Last September, Jaya had angered Thackeray by saying at a promotional event for her son Abhishek’s film Drona that she was from Uttar Pradesh and she would speak only in Hindi.
A year after berating Jaya Bachchan for belittling Marathi
manus, MNS chief Raj Thackeray may be in for a surprise: A Marathi film brewed by Big B’s better half.
The film,
Vihir — The Well, will have its world premiere at the Pusan festival (South Korea) on October 9 followed by a screening at the London festival on October 15. This is the first Marathi film produced under the banner of the revived Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Limited, which is being helmed by Jaya.
Last September, Jaya had angered Thackeray by saying at a promotional event for her son Abhishek’s film
Drona that she was from Uttar Pradesh and she would speak only in Hindi. Thackeray asked for an unconditional apology, and only after Jaya said sorry to him personally was the matter put to rest.
Now, she says the issue was blown out of proportion; she has always been a Maharashtrian. “I am as much a Maharashtrian as someone who is born into a Maharashtrian family. I was born here, educated here and am absolutely comfortable with Marathi culture,” she said. “I may be Bengali by birth but am virtually a Maharashtrian. No one can accuse me of being otherwise.”
Vihir’s scriptwriter Girish Kulkarni is a graduate of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), which is also Jaya’s alma mater. “Nothing is dearer to me than that (the institute). I genuinely believe that if I have achieved anything, especially in my career, I owe it to FTII,” Jaya said. “So, I have decided to try my best to support talent that comes out of the institute.”
She said that through Vihir, she wanted to focus on the issues affecting people from the country’s interiors. “Since I am part of politics, I go to these places and get to know about their lives,” Jaya said. “Our films mainly depict Mumbai. But Maharashtra is not just Mumbai. I think a lot of people in the interiors will relate to a film like Vihir.”
The film is about two adolescent boys at the crossroads of life and is the second production by Umesh and Girish Kulkarni. The duo’s earlier film Valu was critically acclaimed.
“I am lucky that Jayaji allowed us to make the movie in Marathi. Otherwise the essence would have been lost in translation,” said Umesh. “I think it is such movies, which are rooted to the ground, that find greater appeal worldwide.”
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}