Mahesh Kothare is considered a revolutionary figure in the Marathi film industry. Over 20 years, the actor has worked in several Hindi as well as Marathi films. He recently launched his autobiography titled Damn It Ani Barach Kahi. The legendary actor speaks with The Free Press Journal exclusively about his latest endeavour and more.
Mahesh Kothare with Sachin Pilgaonkar and others during the book launch |
Opening up about Damn It Ani Barach Kahi, he explains, “The level of excitement and energy I have during the release of my movies was similar while launching this book. My son and my team had been pushing me to take out time and pen down my entire journey but somehow I was not able to find time to do it.”
Elaborating about what makes the book special, Mahesh reveals, “It’s not just an autobiography, it’s a sort of history of Indian cinema over the past 60 years. I have been in the industry since 1962 when I was just 9 years old. It was always there in my mind that I should document my journey of 60 years in the industry because I have seen cinema evolve from black and white days to digital cinema. It’s been a complete journey.”
When we ask him how he began his journey into filmmaking, he reveals, “I wanted to become a director but none of the producers were ready to give me a chance as my movies were not working at that time. I was quite known as a child artiste, but when I grew up, I faced lots of struggles in getting good work. So, I decided to write and direct a movie by myself, but no one was ready to produce that film, so the only option left for me was to become a producer myself.”
Mahesh Kothare |
Talking about his films, we quiz if we can tag him as a fantasy filmmaker, he responds, “I have made quite a few fantasy films, so I wouldn’t mind being called a fantasy filmmaker, but I have not only gotten stuck in the fantasy genre. I have made films in almost all genres.”
Director SS Rajamouli is known to make fantasy films. We wonder if Mahesh would like to be compared to him. “Rajamouli is a big name in the industry and I would feel very honoured to be compared to him. But I have been making fantasy films before he started making them. I made my first fantasy film named De Danadan in 1987. I was thinking of recreating his film Eega (2012) in Marathi,” he says.
Mahesh has contributed to many big firsts to Marathi cinema. “I am the first person to introduce the Dolby sound in Marathi cinema. It was for my film Chimani Pakhar (2000). I am the first one to make a stereoscopic 3D film in the Indian industry, and the film was Zapatlela 2 (2013). There are lots of people who say they made 3D movies before this, but none made it specifically in a stereoscopic manner. To make it possible, we called up the technicians from Spain. I can claim that it is the best 3D film ever made in India,” he concludes.
