Kadachit Is a One Act Play Turned Into a Film - ASHWINI BHAVE

Q & A by Jyothi Venkatesh
Kadachit Is a One Act Play Turned Into a Film
- ASHWINI BHAVE

Ashwini Bhave who has settled in U.S.A after marrying USA based finance banker Kishore Bopardikar ten years ago, is now back with a bang in India, this time not just as an actress but also as a producer, with her maiden venture in Marathi called Kadachit, directed by Chandrakant Kulkarni, which is an entry in the competition section of MAMI this year.

Ashwini who had joined a film school in USA after her marriage says that she realized that she was cut out for filmmaking when she made a short film called Warli-Art & Culture as part of her exercise. "I realized that I should go behind the camera set up and understand what film making is all about. Though I decided to launch a film on my own banner and started working on two different scripts, when I stumbled on Girish Joshi's script, I realized that my search for the right script was over."

Ashwini admits at the outset that she liked Girish Joshi's script. "It was actually a One Act play initially. When I read the script, I felt that it had the potential to be made into a film. Though as an actress, it was a difficult decision for me to take up the task of producing the film, it was my husband who stood by me and backed me to the hilt. I think I have handled it well", Ashwini quips.

Kadachit, which stars Ashwini Bhave, Sachin Khedekar, Sadashiv Amrapurkar, Tushar Dalvi and Nilu Phule (in a small cameo role) was shot in just 22 days in Pune, Kolhapur and Nasik. Says Ashwini, "On a broader level, Kadachit is basically about perception of truth in our day to day life. There could be any number of perceptions regarding every one in life. My film is about a modern progressive married woman who is a nuero surgeon, who is not only a wife but also a mother. The film is about how she manages to cope with when a man enters her life though she is married and has kids."

Says Ashwini "Kadachit is an emotion ridden social drama, which deals with the intricacies of relationship. I have always believed that content is the king. My film drives home the subtle message that when one is confronted by a difficult situation, one should not get bogged down but seek a way out and move ahead."

Adds Ashwini. "I do not feel that language is a barrier when it comes to watching a film. In any case, back in USA, I keep on watching films, whether they are French or Japanese or for that matter Iranian. I decided to launch my first film in Marathi because Marathi happens to be my mother tongue. I feel cozy and comfortable in Marathi and feel that I owe it to the Maharashtrians because I feel Maharashtra is my home. I know how each rupee is to be utilized as a producer. After releasing my film on my own in Pune, I am now learning the art of marketing my film."

THE END