Ajit Bhure — a name that is familiar to most Marathi theater going audience. A voice that resonates with you immediately because you have heard it so often on radio, television, OTT in many Marathi and Hindi advertisements. Theater producer who has given more than thousand shows collectively of superhit plays like Selfie, Katkon Trikon, and more. He was also the protagonist in the acclaimed tele-show Sai Baba on Zee Marathi.
Co-producer of the last Marathi blockbuster Bai Pan Bhaari Deva, he is also the Creative Producer of the latest Marathi hit and the first Marathi film to be selected in the Contention List of the Academy Awards (Oscars), Dashavatar. Despite many laurels and presence in the industry for almost four decades, Ajit remains behind the scenes. He prefers to be in oblivion while the rest enjoy the limelight.
“Why my interview, you should talk to someone else,” comes the prompt reply from Ajit Bhure who squirms at the idea of public eye. Coming from someone who is an emcee at award functions, this is a little surprising.
Dashavatar is the first Marathi film to be selected to represent India in the Contention List. What, according to you, worked in favour of Dashavatar? “I think it was the basic content, the one-line storyline — protect the environment. Because the film talks about importance of environment and the local movement… I think that was the key, that worked for us,” says Ajit.
The film talks about how the death of his son instigates a 60-plus folk-art actor and the village too, at a later stage, to put up a fight against a miner and protect their village and the surrounding forest. The film is shot in the interiors of Maharashtra on the backdrop luscious nature and the famous folk-art, Dashavatar.
As the creative producer of the film what was that one thing which you found challenging in the process of making the film? “Film uses a popular folk form of India as the key element to take the story forward. It was challenging to bring the colours of Maharashtra’s coastline, its forests, its culture and roots of this state on celluloid,” admits Ajit.
How creative can a Creative Producer be in a team full of creative people? “Creative producer acts as a bridge between all creative brains in the team — director, writer, actors— and the producer’s practical approach. He is the one who can find the best solutions and strike a balance during production process and can suggest creative inputs at all stages — preproduction, shootings, post-production, marketing, distribution, etc. Therefore, the job is tough, a tight rope walk, but very satisfying once you see the final product!”
Ajit was a theater producer first, the youngest one when he produced his first play, and then turned to the big screen. What’s more thrilling? “Both are equally thrilling. Creating a drama is interesting. You have to convince the audience by using minimum resources. A film is more technical. Technology, especially today, plays a big role in filmmaking. Making a film proposal financially viable is a challenge, most often.”
You are an acclaimed actor yourself, why didn’t you cast yourself in Dashavatar? “I sincerely feel that doing one thing at a time is important. I can’t be the producer and the actor at the same time. The responsibility of a creative producer was big and I thought I can enjoy that more than acting the film,” confesses Ajit.
Dilip Prabhavalkar, the protagonist of Dashavatar, has done a brilliant job. Did you think any other actor would have done justice to the character of Babuli, did you think of an alternative? “Not at all!” exclaims Ajit. “In fact our team of producers and director had already decided that if we don’t get Dilip Prabhavalkar we would shelve the production. So there was no question of an alternative.”
You have a casting coup. Mahesh Manjrekar, Vijay Kenkre, who are veteran directors in their own right are acting this film. Ajit laughs for a few seconds before answering this one. “For the role of a villain we wanted a face which is not commonly associated with as a villain,” he informs. “Vijay Kenkre is a versatile actor who doesn’t look like a villain. However, we were confident that he will portray the vicious character with conviction. And we were proven right… he was perfect. His performance was applauded,” says Ajit.
“According to me Mahesh Manjrekar is one of the finest actors on screen. He is a camera-friendly person and he has the ability convey each and every emotion with ultimate ease,” adds Ajit.
It's said that pitching at Oscar is very difficult and expensive. How do you plan to tackle that? “Yes. It is difficult and expensive. But making a film is expensive too. We did that,” counters Ajit. “Now we have entered the contention list. We will try our best to fulfil the requirements needed. We are hopeful. We are positive. And that is important. All other things will follow,” Ajit ends the conversation on a positive note.
