Maharashtra government’s decision to screen Marathi movies in multiplexes during peak hours may have been shot down by most, but it does raise a crucial point – how can regional cinema ever compete with big-budget, high-decibel publicity campaigns by Bollywood and English movies? Shouldn’t such movies be encouraged? Or should regional cinema be allowed to battle it out on its own?

Bela Negi // Regional cinema has been ignored for a long time in India. That has affected the quality of regional films over the years. It isn’t the case, however, in south India and West Bengal, where Bollywood is not as big as regional cinema. And you can see the difference – these regions have a large number of films of high quality.

I’ve been on the National Awards Jury twice, and I was amazed to see so many great regional movies. The sad bit is that a lot of these films just move around in festivals or at special shows. They find it hard to get a place in a common space where an average man can have access to them.

For this, special concessions and slotted times at cinema halls and multiplexes is not such a bad thing. In Maharashtra, because of the proximity to Bollywood, Marathi movies tend to suffer more. Regional films come from such a variety of backgrounds with a variety of different flavours. For instance, a Malayalam film will have a different flavour from a Marathi or a Haryanvi movie. Regional cinema conveys the expression of people there. There aren’t too many Haryanvi films being made but if there was some sort of slot at cinema halls, I’m sure directors would be encouraged. Similarly, in Uttarakhand, the movie industry is practically non-existent.

The publicity budgets for these smaller movies can never match those of Bollywood or Hollywood blockbusters. It need not be like this, but it is the reality. If these regional movies are encouraged by state governments, I feel it will not only give rise to a new kind of cinema, it will also encourage better movie making all over India. When I was making my first film Daayen ya Baayen, I would rather have made it in Kumaoni, the language of Kumaon, where the story plays out. That is because the milieu was so authentic but I chose to make it in Hindi. It was a decision I had to take in terms of the reach of the film. Otherwise, it would have remained a small film, a video film, sort of. Why should a person who is from Maharashtra and thinks in Marathi have to make a Hindi film? We should be able to make movies in our own authentic voice.

There is also a strong case for preserving these regional cultures and languages. Fortunately for me, in Uttarakhand, Hindi is also widely spoken and so it was not that much of an adjustment. But there are Indian states such as those in south India and the Northeast regions where little or no Hindi is spoken. South India is another case in point. The sensibility of every region is different. When we don’t encourage regional voices, it all sort of becomes more universal, more homogenised, a trend that is taking over not just art but lifestyles as well. I can specifically talk about Uttarakhand, where there is no government support for regional films. The focus of the government there is more on how to get movies to come and shoot there. That isn’t a bad thing, but more than that, it is important to recognise the film industry. After all, films have become such a strong medium of expression and are an extremely accessible one as well. If we look at cinema not just as a commercial venture but also as a medium of expression, there is a huge possibility.

Why only Marathi movies in Maharashtra, I say other language movies should be promoted as well. I don’t know how the economics of that would play out, however. But then films today aren’t just about money either. It would be my wish to be able to see films from all over India at some kind of slot reserved for them.

aBhijit Bhor // The recent move by the Maharashtra government to enforce compulsory screening of Marathi films in prime time in mall-wala theatres and the consequent flop after the flip due to the hue and cry that some people raised, Madam De being one of them, raised conflicting emotions in many Maharashtrians. We people love our culture but love fairness and common sense more. Most importantly, we love a free download even more.

But seriously, and in all fairness, this is unfair. The theatre owner has not invested in his cinema hall and multiplex for charity. And in a free market it would be unfair to ensure that he incurs a loss just because a particular government feels it has to show that its heart bleeds for the culture of the land. Not that it makes them send their children to Marathi schools — the Doon-er, the better is the slogan here. Common sense should tell that forcing a non- Marathi speaking and understanding person to watch even good cinema in Marathi is unfair. Maybe you could, maybe do it for free, but if you expect him to pay for it, you got another thought coming. A film buff will take the trouble to go see a film he wants to but you can’t force someone to see a film he is not interested in — especially at multiplex prices.

Plus, there are just not enough Marathis around in Mumbai (at least) concentrated around the malls and multiplexes to make it a viable proposition. Alas, they have sold out long ago and have migrated to Vasai, Virar et al, which even today have many single-screen projections and a sizeable number of Marathis to run good Marathi films at a profit. Which again brings in the unfair aspect to the fore — being forced to sell a product for which there are no buyers. But having said the above, I would like to categorically state that good art cannot shine without a good patron and a proper platform. Maybe not in this form, but the Marathi film, or any regional film industry for that matter, should be nurtured or it may suffer more damage.

In rural Maharashtra, Marathi films are still holding out but how long before the young and growing start having other priorities in terms of movie choices is anyone’s guess. Here, the choice is primarily between Hindi and Marathi films since only the famous English films and the smutty types do well here. There is a better-than-half chance that Marathi may win given the fact that they connect better with the Marathi tableau – at present, at least. In the cities of malls (bless them for the pain I have to go through when my wife shops there!) and multiplexes, where the movies shown have double the production costs, coupled with the youth’s obsession with glamour, suffice it to say the budgetary binds of regional movies can never reach those heights. I should know as an actor. In Marathi movies, we get paid much less (half at times) than what Hindi films and serials pay us. By the way, kudos to Ritish Deshmukh for the Rs eight-crore Lay Bhari and the multi-fold revenues it generated. The average production cost of a regular Marathi movie, however, is about Rs 80 lakh.

And it’s not like the government doesn’t help. For decades, state government have given out benefits to the Marathi film industry. But what should ideally happen is that the love and loyalty for Marathi movies — or any regional movie industry for that matter — should grow on its own.