International media was aghast with the news of infamous Rape incident ‘Nirbhaya’. People in India in all walks of life were raged and vented their anger on social networking websites. There were spontaneous protests from common people, one of them being the ‘Candle March’. A new Marathi movie, Candle March, is based on such real life incidents of Rape, sexual abuse & sexual exploitation.

The first look of the film was released along with a promotional song, recently. At the press conference, almost entire cast and crew was present to express their solidarity to the subject raised by the film. Writer Sachin Darekar said, “I felt for the victims and started writing this story without anybody, actor or maker, in mind. And it was difficult to find a producer for this subject. When I narrated rough draft to director, Sachin Deo , he instantly liked it and luckily his family friends, now producers, Anjali and Nilesh Gawde, agreed to produce it. They were on the look out for a subject like this, for their debut production.” Director of Candle March opined, “We have avoided unnecessary dramatisation of the subject. A lot of unusual locations have been explored for shooting and we even shot at public toilet. There are four separate stories of rape or sexual abuse, which get intermingled in the latter half.”

Smita Tambe interacted, saying that she was overwhelmed, when she heard the story. She said, “I understood the gravity of the situation as a woman from a very close quarter and have tried to the best of my ability to express the psyche of the character, while portraying. Actually, I reinvented myself.” Tejaswini Pandit said, “The mentality of everybody in general should undergo a radical change. It’s laudable that all these innocuous makers, all males, are raising female issue like Rape. Really commendable. Physical assault by merciless men should be fought with much profound mental strength of women.” Manava Naik addressed, “Each of the four victims in the film express about the change expected from the society around. This optimistic movie not only poses inordinate questions, but also provides or suggests solutions.” The producer, Anjali Gawde, said that they were reluctant to do a ‘typical’ film and were on the lookout for a thought provoking subject for their debut production. “We are going to approach the government and request them to change the law about Rape, so that the accused do not go scot free” she concluded.

‘Candle March’ is produced by ‘Chanakya Creations’ and ‘K 4 Enterprises’ and is releasing on 5th December 2014 across the Maharashtra.