Marathi Movies - an overview

April 19, 2013 is not just another Friday. For most of us the weekend will begin, party plans will be made, throw in a movie, dinner, and finally, brace for the new week. However, for those associated with the Marathi movie business - directly or indirectly, tomorrow is a monumental day!! In a first of sorts, SIX Marathi movies are releasing tomorrow! Yes, you read it right - SIX Marathi movies are releasing together.

I do not say it with pride. Not at all. In fact, i want to draw your attention to the sorry state of our movies.

Before i do that, I just want to list down names of some of the people associated with these six movies, so you know these movies are not just some random efforts: Mohan Agashe, Smita Talwalkar, Suhas Joshi, Mahesh Manjrekar, Pallavi Joshi, Satish Alekar, Yashwant Dev, Sachin Khedekar, Mrunal Kulkarni, Reema Lagoo, Pratiksha Lonkar, Mohan Joshi, Milind Gunaji, Vijay Kuvalekar, Sharad Ponkshe, Shirirang Godbole, Guru Thakur, Gajendra Ahire, Subodh Bhave, Trupti Bhoir, Kishore Kadam, Subodh Bhave, Suhas Palshikar, Satish Pulekar, Kishori Shahane, Sunil Barve, Milind Lele, Vibhawari Deshpande, Shubhankar Atre, Harshad Rajpathak, Neha Joshi, Siddharth Chandekar, Kishore Belekar, Umesh Kamat, Priyanka Yadav, Swapnil Rajshekhar, Supriya Karnik, Ashalata Vabagavkar, Suhasini Deshpande and also marks the Marathi debut of Ashutosh Rana.

As you can imagine, for the last couple of weeks there is a fierce competition among these films for viewer attention, availability of screens to project their work, and of course, to get actual patrons who will come and pay to watch the movie. I like competition; i have nothing against it. I have a problem with unfair competition.

Maharashtra has the unique problem where regional movies have been marginalised due to Hindi movies. They share the same production studios, editing set up, mixing studios, censor certification queues, marketing space, screen availability and then fight to get people to watch the movies. It is safe to assume the economies of the Hindi movies are far larger than those of regional one. A Marathi movie cannot compete with the Hindi movie for outdoor costs, or marketing plans, or media plugs. In my estimate, a Marathi movie with good cast and top notch crew can be made, with just the marketing budget of a Hindi movie!

All this talk of "return of golden era" and "revival" of Marathi movies is nonsense. Just because few films win National awards and are screened in international film festivals, doesn't mean all our films are wonderful. We have gone on too long saying that "content" is hero in our films. Seriously, we have some really really bad movies. Bad enough to question why it was made and what did the producer achieve by putting in all that money. Barring couple of movies with a good content, and few with bearable content, we have to accept that largely, our content is poor. If the content is good, there is a lot of mouth-to-mouth publicity. Do you remember the last Marathi movie that created that kind of buzz??

From what i know, about 120 movies got censor certification in 2012, and approx 90 got commercial release. I am very sure that 90% movies lost money. Less than 5% would have been profitable. And i could be wrong, so lets do a simple experiment. Out of the approximately 90 movies that released from Jan-Dec 2012, i want you to name 15 of them. I doubt you can do that, even if your mother tongue is Marathi. And there is a reason for that - "lack of visibility". 

Our film business is unorganised. We have not been able to plan our schedules effectively. We have not learned from the Hindi movies which happen and release alongside ours. The simple model is to keep a tight production budget, follow marketing time line and have specially allocated funds for that, let the music play out happen for at least a couple of months, fix the release date and then do the final run. But how often does this happen?

Why don't we see posters of Marathi movies in cinema halls a week after the mahurat shot is taken? Let it release after one year, but every time i go to the cinema hall, i will see that poster. It will generate some curiosity in my mind. Or i will at least be aware that there is such a movie thats coming!!

I want offer my point of view to 3 concern areas: State, Stars, and Screens. 


State:
There is something intrinsically wrong with the Maharashtra State government Subsidy program to promote Marathi movies. I suggest you read http://www.filmfed.org/e-tax2.html and tell me how will it benefit the industry. The subsidy ranges from 5L to 30L, depending on various factors. Allegations keep flying on what producers have to do, to get their subsidy. I am not okay with this subsidy model as it is only making sure the producer doesn't lose money. It is a superficial bandage. The problem runs deep down. Marathi industry needs to deliver good movies, consistently, for at least 10-15 years, and create a brand of themselves. That way, not only Marathi speaking, but everyone who wants to watch quality movies will come to the cinema hall. This subsidy model is not addressing that, and hence is not meaningful.

First, our industry survives on first-time producers, who are ignorant about content and costs. And once they burn their fingers, they say good-bye for good. How does this subsidy help? Well, it only helps the people who are in the business of making money off the subsidy. These guys don't care about quality content. They just want to keep making movies in 15-20L budget and continue getting 30L subsidy. 

Secondly, The government has a million other things to do. Why will a cultural dept be bothered about Marathi movies? I am sure that is not the only cultural activity on their desk! Ok, may be i am being a little harsh, so let me get to my original question: How does this subsidy help to get viewers? 

