Devendra Fadnavis’ diktat about Marathi films is pointless, here’s why!

Maharashtra’s Chief Minister is making a lot of changes in the State. Here is what I feel about the latest one…

Maharashta’s Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has released a new diktat. It says that every multiplex in the state should screen Marathi films during prime time. The CM has faced a lot of flak for this new rule. Celebrated personalities like Shobhaa De and Karan Johar have expressed their discontent over this rule. As a cinephile who enjoys watching Hindi and regional cinema alike, I, too don’t think very highly of Fadnavis’ new diktat.

I am a movie lover. I like to watch cinema, it doesn’t matter what language it is in. To impress me, a film should have engaging content and powerful presentation. It should have a story that hits home, it should have characters that stay with me even after the movie is over. Language, doesn’t really feature on my list of “What I look for in a good movie”! I will find a way to watch a good film and I will watch it irrespective of its language. So for me the diktat about Marathi cinema running at multiplexes at prime-time doesn’t make sense. Because if I really want to watch a Marathi film (or any other regional cinema for that matter), I will go to the theatre and it will have nothing ot do with it’s mandatory screeing at prime-time. All the multiplex needs to give me is a decent number of shows for that regional film I will watch what I want, whenever I want to.

Coming to the financial impact of this diktat on Box office numbers, I don’t think the Marathi cinema needs compulsory prime-time screenings to do well at the Box office. Films like Lai Bhaari, Timepass, Balak Palak etc. found a strong audience to support them without any prime-time screenings. These films raked in a lot of money without any mandatory screenings because they looked exciting enough to pull cinegoers in. All they had was content and good marketing, and that paid off quite well at the Box office.

Lastly, I think that if we are going at this rate the next diktat will be to have a Marathi actor feature in every Hindi film. Or just vadapav and no popcorn for movie time snacks. We have enough rules telling us about what to do and what not to do (post the beef ban what to eat and what not to eat as well) we don’t need rules that decide which films we want to watch and when we want to watch it. Regional cinema has and will survive without these diktats. Just wait till a film like Court releases. You won’t need to give it special provisions to attract audiences. Content is and will always be king!

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