After Vikram Phadnis, CID director Santosh Shetty makes his debut in the Marathi film industry as a director and writer with Andya cha Funda. The film stars Arun Nalawade, Deepa Parab Chaudhary, and child actors Atharva Suresh Bedekar, Shubham Parab and Mrunal Ravindra Jadhav.
“The movie is about friendship and the mother-son relationship. It’s an emotional journey about two friends - soul mates. Life was going fine for them until one day when a prank takes a deadly turn and one of them dies. The boy comes back as a ghost who can only be seen by his friend. His last wish can only be fulfilled by his friend and the two therefore go to Konkan where they meet a young girl,” said Santosh who visited Sakal Times office last week with his star cast and producer Vijay Shetty.
Deepa, wife of actor Ankush Choudhary, also makes a comeback to the big screen with Andya cha Funda. Several factors motivated her to sign the film, she says. “Ganesh Pandit (writer) called me to ask if I would be interested in working in a film. I told him that I will think about it. Then I heard the script and liked it. I have also worked with Santosh sir few years ago. In addition to that, when you have murder and mystery, it gets interesting. Also, the content was very strong so I thought why not?” she said.
She added that though she plays the role of a mother, her character has a past and present. “It’s not a plain character.”
Speaking of the child actors, the seniors can’t stop gushing. “Working with child actors is different but these kids are really good. They are intelligent, smart and full of energy. Sometimes they would be ready with the scenes in five minutes and at times, the shot would be okay in the first take,” said Santosh, to which Deepa adds, “They have a theatre background which makes a huge difference. They are so natural and full of confidence.”
Sharing their experience, the child actors said that they had a memorable time working on the film. How did they manage studies and shooting together? Answered Atharva, “We would carry our school books to the sets. In between shots, we would study. We had fun, shot for the film and also studied. Also, Santosh sir knows how to get the best out of each of us. All of my co-stars were very supportive too.”
The film releases on June 30. “We wanted to give it a right release and with so many films lined up for release, it was not happening. Definitely Salman Khan effect will be there but we are trying to promote our film through schools and are therefore visiting several schools,” producer Vijay Shetty said, adding, “Andya cha Funda is a masala entertainer. It’s a complete package with emotions, comedy and thriller.”
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