I really felt cinema is beyond language—Producer Ajit Bhure

1. Why did you decide to produce a Marathi film? And not a serial?

Producing a Marathi serial is a challenging job. For that one needs to depend on the strategies of channels, marketing agencies, etc. our company is trying this for a couple of years. Some proposals are in the pipeline. But in the meantime I had an opportunity to read the manuscript of RESTAURANT. The story and the themes related to the subject were quite interesting. And the decision of making a film did not happen on the factors, viz. executive producers of the channel or marketing agencies. Therefore I decided to go with the idea of producing a film.

2. Why did you opt for a regional canvass and not a Hindi film?

There were two reasons to produce the film in Marathi. The first one was obviously commercial. Our company, at this moment, cannot raise the required funds to produce a Hindi movie. And secondly, I really felt cinema is beyond language. The content has to be reached. And I thought the message given thru’ RESTAURANT could be understood by all the audience, irrespective of their mother tongue.
 
3. Why have you chosen food based subject and different name for your film?

The film is all about human relations and values. It has a back drop of a ‘RESTAURANT’. It revolves around ‘FOOD’. Food brings people closer. It can make or break the situation. The film demanded this backdrop which was different from others. But the title of the film is not actually different. It is apt. one has to see the film and decide. You can’t think of any other name.

4. Sonali kulkarni and Sameer Dharnadhikari are quite busy and commercially costly. Why did you choose them?

I was lucky that Sonali liked the subject. She is from a very sensible background. She could relate with the sincere efforts put in by the makers of the film. When a genuine artiste gets an impression about the genuine efforts of the presenters, time and money become secondary. Both Sonali and Sameer gave their 100%, in spite of their busy schedules. We really owe them a lot.

5. Tell me about the Director?

Sachin Kundalkar is a trained film maker. He had won awards for his short films. And he had his paperwork properly done. Since it was his maiden venture, he was focused and the most important thing about him was – He did not complete this film only as a professional assignment but made it with passion.


6. Is the film successful?

Success? What do you mean by success? I think, it is relative. The film the film will complete 25 weeks in Pune, has completed 100 days in Mumbai, has been acclaimed by all the critics and sensible film personalities; I t has won number of prestigious awards like Ma Ta Sanman Best Direction Award, Sanskruti Kala Darpan Best Director and Art Director Awards and also won 6 V. Shantaram awards. Film has been selected in various International Festivals and is now selected for ‘NEW JERSEY INDEPENDENT SOUTH ASIAN CINE FEST’ in USA. And now it has won Maharashtra State Awards in 5 categories including 2nd prize for Best Film. If you think this is not success then…? That’s why I said SUCCESS is a relative term.

7. What is your next planning?

At the moment we are planning to reach this film to the maximum of audience all over. The film has to reach to its last possible audience. That is our challenge. And we have taken it.

 

By Anita Padhye
Mumbai, India