A dearth of fairytale stories in Marathi cinema: Subodh Bhave on why he made ‘Sangeet Manapmaan’

Mumbai, Jan 2 (PTI) With his highly-anticipated film “Sangeet Manapmaan”, actor-director Subodh Bhave says he has fulfilled a long-cherished dream of crafting a grand musical fairytale in Marathi language.

The trailer of the film, adapted from popular Marathi dramatist Krushnaji Prabhakar Khadilkar’s 1911 ‘sangeet natak’ (musical play) “Manapmaan”, was recently launched by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. The film releases in theatres on January 10.

Bhave said he started thinking about making another musical after his directorial debut “Katyar Kaljat Ghusali” but the story did not work out.

The actor said he then came up with the idea of adapting Khadilkar’s play. He has once again teamed up with musicians Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy for the film.

“In Marathi cinema, there’s a dearth of such stories. As an audience, I like fairytales, and if given a choice I would prefer to not watch realistic films. I don’t know why a fairytale has not been made in Marathi so far. Maybe it is because such stories require a big budget,” Bhave told PTI in an interview.

Billed as a film that celebrates Maharashtra’s rich cultural tapestry, the movie revolves around Dhairyadhar (Bhave), a loyal soldier, and Bhamini (Vaidehi Parshurami), a proud princess. Bhamini initially rejects Dhairyadhar’s marriage proposal but soon comes to understand and admire his character. Bhamini’s admirer Chandravilas (Sumit Raghavan) plots against Dhairyadhar.

Bhave said there are many such stories in Marathi literature and he hopes that “Sangeet Manapmaan” is just the beginning of writers and directors exploring similar stories for screen.

He described the process of adapting the source material into the film as a challenge.

“We explored the story in depth and saw the possibility to do something new. The play, ‘Sangeet Manapaman’ was a straight play, in which there were not many ups and downs in the life of the characters, but there were great songs.

“In today’s time, if we bring a film in which people aren’t saying or doing much and are mostly singing songs then it would be rejected. I had to make many changes while adapting it into a film. Like, give graph to the characters, a certain tempo to the scenes, and create dramatic moments. All of this took three and half years.”

“Sangeet Manapmaan” boasts of an ensemble cast including Upendra Limaye, Neena Kulkarni, Nivedita Saraf, Shailesh Datar, and Archana Nipankar.

Each actor has been chosen meticulously according to the roles they are portraying, Bhave said, praising his cast for their hard work and dedication towards the film.

Parshurami, who previously worked with Bhave on the 2018 biographical drama “Ani… Dr Kashinath Ghanekar”, said she surrendered to the vision of the director to essay the role of Bhamini.

“I might have been introduced to Bhamini right now but he has been with Bhamini for five years, so he knows the part better. He was very clear about how he wanted to visualise Bhamini in the film so it made my job easier,” the actor, who has also worked in Hindi films like “Wazir” and “Simmba”, said.

Parshurami said it was a physically demanding role since she had to do action, horse riding, and elaborate dance sequences.

“… All of these were newer challenges and with everybody’s help, I could do it (play the role). I enjoyed portraying Bhamini,” the 32-year-old actor said, adding that working with Bhave has been an amazing experience.

“It is because of him that everybody has strived to make it a better film, and that’s what reflects in each of his projects. He wants to make sure the film is good and it is portrayed the way it should be,” she added.

The film is presented by Jio Studios, produced by Jyoti Deshpande and Shree Ganesh Marketing.