The Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival with Star, in its 19th edition celebrates the bold new face of Marathi Cinema by showcasing 6 debut films in the second edition of the much loved Marathi cinema section – Marathi Talkies.

While Marathi cinema has always been a part of the festival in sections such as India Gold and India Story, the need for a separate section was felt to specially highlight the  cinematic leaps that Marathi Cinema has taken over the years. For the last few years, this industry has been undergoing a creative renaissance. With critically acclaimed titles such as Fandry (2013), Killa (2015), Court (2015), Elizabeth Ekdashi (2014), Sairat (2016) and Kaasav (2016), Marathi Cinema has come to embody a cinema that has a social conscience and is pushing boundaries like never before.

Supporting great cinema and fresh talent has always been the core of Jio MAMI Mumbai Festival with Star. Thus, this year the focus of the section is on directorial debuts.

Curated by renowned Marathi film critic, Amol Parchure with the intention to nurture storytellers, Marathi Talkies will feature a blend of released and unreleased titles. Films making a world premiere are Chumbak by National Award Winner Sandeep Modi and Idak by Deepak Gawade. Other films being showcased are the critically acclaimed and popular releases of the year Kaccha Limbu by Prasad Oak, Muramba by Varun Narvekar and Ubuntu by Pushkar Shrotri. Take Care Good Night which was screened at the Cannes Film Market is another highly anticipated feature in the programme.

Marathi Talkies_Chumbak

This year the selection also features an array of acting powerhouses like Mahesh Manjrekar, Irawati Harshe, Sonali Kulkarni and Sachin Khedekar.

Marathi Talkies Line-up 

  1. Movie Title: Idak

Director: Deepak Gawade

Cast: Sandeep Phatak, Usha Naik, Kishore Kadam, Sandeep Phatak, Usha Naik, Kishore Kadam

Synopsis: Namya’s mother wants a goat. She’s had a dream in which the Mother Goddess has asked for a sacrifice and so Namya, who can’t afford to buy a goat, has to find a way of fulfilling his mother’s and the divine mother’s (presumed) demands. He manages to find a goat, after suffering a fair amount of humiliation. Mother, son and goat then set out to reach the pilgrimage spot where the sacrifice would take place, but the goat is far from an easy travelling companion.

Director’s Bio: Deepak Gawade shifted to films after working in television production for many years. His short film, Heyro Party(2013), won the National Award for Best Film in the Family Values category, in 2014. This is his first full-length feature film.

 

  1. Movie Title:Chumbak by Sandeep Modi

Cast: Sahil Jadhav, Swanand Kirkire, Sangram Desai

Synopsis: Fifteen-year-old Baalu cleans tables at a restaurant in Mumbai. His dream is to have his own sugar cane stand and hoping to make the money quickly, he invests in a dubious scheme. Unfortunately, he loses all his savings. A bitter Baalu decides he’s going to con the world since it doesn’t value his honesty and hard work. So Baalu sets up his own scam, but when the only person to fall for it is an earnest, mentally-challenged man, he must choose between his dream and his humanity.

Director’s Bio: Sandeep Modi is an alumnus of the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune. His short film Best Friends Forever won a National Award. This is his first full-length feature film.

  1. Movie Title: Take Care Good Night

Director: Girish Joshi

Cast: Sachin Khedekar, Iravati Harshe, Mahesh Manjrekar, Parna Pethe, Aadinath Kothare

Synopsis: Avinash is retired and lives with his wife, Asavari, and daughter, Sanika. His son Sameer is studying abroad. They’re an everyday family whose life is turned upside down when a cyber criminal starts attacking them. First, Avinash is scammed of a chunk of money. Then videos of Sanika are put up online without her knowledge or consent. What can the family do to counter this invisible enemy?

Director’s Bio: Girish Joshi is an actor and write, most prominently known for Kaksparsh (2012), Ek Daav Dhopipachhad (2008) and Kadaachit (2007)

  1.   Movie Title: Muramba

Director: Varun Narvekar

Synopsis: One day Alok announces to his parents that he and his girlfriend Indu have broken up. His parents are taken aback. Should they interfere in their son’s life and help the couple get back together? Or should they give Alok his ‘space’? Two generations try to appreciate and understand their notions of what a man-woman relationship is.

Cast: Sachin Khedekar, Amey Wagh, Chinmayee Sumit,   Mithila Palkar

Director’s Bio: Varun Narvekar is an Indian film writer and director who started his career as the writer for a short film titled Odh (2014). He later worked as an assistant director for The Bright Day (2015). His 2017 release includes Muramba, which marks his directorial debut.

  1.   Movie Title:Kaccha Limbu

Director: Prasad Oak

Cast: Sonali Kulkarni, Ravi Jadhav, Manmeet Pem, Sachin Khedekar, Ananth Mahadevan

Synopsis: Based on a novel by legendary Marathi novelist, Jaywant Dalvi, this is the story of a couple struggling with raising a mentally-challenged child. While the father sinks into the perpetual night shift at work, the mother drifts towards another man. Meanwhile, their son is 16 years old and growing into his sexuality. Can this family keep from falling apart and come back together? At playgrounds in western India, a kachcha limbu is the underdog.

Director’s Bio: Prasad Oak is a veteran actor, with more than 100 Marathi films, plays and television shows to his credit. He became well established on television with Avaghchi Sansar, playing the role of Harshvardhan Bhosle. He also received critical acclaim for his role in the television series ‘Andharyachya Parambya’ .In 2011, Prasad gave us a glimpse of his singing ability when he won the singing reality show SaReGaMaPa. Kaccha Limbu is his directorial debut.

  1. Movie Title:Ubuntu

Director:  Pushkar Shrotri

Cast : Sarang Sathye, Shashank Shende, Kanha Bhave, Bhagyashree Shankpal, Atharva Padhye

Synopsis: When the village schoolmaster has to go back to his own village, he asks one of his brightest students Gauri to hold the fort while he’s away. Gauri finds few parents are interested in sending their children to school if she’s teaching, but she perseveres. In the middle of all this, she learns that a representative from the Education Department will come for inspection. To make sure the school shows 100% attendance, Gauri needs to make sure that she finds one of the brightest students, Abdul. But Abdul has been sent off to work in a nearby town. If Gauri can’t find him, the school might just get closed down.

Director’s Bio: Pushkar Shrotri is a director and an actor in both theatre and films. His work has been much appreciated in Marathi movies such as Kay Dyache Bola (2005) and Haapus (2010). His notable performances in Hindi movies include his role in the 2003 blockbuster Munna Bhai M.B.B.S and its sequel Lage Raho Munna Bhai (2006). Pushkar received critical acclaim for his performance as a super cop in the 2014 movie Rege. Ubuntu is his first film as a writer, director and producer.

Marathi Talkies

Marathi Talkies