Will be the chief guest at Nishikant Kamat's debut film premiere that has a cast of 112 characters.
"A story of a common man who loses his sanity in the everyday rut of life." A one line idea which developed into a script. Déjà vu? Not quite, if you watch director Nishikant Kamat's film 'Dombivli Fast' which releases this Friday.
The film starring Sandeep Kulkarni, Shilpa Tulaskar and Sandesh Jadhav is a first of its kind because it includes a total cast of 112 additional characters, each of whom got a role only after a thorough audition.
"We felt that since we were going all out to make a realistic film, why should we compromise on the aspect of casting appropriate minor characters," says debutant director Kamat, who has widely travelled in Mumbai trains.
The two-hour film, shot prominently in and around Dombivli, deals with issues and concerns about day-to-day life which all Mumbaikars face.
"Through the film I am trying to raise a point that we have become so accustomed to life's hardships that we will not even question them. Don't we have a right to even a comfortable mode of transport?"
The story of Madhav Apte, the film's protagonist who travels by the Dombivli fast everyday, is a tale which anybody living in this city could easily identify with.
An honest middle-class banker, Apte, disgusted with the system, loses his sanity and takes it upon himself to set things right, resorting to violent ways, thereby causing tension and strife to his wife and kids.
So what are Kamat's expectations from the film? "Although my target audience is the Marathi middle-class, I want others to see it as well. I will be releasing the film with English subtitles in the second week after its release."
Kamat is leaving no stone unturned to ensure the film reaches a wider audience. First, he invited columnist-author Shobhaa De for a private screening (he does believe in the power of her pen!) and today he is holding a premiere at Ravindra Natya Mandir with none other than Lata Mangeshkar as the chief guest.
r_faheem@dnaindia.net
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