#Staroftheweek: Hemant Dhome: ‘Jhimma’ opened theatres for Marathi cinema – Times of India


Actor-director Hemant Dhome is one of the renowned and respected names in the Marathi film industry, who has gained name, fame, and love of the audience by his phenomenal films and performances.

In the very first edition of #Staroftheweek, ETimes caught up with him to chat about his film ‘Jhimma’, his anticipation with the film, and much more. Excerpts:

What do you have to say about directing ‘Jhimma’

I am very surprised and overwhelmed with the response from the audience. I always believe in stories that will relate to people. And ‘Jhimma’ is one of them. There are eight stories in the film revolving around eight characters in the film. I am very happy today because people are able to relate to these stories and glad that people are coming back to the theatres.

‘Jhimma’ was released after the COVID-19 situation which the entire world has faced. What was your anticipation?

I always believe that post Pandemic, if ‘Sooryavanshi‘ is going to work then not our Marathi film ‘Jhimma’. So, I took that chance to release it on November 19. Yes, we were a bit worried about the Covid-19 situation but to our surprise, things went out of the box. ‘Sooryavanshi’ proved them wrong who thought that cinema will never open again.

Actress and your wife Kshitee Jog made her debut as a producer. Please comment

We were holding the film for almost 2 years. There were many offers for ‘Jhimma’ to release it on the OTT platform but we were clear that it was made only for the big screen. Actress Suhas Joshi told me that ‘you show this film on a big screen and it will you show you everything. We waited so long and I think our patience has finally paid off.

I wanted to release ‘Jhimma’ in December because of vaccination but my wife Kshitee was very clear. She told me that we are releasing ‘Jhimma’ on November 19. I think credit for the success of ‘Jhimma’ goes to Kshitee. After a few years, people will talk about pre-pandemic movies and post-pandemic movies. In post pandemic movies ‘Jhimma’ is one who opened theatres for Marathi cinema.

Do you like this trend of films releasing on OTT?

I think it’s a very good medium. Now, we can make films that can be released on OTT platforms. There are films which give you experience and there are few films which tell you stories and there are films that are only made for entertainment. So, we made the ‘Jhimma’ release on the big screen. I think OTT platforms are very good and now there is an opportunity for those who struggle to get a role in the film. But they show can show their talent through these OTT platforms.

How was your experience of working with Sonalee Kulkarni, Sayali Sanjeev, Nirmiti Sawant, and others?

These actors are very good friends of mine and I have worked with them. I knew their potential and we finalized the cast during the stories development phase. The entire team was very supportive and worked together as a family.

Talking about your career as an actor and as a director, how do you balance between both?

To be honest, I love to direct films and I really enjoy that process. If you have a story then you don’t have to go anywhere to direct it. So, I am enjoying this process.

You’ve worked with a lot of actors in these years. Who has been your favourite?

Yes, I always wanted to work with Nirmiti Sawant. Fortunately, we got a chance to cast her for ‘Jhimma’. I will definitely say that I want to cast Nirmiti Sawant in every film. And also have a dream to work in Rajkumar Hirani’s film.

.



Source link

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *