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NCPA is screening Harishchandrachi factory, a movie on dadasaheb phalke, which is india's official entry to the oscars. the guide tells you why you should watch the film about a struggling director succeeding despite all odds, which draws a parallel to the personal story of the director
At a time when big budget Bollywood movies seem to rule the roost, a Marathi movie made on a shoestring budget by a first-time movie director has paved its own way to the Oscars. Harishchandrachi Factory is a comic biopic on Dadasaheb Phalke who was the pioneer of Indian cinema and made India's first feature film, Raja Harishchandra, in 1913.
It chalks Phalke's journey from being a portrait photographer to his quitting the family printing business, stumbling upon a tent theatre where he watched a silent motion picture, his trip to London to learn the art of film-making and the making of his first movie by casting a group of inexperienced actors.
The movie is directed by Paresh Mokashi, who wrote and directed plays before venturing into making this movie. "The experience of directing the movie was quite new to me and I learnt a lot while making it," he states. Unlike others who feel that Marathi cinema has not got its just due, he believes in that's not so. "Other regional languages too have experienced ups and downs, and even mainstream Hindi cinema is no exception to it."
Mokashi is ecstatic that the film got an entry to the Oscars but remains grounded. "I don't know if we can win or not. We participated in every competition with a sporting spirit without expecting anything. We are looking at all the international competitions in the same way." The film has won several awards such as the Best Director Award at the Pune International Film Festival and the Balasaheb Sarpotdar Award for Best Film.
Actor Gary Richardson, who was part of the principal cast of the movie, draws a parallel between the director on whom the movie is based and the actual director. While he never imagined the movie would receive such laurels, he adds that throughout the production process, it was Mokashi who did his research and stuck to his guns making the film in Marathi and not Hindi, not including any songs and dances which would make it a commercial movie and even mortgaging his home to fund the film. "There was a lot of improvisation as the situation demanded it.
On one occasion, we needed 10 cars in a row but we had to make do with only two of them. So, instead they were positioned and shot in such a manner that indicated a row of cars," he states.
The movie is being showcased as part of the Nave Valan (A New Turn) film festival at NCPA, which will showcase the changing face of Marathi cinema and screen acclaimed Marathi films over five days. "We are trying to tell the younger generation that the more rooted you are, the more universal you are. In between, Marathi cinema had lost its idiom and veered between slapstick Tamasha or copying Bollywood movies. Movies such as Harishchandrachi Factory are a refreshing change," observes Vijaya Mehta, Executive Director, NCPA.
At: Godrej Dance Academy Theatre, NCPA, Nariman Point.
On: Tonight, 6.30 pm onwards
Call: 22824567 / 66548135. Admission is on a first-come-first-serve basis.
Marathi Film Festival schedule
November 17, 6.30 pm
Gandh is an ensemble of three independent films, bound together by characters who are going through experiences involving the sense of smell. The film got the Sant Tukaram State Government award for Best Screenplay at the Pune International Film Festival (PIFF) 2009.
November 18, 6.30 pm
Gho Mala Asla Hava (I want a husband like this) is a musical which takes a humorous look at marriage. Savitri, a village belle, rebels against the age-old custom of arranged marriage and the entire village gets involved in fulfilling her wishes.
November 19, 6.30 pm
Jogva tells the tale of a woman's journey to break out of sexual oppression and blind superstition.
November 20, 6.30 pm
Gabhricha Paus was the winner of the Best Marathi Film award at the Pune International Film Festival (2009). It is a story of simple aspirations and alludes to the terrible odds stacked against those who depend on the earth for their livelihood. | 
