Madhuri Dixit.
Credit:Instagram/@madhuridixitnene
This diva has done it all. She has reigned the screen for decades with her acting prowess and her nimble steps. Her versatility has been proved beyond doubt. But Bollywood actress Madhuri Dixit has now donned a different attire. She has turned producer for the second time with the Marathi film Panchak.
Directed and written by Rahul Awate and Jayant Jathar, the film -- a dark comedy -- will be released on January 5.
The film features Adinath Kothare, Dilip Prabhavalkar, Bharati Achrekar, Anand Ingale, Tejashri Pradhan, Satish Alekar, Nandita Patkar, Sagar Talashikar, Sampada Kulkarni, Ashish Kulkarni, Deepti Devi, Vidyadhar Joshi, Ganesh Mayekar, and Aarti Wadagbalkar.
In an interview with DH's Anupama Ramakrishnan, Madhuri spoke at length on Panchak, why she took on the dark comedy, the challenges and joys of producing it, and why it's so relatable and close to her heart.
DH: You have been gracing the Indian screen for decades and need no description. But how does it feel to change roles now -- turn producer -- for the second time?
Madhuri: It feels great. We enjoyed it because our first film 15 August went straight to OTT as Netflix had watched it and they wanted it as an original for them. It was my first film as a producer and I said 'Yay'. It was a great opportunity because it was going to a global audience. But there was this little thing -- that we didn't release it in the theatres, so the Maharashtrian audience didn't get to watch it since not everybody has Netflix. So when we made our second film, we were very sure to release it in theatres because it was a laugh riot, a comedy. It is an irreverent look at death and fear of death, about what it does to people, and about superstitions. We thought it was an interesting topic and has a brilliant star cast. They are very good actors from film and stage. They are three generations of actors and their chemistry is lovely. The subject is different, it's a comedy and it is a family film. Everybody can enjoy it. We thought it would be a great film to take to the theatres.
DH: Could you tell us about the genesis of the film, and how the idea of Panchak germinated?
Madhuri: What happened was that I was looking for a Marathi script to produce. We heard of a lot of scripts. And then Jayant Jathar and Rahul Awate came to us with the subject and the moment we heard it, we laughed so much and we thought this is the film we want to make. We immediately liked it -- an instant liking, you know. Though we heard a few scripts after that, we said 'na', this is the one we wanted to make. Jayant said the story actually happened in his house. So the first two days we were all scared and on the third day, we were laughing. And then the idea struck and we said let's write this. They both collaborated and wrote the script and came to us.
DH: It is set in the picturesque Konkan region, could you shed more light on the setting of this dark comedy?
Madhuri: Oh yes, it is set in Sawantwadi and Konkan. My cameraperson is fabulous. The DOP captured the Konkan area so beautifully -- Sawantwadi and the areas around it. We got a lovely house to picturise in and we are happy with the way it turned out. Of course, we did a little redecoration according to what the subject needed. The film is based in a village and what happens to the family and what they go through. But it's a complete comedy with subtitles, so everybody will understand it. Also, a lot of the comedy is visual. You don't have to know every nuance of the language. Just by watching the visual, you will find it funny. So we are excited that it is releasing in the theatres.
My mom is from Ratnagiri and we used to go there a lot. and I felt like I knew these people -- all these characters that are portrayed. It's the same family, but every character is different from each other. It was so much relatable. I said "my Maavshi had done this" or "my uncle used to behave like this" or "my grandfather was like this", you know! The characters and the emotions were so relatable that we thought we would make the film.
DH: The film was screened at the Pune International Film Festival. How was the experience being part of it?
Madhuri: We were there, we saw the show with the audience and it won the best screenplay award. The audience response was very good in the theatre. We felt elated sitting with them and watching their reactions. And now that we are finally coming to the theaters, the excitement just grows.
DH: In the future, would you like to act in Malayalam or any South Indian film for that matter?
Madhuri: Yeah, I am open to anything as long as the subject is different and if I feel it is challenging, I would love to do it. It doesn't matter which language you are speaking in. I think today we see -- on OTT and everywhere -- so many Korean dramas and films from all over the world. It doesn't matter what the language is, it is the emotion that connects you to the people.