Writer-Director Subodh Khanolkar Enjoys The Success Of His Debut Marathi Film ‘Dashavtaar’

The Marathi thriller, Dashavtaar, has already crossed the 25-crore mark and is raking in more. The only Marathi film to have the first show at 7.30 AM at more than two theatres in Mumbai and a last show at 11.30 PM, is proving to be a tough competition for the Bollywood releases. The film is applauded by critics for the strong social message that it delivers.

This is tele-serial director-producer, Subodh Khanolkar’s debut in the commercial film space as a writer-director. Was he nervous? “Little nervous, yes… but apprehensive, no,” says Subodh, quite vehemently. Today, you join the ‘elite class’ with the bumper success of the film. Did you expect this? “Not at all,” admits Subodh. “Having said that, I have to accept that for any filmmaker commercial success is important. One wants your film to be a hit. It is only when the film, especially one with a mega budget like this, is commercially successful that one can think of making another one.”

The story of the film is very close to Subodh’s heart. Subodh’s ancestral home at Kelus is more than 100 years old. Nearly three years ago, on his way back from Kelus after celebrating the centenary of the house in a big way, Subodh shared his emotions with his wife Anvita. “I was so enamoured and overwhelmed by the whole experience that I wanted to recreate the ambiance of Konkan in my next venture,” informs Subodh. “Anvita loved the idea. Back in Mumbai I discussed this with my partners at Ocean Film Company. They too liked the idea. After some brain-storming, it was decided that I should write the story and screenplay… and I started working in it.”

Subodh worked diligently on the script. Once the script was ready, he decided to direct it as well. Did you start writing the script with the social message in mind? “No,” he confesses. “When I set out to write the script, it was a story of a father-son duo with Dashaavtar as the underlying factor. Story of emotions, story of relationship of father and son with all its layers,” he says. Subodh acknowledges that while the story unfolded many other layers were revealed during the research etc. “Nothing was intentional, not even the social message. I had not intended the final message to be ‘in the face’ as many feel. It is always an alert social mind which starts putting social context into the story. And that’s what happened with me.”

One sees a lot of youngsters attracted to the film. However, Subodh denies having kept them as a target audience while writing or directing the film. “It was a simple story telling process when I began. I wanted to make an engaging film that will appeal to all age groups and a film that an entire family can watch together.”

Dilip Prabhavalkar’s performance is being applauded by everyone. “For me, it had to be Dilip Kaka as the protagonist. I believed that he would be the only one to do justice to the character. His chameleon like capacity to become the character that he plays was his USP. I would have scrapped the project, temporarily, if he had not agreed to play Babuli,” Subodh asserts.

The surprise package, as far as casting is concerned, comes in the form of Vijay Kenkare and Mahesh Manjrekar. “I wanted someone who doesn’t have a negative image to play the antagonist and someone unpredictable to play the police inspector. That’s the reason I chose Kenkare to play the villain and Manjrekar to play the inspector.” Both are brilliant and successful directors. How was it directing them? “Very easy. Neither of them interfered with the process. On the contrary, they were extremely helpful and cooperative. Manjrekar, especially, went out of the way to ensure that I got what I had visualised.”

You are being compared with Kantara… “I know. I guess the regional flavour, the folkart, and a few locations triggered that.” The main location of the forest deity, Katolba, was discovered by the team in forest of Vaingani near Vengurla. That seems similar. “The banyan tree with so many branchroots and a sheltered center was ideal locale. Art Director, Sanjiv Rane, created the Katolba in resin as per the sketches given by Ocean Film Company graphic designers,” informs Subodh.

Comparisons with super hits and commercial success come with some criticism. What’s your takeaway from this film? “This is my first film as a writer-director. I had the license to make mistakes. And I have learnt a lot in the process. Positive side is that it has given me confidence about the medium. And the lesson I learnt is to pre-plan a lot to save time,” Subodh concludes.VShruti Pandit

The Marathi thriller, Dashavtaar, has already crossed the 25-crore mark and is raking in more. The only Marathi film to have the first show at 7.30 AM at more than two theatres in Mumbai and a last show at 11.30 PM, is proving to be a tough competition for the Bollywood releases. The film is applauded by critics for the strong social message that it delivers.

This is tele-serial director-producer, Subodh Khanolkar’s debut in the commercial film space as a writer-director. Was he nervous? “Little nervous, yes… but apprehensive, no,” says Subodh, quite vehemently. Today, you join the ‘elite class’ with the bumper success of the film. Did you expect this? “Not at all,” admits Subodh. “Having said that, I have to accept that for any filmmaker commercial success is important. One wants your film to be a hit. It is only when the film, especially one with a mega budget like this, is commercially successful that one can think of making another one.”

The story of the film is very close to Subodh’s heart. Subodh’s ancestral home at Kelus is more than 100 years old. Nearly three years ago, on his way back from Kelus after celebrating the centenary of the house in a big way, Subodh shared his emotions with his wife Anvita. “I was so enamoured and overwhelmed by the whole experience that I wanted to recreate the ambiance of Konkan in my next venture,” informs Subodh. “Anvita loved the idea. Back in Mumbai I discussed this with my partners at Ocean Film Company. They too liked the idea. After some brain-storming, it was decided that I should write the story and screenplay… and I started working in it.”

Subodh worked diligently on the script. Once the script was ready, he decided to direct it as well. Did you start writing the script with the social message in mind? “No,” he confesses. “When I set out to write the script, it was a story of a father-son duo with Dashaavtar as the underlying factor. Story of emotions, story of relationship of father and son with all its layers,” he says. Subodh acknowledges that while the story unfolded many other layers were revealed during the research etc. “Nothing was intentional, not even the social message. I had not intended the final message to be ‘in the face’ as many feel. It is always an alert social mind which starts putting social context into the story. And that’s what happened with me.”

One sees a lot of youngsters attracted to the film. However, Subodh denies having kept them as a target audience while writing or directing the film. “It was a simple story telling process when I began. I wanted to make an engaging film that will appeal to all age groups and a film that an entire family can watch together.”

Dilip Prabhavalkar’s performance is being applauded by everyone. “For me, it had to be Dilip Kaka as the protagonist. I believed that he would be the only one to do justice to the character. His chameleon like capacity to become the character that he plays was his USP. I would have scrapped the project, temporarily, if he had not agreed to play Babuli,” Subodh asserts.

The surprise package, as far as casting is concerned, comes in the form of Vijay Kenkare and Mahesh Manjrekar. “I wanted someone who doesn’t have a negative image to play the antagonist and someone unpredictable to play the police inspector. That’s the reason I chose Kenkare to play the villain and Manjrekar to play the inspector.” Both are brilliant and successful directors. How was it directing them? “Very easy. Neither of them interfered with the process. On the contrary, they were extremely helpful and cooperative. Manjrekar, especially, went out of the way to ensure that I got what I had visualised.”

You are being compared with Kantara… “I know. I guess the regional flavour, the folkart, and a few locations triggered that.” The main location of the forest deity, Katolba, was discovered by the team in forest of Vaingani near Vengurla. That seems similar. “The banyan tree with so many branchroots and a sheltered center was ideal locale. Art Director, Sanjiv Rane, created the Katolba in resin as per the sketches given by Ocean Film Company graphic designers,” informs Subodh.

Comparisons with super hits and commercial success come with some criticism. What’s your takeaway from this film? “This is my first film as a writer-director. I had the license to make mistakes. And I have learnt a lot in the process. Positive side is that it has given me confidence about the medium. And the lesson I learnt is to pre-plan a lot to save time,” Subodh concludes.

Published on: Sunday, October 05, 2025, 08:45 AM IST