Marathi theatre has always been accounted for its most culturally rich theatre traditions in the country. Marathi theatre had been exclusively represented by the folk forms for ages and since then it has unfolded and evolved into various successful movies with interesting stories and scripts. The first movie that was ever made in India was in Marathi – Raja Harishchandra which was made by Dadashaheb Phalke in 1913.
Mumbai – the land of entertainment and commercial capital, has given us a mixture of talented artists that are ruling our hearts with their stunning performance. It is where the seeds of Marathi theatre were sown for the professional artist which has now reached a wider audience and is not limited to the regional crowd. When talking about the market of Marathi movies, within a narrowed budget, they have grown larger with a better return on investment compared to their equivalents.
From comedy to romance, Marathi movies have marked their names not just in the regional film industry but also in Bollywood by giving multiple blockbuster movies to the industry.
Priyadarshan Jadhav – Actor, Director, and Screenwriter is an acclaimed personality in the Marathi film industry. Inclined at an early age into acting, he stepped into D. G. Ruparel College to become a proficient artist. Well-known for his roles in Timepass 2 as Dagadu, along with screenplay writer for Timepass, Priyadarshan received huge applause from the audience and the Marathi industry.
Making his first acting debut in Vijay Aso, he played distinct roles in various movies that proved he is a brilliant actor. In addition to acting, he also endeavored his passion in directing movies and thereafter become associated director of Hapus which got released in 2010. He entertained his audience with comic roles – Jay Maharashtra Dhaba Bhatinda and later won the award of the best supporting actor in 2017 for Halal.
Here are the highlights from the interview where Priyadarshan has taken us through the journey towards becoming a skilled performer.
Brief us about your professional journey in the Marathi Entertainment industry
I came to Mumbai in 1997 and joined D. G. Ruparel College to gain expertise in theatrical performance. It’s the college where I initially received admiration on my talent that I have the caliber to act and the potential to work in showbiz. Primarily I was doing lights, background music, and sets; and therefore getting praised for my work in college plays was like an achievement for a small-town boy who stepped his foot in the terrene of entertainment. In 2006, I wrote my first commercial “Jago Mohan Pyare” which was a huge hit and thereafter got underway with “Fu Bai Fu” – A Marathi-based comedy show which aired on Zee Marathi in 2011. My journey elevated when I started directing my own movies from 2016.
How has been your experience as a screenwriter?
As a screenwriter, the first and foremost thing to do is to read, observe and write a lot. It is important to develop your skills as a writer and express your words easily, at the same time understand it in a way that is more focused towards the commercial aspect of the film. We need to balance the way we write because it’s important to know how the film is shaping. Finally, the whole process of writing is ultimately connected to rewriting as various questions and doubts are raised and it then becomes essential to revisit the whole draft as per our niche audience. Rewriting is a challenging task when the time is limited but at the same time it helps in focusing on what we are doing and for whom we are doing it. I also find it quite helpful to receive genuine reviews from my well-wishers and friends as it further assists me to shift my one-way direction and dimension.
Throughout your professional journey, what kind of challenges have you faced?
Being an actor, writer, and director, I have gone through a lot of challenges and my biggest hardship was to crack the first movie that I have directed with a minimal budget. With changing lifestyles and technology, it’s challenging to make the audience stay with the stories and characters. Today’s crowd prefers to watch realistic movies and web series which are trending now the most, and therefore with changing times and cultural differences it becomes significant to treasure the audience with what they are looking for.
What do you think about making thrilling Horror Movies in Marathi?
Our culture is more curved towards plays and theatre as compared to movies and despite being a profitable genre, horror movies are among the highest-risk group with a budget that is expensive to work with. The elements and effects required in making a horror movie are sky-high which makes it unsustainable to craft a movie within a desired budget.
What advice would you give to the budding actors and writers?
I have met with various young aspirers who are looking to make a career in acting, writing, and directing – and what I realized is that they instantly jump to the conclusion without understanding the different medium and mechanism. I would advise them to read and write a lot, have observational and interpersonal skills, listen to the interviews that are available on Youtube and other social media. This would definitely help them with the insight to look at the medium in a very objective way. I would recommend watching movies multiple times with different perspectives – camera, sound effect, acting, screenplay, VFX, music, and many more to get a fair amount of confidence and understanding. It’s essential to grab the technique and tactics on how a movie is created rather than assuming the procedure. One need to guide other artists and collaborate with the same approach so that the movie has less possibility of mishap.
Where do you envision yourself to be in the long run and what are your future goals?
My future goals are very specific, I want to do multilingual movies, and I want to understand the sensibility of the different states their culture, and their stories. If an opportunity knocks on my door then I will also take an active part in making Hollywood movies. On the whole, the plan is to entertain the audience with good stories and characters, and I will continue to keep doing this till the very end.
We need to get this thing out of our mind that we are doing only regional films; we need to take this jinx out of our mind. No matter what the movie is, it should appeal to the world with a wide audience. We have to spread our wings and present our work to a different world and genre rather than restricted to our regional language.
