Marathi filmmaker Ravi Jadhav lambasts the way regional films get treated by censors, while Bollywood gets all the attention
Sonali Joshi Pitale (MID-DAY; September 9, 2016)

There has been much tussle between the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) and Hindi filmmakers in the past, around content leaks, muting of dialogues and deleted scenes in films. Does the Marathi film industry face similar issues, or do they have an easy way out with the CBFC? Ask Ravi Jadhav to shed light on this, and the top Marathi filmmaker instantly opens up. Jadhav says, “We have to deal with various diktats. The only difference is that Marathi producers make films on a tight budget, so they do not have the money to fight against the censor board. In fact, during the release of Balak Palak (2013), the censors had objected to the title itself. I had a tough time convincing them to change their mind. Moreover, even if we face problems, we can only reach out to a limited section of the media. The issue doesn’t get highlighted and we don’t gain publicity either, quite unlike Hindi films.”

A fortnight ago, as reported in hitlist, the political party Maharashtra navnirman Sena had objected to MS Dhoni’s Bollywood biopic being dubbed in Marathi. On this, Jadhav says, “I don’t think it is a big issue. I don’t think Ramayan and Mahabharat were written in Marathi or Hindi originally either. Translating a book or film should not be a problem. “It does become a big problem if they (the makers of the Dhoni biopic) seek benefits given to Marathi films — like prime-time slot in theatres, and tax concessions. That would be unfair, as Hindi cinema already enjoys luxury of huge budgets. and Marathi audiences would go to watch the film in Hindi anyway, since Dhoni is a national hero.”

Jadhav incidentally makes his Bollywood debut with the forthcoming release, Banjo.