Mahesh Manjrekar talks about why his Marathi film is making news and how he survived a rough patch in his career

WHEN we tell Mahesh Manjrekar that we saw Me Shivajiraje Bhonsale Boltoy in a suburban multiplex, he says, "You should have seen it at Plaza." We head to Plaza for a photo shoot and to prove a point, he takes us to the balcony where the film is already on. The cinema hall is houseful. Shivaji Maharaj's entry that's the character he plays in the film is greeted with whistles, cheers and claps. It's heartening for Mahesh; he co-produced the film and the director is his cousin Santosh Manjrekar. We come out and Mahesh smiles, "It feels great to get such a good response." To this, we ask...

Is the figure of Rs 1.5 crore net opening true?
It is. This is the kind of recovery one would get when the film does its full run. But Shivaji managed it in just three days.u00a0