Director Yogesh Sahebrao Mahajan is ready to showcase his Marathi feature film ‘Jeta’ in front of the audience Friday. The film, which is carrying some good hype, clashes with the Bollywood film ‘Bhediya’ featuring Varun Dhawan and Kriti Sanon in the lead roles. Both films are scheduled to release on the same date, that is, November 25.
In this interview, the filmmaker talks about his labour of love, what makes ‘Jeta’ a film for everyone, clashing with a big Hindi film, challenges faced by the Marathi film industry and more.
‘Jeta’ has generated some good buzz for itself. What led you to make a film on this subject?
‘Jeta’ is a motivational film. It has been inspired from certain real-life incidents. The film traces the journey of a young man studying in college who goes through a life-altering incident. He wants to become a professional cricketer but an accident results in one of his hands becoming dysfunctional. He gets depressed, thinks about committing suicide but he decides to not give up on life so easily and then, starts everything from scratvh.
There is a dialogue in the film which says, “dono haath ki taaqat ek haath mein aa gayee hai…”. His determination helps him turn his life around and become a successful entrepreneur. I am hoping this film inspires all those who are facing difficulties in their lives.
The film is clashing with a big Hindi film like ‘Bhediya’. Are you concerned about that?
The Marathi theatre going audience is different from the Hindi film viewers. Yes, there are some who like watching both Hindi and Marathi films in theatres. Once we decided to release our film on November 25, we decided to stick to it. I strongly believe that if a film is good, it will find its audience. We have chosen the theatres very carefully and put together a specific release strategy that, we believe, will work for our film. The Marathi film industry is driven by good concepts and stores and not by stars.
Mumbai is the hub of both Hindi films and Marathi cinema. Does that prove to be a hindrance for the Marathi film industry?
Getting theatres or screens is always a challenge for Marathi films. Sometimes, exhibitors, too, favour Hindi films over Marathi cinema. The government has made it compulsory for every theatre to play a Marathi film every day. While this is a welcome move, what a lot of theatres end up doing is that they play Marathi films at odd timings.
Do you think the government can do more to help the Marathi film industry?
The government could do a few things like making it mandatory for every theatre to reserve a prime time slot for a Marathi film. The government and the Marathi film industry could also sit down and come up with some ideas or solutions to propel the growth of the Marathi film industry forward.
Is ‘Jeta’ made only for the Marathi audience?
We have made a Marathi film that will appeal to everybody. We are releasing the film with subtitles so that everybody can watch and enjoy it. In the last few years, many non-Marathi speaking people have watched and appreciated so many Marathi films. The pan-India movement has proved to be beneficial for regional films.