Producer Sanjay Chhabria seems to have mastered the Marathi film making and distribution process. Through his previous two films ‘Mi Shivajiraje Bhosale Boltoy’ and ‘Shikshanachya Aaichha Gho’ he made it a point to touch the hearts of Marathi audience. It was either by way of presenting a strong protagonist defending himself against insults or making a middle class father raise his voice against the age old and corrupt education system; so that the audience could co relate themselves with these characters. As a perfect businessman he not only paid his attention on script and direction, but also focused on marketing and promotion, which was lacking in Marathi film industry. Recently, in a TV interview, Mr. Sanjay made it very clear that the script and director are the real heroes of a successful Marathi film. “ Unlike Hindi films, which become hit because of a hero, the success of Marathi film is more dependent on a good script and fine direction”.

After being associated with Mahesh Manjrekar, he now joins hands with Abhijeet Satam, who is making debut as a director through their jointly produced film ‘Haapus’. Abhijeet was previously associated with ad films.With this film, he also turns a co-producer. ‘Haapus’ made with a budget of 1.5 Crore, with almost an equal amount kept in reserve for the film’s promotion, both of them seem to be confident about their film’s success. As a producer, Sanjay did not only handle the finance and promotion side, but also kept himself creatively involved in every aspect of production, including presentation of the script. “Emotion is the key to be used very cleverly in the script of Marathi films,” says Sanjay. And, when we look at the script of ‘Haapus’, it reminds us about the difference of opinion between father and son, when it comes to making business of Mangoes.

The story of ‘Haapus’ thus revolves around Gurav family with the head of the family – Shivaji Satam selling their crop through a middleman as per traditional practice, but when his son develops a new variety of crop, he decides to sell the same with direct marketing. This is where the conflict begins between father and son. In comes a school teacher, who has moved into their village and the story takes a different turn. In the story, you also find the two twin daughters of Mr. Gurav, who add some hilarious moments into the screenplay for a change, with one of them in love with an auto-rickshaw driver, only to give another twist to the story. “ In all, it is a package of entertainment for one and all,” that’s what the director feels. The film has been shot at some of the natural locations in picturesque Konkan, busy streets of Mumbai and inside the Vashi fruit market, to give a more realistic look.

But, as quoted by them in the film’s campaign, to know what is ‘Haapus’ all about, you need to not only taste it, but also enjoy it. With popular stars like Shivaji Satam, Subodh Bhave, Makarand Anaspure, Madhura Velankar, Pushkar Shroti, Sulabha Deshpande, Mrunal Deshpande, Manasi Magikar, Vidyadhar Joshi, Swarasha Jadhav, Sunil Dev & Dnyaneshwar in the cast and well known singers like Avadhoot Gupte, Vibhawari Apte, Urmila Dhangar, Rahul Saxena, Amruta Subhash, Anjali Kulkarni, Anuradha Marathe, Suvarna Mategaonkar, Pranjali Barve rendering their voices on the music of Dr. Salil Kulkarni, the film has certainly raised the hopes of the viewers. Now, all eyes on 25th June, when the film has its grand release all over Maharashtra.