#Staroftheweek: Mahesh Manjrekar: I want the right audience to watch my films – Times of India


Actor-director Mahesh Manjrekar is one of the most revered names in the Marathi film industry, who has gained name, fame, and the love of the audience by his phenomenal films.

In our fifth edition of #Staroftheweek, ETimes caught up with him to chat about his film ‘Nay Varan Bhat Loncha Kon Nay Koncha‘, his anticipation with the film, and much more.
Excerpts:

What do you have to say about directing ‘Nay Varan Bhat Loncha Kon Nay Koncha‘?


People say that ‘Vaastav’ hard-hitting film but I think ‘Lalbaug Parel‘ was a more hard-hitting film than ‘Vaastav’. ‘Lalbaug Parel’ was based on author Jayant Pawar‘s famous play ‘Adhantar’. He also penned a story of ‘Nay Varan Bhat Loncha Kon Nay Koncha’ and it was very disturbing when I heard it for the first time. So, we decided that we make a movie with the same title.

Go on..


When we wrote this film, it was clear that we will not romanticise things. If the boys of that time use such abusive words that why not show that as it is. So, we decided to do it as it is. I appreciate that the censor board had a quite liberal outlook toward this film. It’s a dark film and I can only say that If you are used see such dark films then only come to theatres. I want the right audience to watch my films.

How did you manage to convince Prem Dharamadhikari and Varad Nagwekar?


It was very challenging and they were just 16. It was an extremely difficult task to cast these two boys. I know Prem Dharamadhikari because of my film ‘Bhai: Vyakti Ki Valli’ where he played school-going Bal Thackeray. After that, he did one web series and Hindi film ‘Antim: The Final Truth‘ with me.

There is a sudden spike in COVID-19 cases over the last couple of days and you released Nay Varan Bhat Loncha Kon Nay Koncha’…


We wanted to release this film on 21st January. Due to a sudden spike in COVID-19 cases, all theatres were closed and it was obvious that Hindi filmmakers will not take a chance to release their film during this period. So, we decided that we will release our Marathi film on January 14.

How do you balance your career as an actor and as a director?


To b honest, I am focusing more on directing than acting. Because I am getting good roles nowadays. And that’s why I envy Pankaj Tripathi because he has offered very good roles. So, I am not interested in doing small roles.

According to our sources, you directed ‘Nay Varan Bhat Loncha Kon Nay Koncha’ at a breakneck speed. Is this True?


Yes, We did this film at a breakneck speed. I am not allowed to reveal the duration but all I can say is that ‘Nay Varan Bhat Loncha Kon Nay Koncha’ is the fastest film of my career. We wrote this 7 years back and we got little time before ‘Antim’. So, we did it. It’s very sad that Jayant Pawar is not with us today to see this film. I really love Jayant’s work because of the way he observes things. We also wanted to a film on the history of Mumbai’s mills to malls. I will definitely do this film as a tribute to Jayant Pawar.

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