Aditya Sarpotdar is a young film maker, who is trying bring that quality change into Marathi films; with improvisation on technical aspects to make it look like any standard Bollywood film. His latest film ‘Satrangi Re’ is the best example of his work. Marathi Movie World spoke to Aditya Sarpotdar on the eve of his film’s release. Excerpts from his interview:

Q: How did you opt for direction ?
A: I have done my M.Com. from Symbiosis College, Pune. But, while I was studying my 11th , I did a short course in Film making from Pune’s FTII. Thereafter in Jr College, I did a short film in English, which was sent for International film festivals. Those days, I used to assist my father in direction. I also made 10-12 ad films later. After completing my college education, I joined ETV at Hyderabad and worked as a producer there. But, when I returned from there, I began my work on ‘Uladhaal’, which was my first independent film. This was possible because of the encouraging atmosphere at home.

Tejaa Devkar
Q Watching the promos of ‘Satrangi Re’ indicates that it’s a polished film like ‘Uladhaal’. What do you have to say ?
A: Basically, my background is from ad films. Therefore, when my Marathi film is released in a multiplex, I feel that there are other screens at the same place showing Hindi and English films with good production quality. Therefore, I decided to pay more attention on technical areas of my film. Whatever may be the subject, but I didn’t want my film to be falling short in these areas of post production. Highlight of the film is that we have engaged the colorist Mr. Rob Lang, who is an expert in DI . This is his first Marathi film and before that he worked for Bollywood films like ‘Bodyguard’ and ‘Aarakshan’. We have used the best technical support, which makes a big difference.

Q: How did you manage the shooting schedule and how the locations were finalized?
A: Right from the days of script writing, we were thinking about Goa, to be an ideal location for the film’s script. We needed a backdrop of an urban touch, with youth passionate about music. And, Goa was the right place, with sizable Maharashtrian population. Having planned a 32 days schedule, it wasn’t possible to complete the entire shooting there. So, we planned outdoor shooting there and the indoors at Pune and Mumbai. But, you will not notice that change, while watching the film.

Q: How did you select the artistes ?
A: While casting, we had in mind that the artistes should look like real collegians and felt that Adinath, Siddharth and Bhushan, who were recognized faces would have a finest opportunity to prove themselves as natural actors through this film. To select an artist to play a real musician, we opted for Saumeel Shrungarpure, who is the nephew of Shankar Mahadevan and actually plays music in his team. This is his debut film as an actor. The other artistes had to undergo special training for three to four months and then we began the shooting. To say something about casting Pooja and Amruta, we felt that they were popular and well connected with youth and we also needed new fresh pairs.

Q: Would you like to share any particular incidence which took place, during the shooting ?
A: Oh, sure. This being a young team, they really had a great time during the shooting. This enabled them to have a fine tuning for their ‘on screen’ chemistry. One incidence that I can’t forget was when Adinath was shooting for a scene on a Scooter . We were shooting long shots, when suddenly he had head on collusion against a vehicle. We thought, he had major injury and may have to go for replacement. But, luckily, he survived with minor bruises .The next day, he removed his bandage and started shooting. Since the camera was rolling during this shot, we have retained it in scroll on. at the end of the film.

Q : Tell us, why should people watch ‘Satrangi Re’ ?
A: People from all age group should see this film, because it is not a youth film; but, it talks about the tuning between parents and their children. When the children complete their graduation, a time comes when they have to decide their future. At this juncture, parents have their own dreams about their child, while the child wants to pursue his passion. At this stage, what the parents should do ? So, from parents point of view, we have also paid more attention. In Marathi we have less youth films, compared to Bollywood and regional films. Therefore, we tried this experiment . And, to see that, people should watch this film.