‘Golaberij’ is a story, not a history – Kshitij Zarapkar
You never know, what destiny has in store you. Otherwise, an Electrical Engineer with MBA (Finance) from USA, would never be trying his luck in Marathi film industry. Kshitij Zarapkar was well settled with his job in USA, till he came back to India few years ago, to stage his own drama group’s play ‘Sundara Manamadhye Bharali’ here in India. And, he became a part of this Marathi entertainment industry. Thereafter, he performed in 5 dramas and about 30-35 serials. Kshitij came into limelight as an actor with the show “Ghadlay Bighadlay’.
Today, Kshitij is in news for his new Marathi film ‘Golaberij’, based on the life and stories of P.L. Deshpande, noted Marathi writer known for his humour. This is the fifth film, Khsitij is associated with; and besides writing the screenplay, he is also directing this film. Prior to this, Khitij had written the story of ‘Ishya’, “Ideachi Kalpana’, ‘Karuya Udyachi Baat ( which he also directed), and ‘Thenga’( a commercial film, yet to be released).
Kshitij Zarapkar
For the past three and a half years, Kshitij was into extensive research, seriously planning to stage a play based on the incidences in the life of P.L. Deshpande. All that he wanted to present was some humour associated with people around P.L. and the important Characters created by him, through different stories. But, when the play could not be presented, Kshitij tried to use this collection, to make a film. When he found a producer, Kshitij really became serious about the project and completed this film, which is now ready for release. Today, he is all excited about this film, which has some popular names playing some important characters, either associated with Mr. P.L. Deshpande or part of his stories. But, he has opted for Nikhil Ratnaparakhi, a talented actor to play the role of Mr. P.L Deshpande, as he perfectly fitted into all his requirements.
“Golaberij’ is neither a documentary nor a biopic. It is a story and not a history,” says Kshitij, when you ask him as to what exactly he has presented through his film. But, he has certainly generated a lot of interest through his film. The last time he tried his hands at ‘karuya Udyachi Baat’ a sensible film, which was the first film in the world on the issue of Global warming; but, couldn’t receive much success. When you ask Kshitij, the reason for the same, he blames the producer, who according to him did not promote the film properly, prior to its release.
Highlight of ‘Golaberij’, are the dialogues. Though the screenplay is written by Kshitij himself, he has taken special efforts to retain the original dialogues of P.L. Deshpande, in the script, giving due credit to the great writer. “ While seeking the permission to make this film on his stories, Sunitaji was particular about retaining originality and therefore, I made it a point to use even the comas and full stops in the dialogues,” says Kshitij.
“ Making a film on P.L. Deshpande and the people around him including some of his popular story characters, was itself a challenging job. But, I have worked very hard to present this story in a cinematic form, which I am sure will be appreciated by people from all age groups,” he concludes.
Neha Pendse – talent unlimited
Neha Pendse came into limelight especially after her appearance in TV serial ‘Bhagyalakshmi’ in which she plays the title role; but she became more popular among Marathi audience with her dancing skills through Zee Marathi’s favourite programme ‘Ekapeksha Ek- Apsara Aali’. Not many were aware about her entry into Marathi films through ‘Agnidivya’ for which she received a state award and the recently released film ‘Karuya Udyachi Baat’ which won Green award from USA.
Marathi Movie World spoke to Neha Pendse, who has also done 13 South Indian films so far and that too in lead role, besides being part of Bollywood and Hindi TV serials as a child artiste.
Q. How did you turn to this Glamour world ?
A: It is very difficult to tell that. Since childhood, I am into acting. I took my acting lessons from Mr. Ramnath Thorval at Prithvi Theatres. He suggested my name to few people and after watching my one performance, I started getting more offers.
Q: So, did you begin as a child artiste?
A: Yes, about 10-12 years ago there wasn’t much competition among child artistes. Even in Bollywood, there were very few child artistes. Those days Ektaa kapoor was making her first TV serial and it was a coincidence that it turned out to be my first serial too. I have performed in serials like ‘Hasretein’, ‘Padosi’ and ‘Khushi’. Besides that I have also performed in films like ‘Pyar Koi Khel Nahin’, ‘Tumse Achha kaun Hai’and ‘Deewane’. Sometime back on Doordarshan they showed a tele film ‘Ghunghaat’ by Anant Mahadevan. I have also performed in it.
Nehha Pendse
Q: You have also performed in South Indian films ?
A: Yes, I have done 13 South Indian films so far. In all these films, whether it was kannada, Telugu, Tamil or Malyalam; I have played lead roles.
Q: Can you compare South films with Marathi films ?
A: Yes, South and Marathi films are regional films. But, in respect of presentation and budget, we are far behind them. In Marathi, we find division of audience, for example: Intelligent, Commercial and typical. In south, the film makers very well know what the audience expect and that glamour is offered through those regional films; which prevents their regular audience from watching another language films. In turn, we have plenty of
talent in Marathi, which certainly makes us superior to south and Bollywood films.
Q: How did you enter Marathi entertainment industry ?
A: ‘Pimplepaan’ directed by Chandrakant Kulkarni was my first serial followed by ‘Bhagyalakshmi’ and then it was my appearance in ‘Ekapeksha Ek- Apsara’ reality show. ‘Agnidivya’ was my first Marathi film, for which I received the state award. Recently released ‘Karuya Udyachi Baat’ was my second film based on Global warming, but it could not reach maximum people here, though it has won Green Award from USA.
Q: How much are you enjoying in that double role in ‘Bhagyalakshmi’ ?
A: It is a good experience. In real life I am a bit Kashi and a bit Gopi. Therefore, I get a chance to play my own self through these two characters.
Q: And what about ‘Apsara Aali’ Reality show ?
A: I had an opportunity to learn so many things on the sets of this show. During childhood, I had learnt classical dance. Otherwise, I had no base in dance. Yet, being a non dancer, I could reach the last four stage. That itself is a great achievement for me.
Q: Tell us something about your forthcoming projects.
A: While I was engaged with ‘Apsara Aali’ for the past four months, besides ‘Bhagyalakshmi’ I could not do any other projects. There were offers, but due to non availability of dates, I could not take them. Now, I am going out of India and shall think about my future projects only on my return in June.