On September 14, a star-studded event was held at a five-star hotel in Mumbai where some of the most prominent personalities of Marathi cinema were present. The event was organized by Paritosh Painter’s Kaleidoscope Cinema & Picture Productions and Rajesh Kumar Mohanty’s S R Enterprises and these two banners launched as many as 7 Marathi films at this event. While several stalwarts gave memorable speeches, the one given by Mahesh Manjrekar stood out.
The reputed actor-filmmaker said, “We have to shout from the rooftops that Marathi cinema is great. The press is here and I want to say this. Some years back, the condition of the Kannada film industry was such that it seemed like it would shut down anytime. But there was one person who believed in making a film and spending a lot of money on it. That person made a film named KGF and it created history. What makes me happy is that they didn’t make both parts of KGF in Hindi. They shot the film in Kannada, dubbed it in Hindi aur fir audience ke sir ke upar feka!”
Mahesh Manjrekar added, “I envy these guys. I would have loved to do something like this. It is superb.”He continued, “There’s no dearth of talent when it comes to Marathi cinema. Then what is it that we are lacking? We also need people who believe in our vision. It’s crucial that we make big-scale films, that too with conviction and confidence.”
Mahesh Manjrekar further said, “When it comes to content, our cinema is on the top. In today’s times, only Marathi and Malayalam cinema is providing strong content in films. Somebody has to believe in us and spend money, like the way KGF producers did. I mean, come on, KGF – Chapter 2 collected Rs. 1000 crores! Can you imagine?”
KGF – Chapter 1, starring Yash, was released in 2018 in Hindi with limited publicity. Yet, it managed to excel and collect Rs. 44.09 crores. The film then became a bigger hit on television. Hence, when KGF – Chapter 2 was released earlier this year, it took a record opening of Rs. 53.95 crores in the Hindi version. Its lifetime business was a huge Rs. 434.70 crores. It was also a big success in original Kannada and other dubbed languages.
Out of the 7 films launched, one of them was that of Mahesh Manjrekar. Titled, Nirwadhi, it stars Subodh Bhave and Gauri Ingawale. Meanwhile, Shreyas Talpade, too, made an impact on stage. He was present along with Urmila Matondkar as both would be seen in Ti Mi Navhech. Shreyas sang ‘Yayi Re Yayi Re’ and did its signature dance step. The song is from Rangeela (1994), starring Urmila, and Shreyas expressed how happy he’s to work with the actress whom he has admired for many years. He also raised laughs as he took a playful dig over the delay in getting snacks and refreshments for the guests at the event.