Anand Modak is no more. He passed away in Pune, today afternoon. Anand Modak had not only given music to Marathi films; but, had also composed music for some of Bollywood films like ‘Army’, ‘Bandish’ and ‘Disha’. Some of the recent Marathi films for whom he had composed the music, were ‘Dhoosar’, ‘Dambis’, ‘Aarambh’ & ‘Masaala’. Very recently, he was seen at the music release and first look of Jabbar Patel’s Marathi film ‘Yaswantrao Chavan – Bakhar Eka Vadalachi'; having composed music of that film. He was also felicitated by Mr. Sharad Pawar, during that function.
The news of his sudden death has shocked many artistes and his friends from Marathi entertainment industry. Many of them have displayed their condolence messages on social networking sites.
Pradeep Kabre grooms new acting talent
Veteran actor Pradeep kabre has kept himself active, offering training to youngsters and grooming them to be part of Marathi stage. Recently, he along with Sambhaji Sawant and Prasad Mestry, had organised a Drama training workshop, under the banner of Aarti Arts. The three week long workshop, which concluded on 16th May, offered complete training related to stage performance, also helped the trainees to develop their personality.
Mr. Kabre also felicitated the best students from the batch, in presence of actress Reshma Merchant, who was invited as a guest on the concluding day of the workshop. The participants who received appreciation were Sonal Ambavkar, Manali Jadhav, Chinmayee Paradkar, Khushi Merchant, Vishakha More, Sachin Kotulkar, Chaitanya Sarpotdar, Sumedh Sonavne, Sagar Gunjal & Manav Merchant.
Renowned sports persons attend MMW get together
Team of the popular portal MarathiMovieworld.com; on Marathi entertainment, has been working very hard for past few years, to popularise Marathi cinema worldwide. With increasing number of viewers and to meet their demands, They also started MMW awards in various categories for Marathi films, television and stage in 2012. The Viewer’s choice awards for the subsequent year, though announced, could not be presented, due to some unavoidable circumstances.
Now, before declaring nominations for the awards to be presented in 2014, we have decided to first give away the awards which were overdue. Accordingly, a get together of the 14 award winners was arranged in Mumbai, at the newly opened party hall ‘Pavilion’.
Team MMW, who had travelled all the way to Mumbai for this purpose, was slightly disappointed to notice poor attendance of the award winners. Some of whom had their genuine excuses, while others, in spite of promising him, failed to turn up. But, the sports persons did keep their promise. They had a very nice time, interacting with those few award winners; prominent among them being Shweta Pagar, who was adjudged as the ‘Fresh face of the year- 2012′ for her debut in the film ‘Shree Partner’ based on Va .Pu. Kale’s story.
In a friendly discussion that took place on the occasion, Shweta, who is herself a sportsperson, having acquired brown belt in Karate; had a great time in the company of Sonal Phadke, a former international level Indian Tennis star. Sonal, now lives in California, was on a short vacation to Mumbai; and when contacted, she agreed to be part of this event. While exchanging pleasantries with Shweta, she said that she had read stories of Pu.La. and Va.Pu, during her school days in Mumbai. She was more than happy to know about the progress of Marathi films.
Sanjay Nemlekar, former India ranked Table tennis player, took lot of interest while discussing the designing of posters and publicity of films with Nitin Supekar, who received a technical award for the film ‘Aik’. Many other sports persons also asked him questions about the changing trend observed in Marathi films and Nitin was more than happy to share his views.
It was a rare scenario at this beautiful location at Marine drive; where Team member expressed his gratitude to all those who were present and promised that ‘the show will go on’. “I really loved this location and hence decided to hold this event at 4 pm to adjust the schedule of two award winners, for their stage performance in late evening and also to avoid the late evening traffic problems. But, still, they could not make it. No problem, I am doing all this, to respect the viewers of my site, who have voted for these winners. Still, I wish to hold my next event here,” he said. Shweta Pagar, who was overwhelmed by her interaction also with former badminton international Leroy D’sa, at this venue, also paid visit to the huge air conditioned Billiards hall and watched World ranked Dhruv Sitwala in action, for a while. “I never knew that this building offers so many facilities. It’s a wonderful place,” she concluded.
Looking at the hard work put in by this young Team Member, to popularise the Marathi films, one only expects the artistes to find time to attend such meets, kept for them. Not all can afford to have functions in five star hotels and favourite venues of the stars. It is the ‘strength of mind’ and appreciation, that is important. Finally, what John Wooden has said, is important. “It’s the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen.” Keep it up , we are all with you.
‘Pahili Bhet’ launched with Sachin’s song recording
Known for his singing talent, actor-producer-director Sachin Pilgaonkar is back to the song recording studio. This time, it is for recording a song for producer Dayaram Gangwani’s new Marathi film ‘Pahili Bhet’. Incidentally, it was also the official launch of this film with the recording of the song in Sachin’s voice. The popular actor appeared in a completely different look, during this recording. This song is penned by Rajesh Bamugde and the music is by Sanjayraj Gaurinandan.
Director Sunil Parab will begin shooting of this film shortly, which will introduce a new hero Dilip Kumar. The other star cast of the film comprises of Arun Nalawade, Manasi Naik, Milind Shinde, Yatin Karyekar, Savita Prabhune, Shashikant kerkar and others.