Hence, in my opinion, the pressure is on the government to offer this subsidy in a more sensible manner. We all agree that if the content is good, audiences will come in. Every year, some of our movies are truly original, choose progressive topics and have an unique approach. All the government has to do, is give the push in the right direction. 

For example, let the subsidy come in form of advt space. Allow Marathi movie advertisements in the Marathi newspapers at DAVP rates. That way, people will at least know there is such a movie, and there is a chance that some more people will do watch it. Offer discounted rates for shooting; give subsidy on the cans; waive off costs at the editing and mixing studio. Do everything that will help the team to focus on making good content, instead of worrying about costs. Someone had even suggested that the govt should give movie passes to govt employees and their families, so there is assured viewership! 

Frankly, they should incentivise the subsidy. Give the subsidy money only to those movies that are running to packed houses!! Reward movies that are recognised at State and National levels.




Stars:
Do we really have them? Yes, we do. Refer to the list of people associated with the six movies releasing tomorrow. (Stars is an open term for those on-screen and those behind the camera.) We have stars in two extremes - those who are extremely inaccessible, and those who are seen shopping for vegetables in the bazaar! Most of our Marathi stars have scaled their way to where they are - from college plays, to amateur theatre, and their work can be sampled in theatre, TV and films, and they effortlessly rule all these mediums! Because they do a variety of work, it is difficult to "brand" them.

Let me give an example. Think of Akshay Kumar. Or Vidya Balan. Or Ranbir Kapoor. Even Marathi manoos, Ritiesh Deshmukh. They evoke certain imagery. They have a brand. I associate certain qualities with them. What do any 3 Marathi stars of your choice, make you think of? Again, we have two ends of the spectrum - either we have sultans of slapstick or we have actors who do serious stuff. 

Yes, as i write i am feeling that this is a difficult subject to tread, but it must be done.

Perhaps comparing to Hindi stars is a mistake. Let us take examples of regional cinema of north, south or east. Do we have a Marathi equivalent of Ravi Kishen and Manoj Tiwari? Can any of our stars outshine Mohan Lal, Mammoty, and Prithviraj or Chiranjeevi and Nagarjuna, or Dev and Jeet? Do people throng to watch anyones movies, like they do for Rajnikant, Kamal Hasann, Vikram and Suriya?

Trust me, i would love to be proven wrong. I am not even asking for the OTT love for matinee idols and temples. I simply seek fans who wait for weeks to watch the first-day-first-show of their favourite Marathi star - be it actor, director, music composer, singer.

I think its a two pronged issue with "projection" of an image and aversion to limelight. Some of our stars are so selective, and so media shy, that at times you doubt if they really are in the media business! Interacting with the media (even to make "just" an appearance), is part of their job description. Public figures cannot be reclusive hermits, who talk to media only when their movies are coming out. A continuous dialog with the audience is necessary for the viewer to "want" to go and watch the movie of their favourite star. Along with the entertainment value, an audience goes for an experience to see their matinee idol do silly stuff, romance, suffer, fight, come out victorious. They identify with the character, they aspire to be like the person on screen.  If as a viewer, i don't know the star, and i don't identify with that person, why will i spend money to go watch the movie?

Bottom line is, a person go to watch much more than a movie. Do our stars offer them that?

Screens:
It is unfortunate that six movies have to release together (in the middle of IPL) and every weekend from then, we will have Marathi movies jostling for space till end of monsoon. It is even more unfortunate that from Eid till New Year weekend the big banner Hindi movies release, and they block all the screens. Well, the State govt earns much more entertainment tax from the Hindi movie business. Why should it care if Marathi films don't get screens?

The Hindi movie business has shown us that "quality" is easily replaced with a "marketing blitzkrieg" and multiple screens. I don't think we should go down that way. There might be no room for us to make a come back from!

What we need to figure out is, how can we get more screens for our films. Our cities are early morning rising cities. Why don't we start 8 am show on Saturday and Sunday for Marathi films? There are so many drama theatres that go empty on weekdays. Perhaps, they can set up some satellite transmission system and project movies. Well, that may be an expensive enterprise...

The problem i think is not that much of screens, as it is of viewers. We miserly people will wait one or two months for the movie to come on TV, instead of going to watch it in a cinema hall. Especially Marathi films.

So, best case scenario, don't wait to get screens. Release the movie on television!! A television premiere will get far more audiences than the number of people in cinema halls. Imagine how many cinema halls you have to fill, when you can reach 30L viewers on TV in one go!! That requires certain amount of guts and huge risks from content acquisition teams, which seems little difficult as of now.

The whole thing just boils down to one thing. The Marathi movies are sandwiched between a cash rich Hindi industry and a disloyal audience. How the Marathi film industry evolves from here, will define the fate of regional cinema across the country. The fight is not with extraordinary content. It is with a carefully marketed product... And that's what we all need to remember.

Epilogue: In the past few months, i have had the privilege of interacting with some interesting people from the Marathi movie business, who have greatly helped in shaping my thoughts for this post. To all of them, i am very grateful.

PS: By the time i posted this blog, the 6th movie dropped out due to "technical problem" and is now postponed to 26 April, where another Marathi movie made by a well respected banner is releasing.