A still from Khwada. A still from Khwada.

It could well be the year of Marathi cinema. After riding high in 2015, with the film Court being nominated as the official entry for Oscar 2016 (it got dropped later) to state backing in the form of a directive to multiplexes to provide a prime time slot to Marathi films and national awards for six Marathi films – Khwada, Elizabeth Ekadashi, Killa, Aaranyak, Mitraa and of course Court in various categories, the industry is set to expand to cater to non-Maharashtrian viewers.

National Award-winning filmmaker Umesh Vinayak Kulkarni, known for acclaimed Marathi films such as Valu, Vihir and Deool, says, “2015 was definitely good for Marathi films. The industry has started spreading its wings. Various genres of films are being made. For instance, a film called Khwada which not only had a new subject but also an entire new cast; real people and non-actors are working in the film. However, the distribution part is yet to be tackled in a better way. The coming year too I am hoping will be as exciting and eventful like 2015.”

According to director and producer Samruddhi Porey, 2015, was a year when the Marathi audience showed its taste for good films. “Now that we have reached this stage, more and more filmmakers will come up with a variety of topics. To my knowledge, a lot of period films are in the pipeline,” she says.

For Pune-based film expert and writer Anil Zankar, the directive of allotting prime-time slot to Marathi films could work as a good short-term measure. What the industry needs is out-of-the-box scripts and stories, he says.

“Bollywood producers should be willing to invest in Marathi films now,” he says.

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