Regional, especially Marathi cinema, is truly breaking boundaries. From getting big stars to back various film projects to having international releases, the content-rich Marathi cinema has seen quite a revolution lately.
The latest is that Kaaal, helmed by first time director D Sandeep, has become the first Marathi movie to release in Russia. The horror film is first set to release in Maharashtra on January 31 in 100-150 screens. Later, it will premiere at the 4th Bollywood Film Festival in Moscow followed by a release in 100 screen across 30 cities in Russia.
The recently-released trailer has got people from the entertainment industry interested, informs Sandeep.
Produced by Hemant Ruparel and Ranjit Thakur of Frames Production along with Nitin Prakash Vaidya and Sandeep, the film features Satish Gejage, Sanket Vishwasrao, Shreyas Behere, Rajkumar Jarange, Vaibhavi Chavan and Gayatri Chighlikar.
Sandeep, who passed out from the Communication department of Pune University, has worked as an assistant director and editor in Mumbai. Says he, “I had a liking for the horror genre. When I was staying at the university, we would tell each other ghost stories. I realised that I needed to work on my own project but wasn’t sure how. I wanted to make a film but did not have the budget. I kept trying but things did not work out. Parallely, a lot was going on in my life and this story is a result of that.”
He further adds that the death of Gaurav Tiwari, CEO and Founder, Indian Paranormal Society in 2006, further moved him. “I started researching about the society and its work, met some members and studied their case studies. I realised that I wanted to tell the story from their perspective. Also, within our budget, this was the best genre we could have attempted,” Sandeep says, adding that his brother and friends financially backed the film.
Indian horror is usually over-the-top but Sandeep has kept the story realistic, which he says was a personal choice. “In the past, many horror films have been made in Marathi but they were dramatic. I always wanted to make my film different so that it stands out. That’s why we have signed not-famous actors. You need a good actor and not a popular face,” says the young director.
Since he had faced several rejections in career in the past, while working on Kaaal, they planned everything in a reverse manner. “We first locked the location, made note of logistics which were available with us and based on that, we wrote the story,” he points out.
But writing the script was a scary experience for him, he says. “The kind of fear that I experienced while writing, I did not feel it during directing or editing. In the night, I used to feel that someone was around me,” he adds.
As the discussion moves towards the release of the film in Russia, Sandeep explains, “In Marathi film industry, after your film is completed, you have to find another producer or producers who will ensure that the film gets a theatrical release. Hemant Ruparel and Ranjit Thakur came on board. After watching the trailer, their contacts in Russia got in touch and they wanted to release the film there.”
He adds that Russians are not just interested in Bollywood content but regional too. “They release all kinds of cinema there and when they watched our trailer, they realised that it matches their cinematic sensibilities.”
He says that after the film premieres at the 4th Bollywood Film Festival on March 10, it will release theatrically around March 18 or 19 in Russia. “We are not worried about costs because we know we will recover it but as a writer and director, I want my film to reach a wider audience. If the film works there, as a filmmaker, I will keep the international market in mind while working on my second project. It’s time we started thinking about creating content that will go beyond Maharashtra, just as we consume content from other countries,” he adds.
Any plans for digital release of Kaaal? Sandeep says that there are a few platforms that are interested in their project and it might happen soon.
