Godavari is an ode to Nishikant Kamat Marathi filmmaker Nikhil Mahajan
Panaji Nov 24 PTI Filmmaker Nikhil Mahajan says his Marathi feature film Godavari is his way of paying tributes to his close friend and mentor Nishikant Kamat who died last year at the age of 50Mahajan said the project was born in the wake of Kamats death on August 17 2020 and he wanted to celebrate the life of the filmmaker who he used to fondly call Nishi sirThat day we lost our closest friend mentor and one of the best filmmakers of India Nishikant Kamat We were very close to him When he passed away Jitendra Joshi who is the lead actor and the co-producer of this film called me and said Nikhil we have to do something for Nishi sir I said what better way to celebrate him than to make a film for him Mahajan told PTI in an interviewSo its pretty much where the project started and its an ode to him We also named the lead character after Nishi sir he addedBest known for directing critically-acclaimed thriller drama Drishyam action film Force and Irrfan Khan-starrer Madaari Kamat passed away after a two-year battle with liver cirrhosisRemembering Kamat Mahajan said his death was a big blow to Indian cinemaHe was a senior to me I really looked up to him and his work It was a big loss and a big shock for us In the last two years we have all lost people who were close to us So it felt very natural to do a film that explores the idea of mortality the filmmaker saidA philosophical exploration of life and death Godavari takes its name from the titular river that flows from Nashik Maharashtra to the southern states of the countryThe film follows the story of a grumpy man named Nishikant Deshmukh played by Sacred Games actor Jitendra Joshi and his family who try to cope up with deaths of two close relativesGodavari is referred to as the Ganga of the south and a lot of the western Maharashtra population comes to this river for the last rites of their loved ones So its the river that holds tremendous cultural and spiritual significance for this big demographic of IndiaAnd the movie is about this man who lives right next to the river but he hates the river and everything that it stands for It is the story of this man and his family who grapple with two deaths — one that they know about and one that takes them by surprise Mahajan saidThe theme of the movie predominantly talks about the idea of tradition and how it is something thats passed on through generations the filmmaker addedIt is important that we value our traditions but at the same time I think it is very important that we as a society also accept modernism We should also change with the times but while changing we should also keep the things in mind that make up our core The film was recently screened at the ongoing International Film Festival of India IFFI under the Indian Panorama section It also features Gauri Nalawade as well as veteran actors Vikram Gokhale and Neena KulkarniMahajan 37 said the film was shot during the coronavirus pandemic that made things quite difficult for the teamIt was a very difficult shoot in a town that is densely populated around the river We had a lot of senior actors and we were really worried about their health Also it was a new way of shooting with all these bio bubbles and restrictionsSo it took time for us to get used to that Working against all these odds was really challenging but I think somewhere Nishi sir was guiding us throughout he addedAsked why Marathi cinema often presents stories that are intimate in nature Mahajan said there is no hero worship in the industryIn Marathi cinema there is no star system People come to watch the actors not the stars It is a culture that has grown and enriched because of a phenomenal drama theatre movement It is full of really good performersThe audience is very aware of the difference between a star and an actor and they dont go to watch a star Since there is no star system there is also no hero worship of any sort The audience is evolved and have great taste the filmmaker said adding their expectations from filmmakers and actors are very highSomeone said to me that in the Hindi mainstream cinema there are a thousand common people watching a story of one extraordinary person However in Marathi cinema there are a thousand extraordinary people men and women sitting and looking at the story of a common man PTI RB RDS RDS
Panaji Nov 24 PTI Filmmaker Nikhil Mahajan says his Marathi feature film Godavari is his way of paying tributes to his close friend and mentor Nishikant Kamat who died last year at the age of 50Mahajan said the project was born in the wake of Kamats death on August 17 2020 and he wanted to celebrate the life of the filmmaker who he used to fondly call Nishi sirThat day we lost our closest friend mentor and one of the best filmmakers of India Nishikant Kamat We were very close to him When he passed away Jitendra Joshi who is the lead actor and the co-producer of this film called me and said Nikhil we have to do something for Nishi sir I said what better way to celebrate him than to make a film for him Mahajan told PTI in an interviewSo its pretty much where the project started and its an ode to him We also named the lead character after Nishi sir he addedBest known for directing critically-acclaimed thriller drama Drishyam action film Force and Irrfan Khan-starrer Madaari Kamat passed away after a two-year battle with liver cirrhosisRemembering Kamat Mahajan said his death was a big blow to Indian cinemaHe was a senior to me I really looked up to him and his work It was a big loss and a big shock for us In the last two years we have all lost people who were close to us So it felt very natural to do a film that explores the idea of mortality the filmmaker saidA philosophical exploration of life and death Godavari takes its name from the titular river that flows from Nashik Maharashtra to the southern states of the countryThe film follows the story of a grumpy man named Nishikant Deshmukh played by Sacred Games actor Jitendra Joshi and his family who try to cope up with deaths of two close relativesGodavari is referred to as the Ganga of the south and a lot of the western Maharashtra population comes to this river for the last rites of their loved ones So its the river that holds tremendous cultural and spiritual significance for this big demographic of IndiaAnd the movie is about this man who lives right next to the river but he hates the river and everything that it stands for It is the story of this man and his family who grapple with two deaths — one that they know about and one that takes them by surprise Mahajan saidThe theme of the movie predominantly talks about the idea of tradition and how it is something thats passed on through generations the filmmaker addedIt is important that we value our traditions but at the same time I think it is very important that we as a society also accept modernism We should also change with the times but while changing we should also keep the things in mind that make up our core The film was recently screened at the ongoing International Film Festival of India IFFI under the Indian Panorama section It also features Gauri Nalawade as well as veteran actors Vikram Gokhale and Neena KulkarniMahajan 37 said the film was shot during the coronavirus pandemic that made things quite difficult for the teamIt was a very difficult shoot in a town that is densely populated around the river We had a lot of senior actors and we were really worried about their health Also it was a new way of shooting with all these bio bubbles and restrictionsSo it took time for us to get used to that Working against all these odds was really challenging but I think somewhere Nishi sir was guiding us throughout he addedAsked why Marathi cinema often presents stories that are intimate in nature Mahajan said there is no hero worship in the industryIn Marathi cinema there is no star system People come to watch the actors not the stars It is a culture that has grown and enriched because of a phenomenal drama theatre movement It is full of really good performersThe audience is very aware of the difference between a star and an actor and they dont go to watch a star Since there is no star system there is also no hero worship of any sort The audience is evolved and have great taste the filmmaker said adding their expectations from filmmakers and actors are very highSomeone said to me that in the Hindi mainstream cinema there are a thousand common people watching a story of one extraordinary person However in Marathi cinema there are a thousand extraordinary people men and women sitting and looking at the story of a common man PTI RB RDS RDS
