#NewsBytesExclusive: South industry must thank Hindi TV, says Sanjay Chhabria
The Indian film industry comprises several regional cinema industries including Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu. Marathi cinema, one of the most prominent ones, has given us some of the top talents and films. Producer Sanjay Chhabria, the founder of Everest Entertainment, spoke to NewsBytes about why Marathi cinema lacks pan-India appeal despite its history and rich content, the reason behind South industries' success, and more.
Why does Marathi cinema lack pan-India appeal?
Marathi cinema is a content-driven industry. To have a pan-India appeal, we need to continue making content-driven cinema, but also, we need to make popular cinema. We need films that are big-scale, has a popular star cast, and have good content - all in equal proportion. Mahesh Manjrekar's upcoming film with Akshay Kumar is the leap of faith that Marathi cinema needs.
What has helped South films to gain such popularity?
One of the prime reasons is that there is always a large amount of viewership on satellite channels for action films and comedies. A big contribution and thanks from the South industry should go to Set Max and Star Gold, two channels that continued to air the dubs of all popular South films which is why their actors became household names over the years.
What is the way forward for Marathi cinema?
Marathi cinema is doing pretty well post-pandemic. There has been a train of successes in 2022. This year also started with the successes of Ved and Vaalvi. The audience has changed with regard to going to the theaters. Films are now being conceived from a theatrical point of view. Everest Entertainment is also consciously looking at big-ticket films meant for the box office.
Will a cross-collaboration give a push to Marathi cinema?
Riteish Deshmukh and Genelia D'Souza starrer Ved is a classic example that cross-collaboration will help the industry. Tomorrow if Marathi-speaking Bollywood actors would do big-ticket films, the industry would benefit from it. I have two projects in mind for this but it'll be too premature to talk about them. We have to try and innovate into making films that open up our markets further.
How has OTT helped Marathi cinema?
There are so many filmmakers such as Umesh Kulkarni who made lovely films but were not marketers. They appeal to different sets of audiences. OTT is a great platform for such filmmakers where they don't have the pressure to perform at the box office. They get a window, can reach out to their audience, and their work is seen and appreciated.
