He added, “We haven’t really cracked the code of competition yet with Hindi or Hollywood films, which release in Maharashtra. I think as an industry we haven’t been able to crack the viability code because if If we want to dream ahead, we need to crack the viability code within our state before experimenting with audiences across India.
Marathi films too have done well and created noise at the box office, but Renuka says the pace has been very slow. The actress believes that Marathi cinema is facing a lot of competition and the industry should come together to find a solution. She elaborates, “Films like Mee Shivaji Raje Boltoy broke records and Sairat did very well. But these are the exceptions, how we can make these exceptions the rule is a question. The industry should come together and find a solution. I think we need a paradigm shift in the way we showcase and distribute films, as there should be room for experimentation, which is not in direct competition with the rates of commercial Hindi, Telugu or Tamil films Otherwise our films will never run. to cross that hurdle. If we are constantly facing that competition of viability, then we don’t have theaters where our films will be released or subsidized over time. ,
A country as diverse as India has various stories to tell from its length and breadth in nooks and corners. Ratna Pathak Shah suggested that in such a scenario there is no need to chase for making all India films. At a time where the success of Baahubali, RRR and KGF: Chapter 2 has inspired filmmakers to make pan-India films, he shares his perspective, “Today kids in their teens pick up the camera and make something. Therefore, access to resources has changed drastically. Today we need cheap resources to create any type of content on social media. All of these things have led to different types of content being acceptable to different audiences. Our mistake is that we go on imagining that everything should be acceptable to everyone. Today All India (films) is our big effort. Everything can’t be pan-Indian!”
He said, “Ramayana, Mahabharata have been our sources of entertainment across the country in dance, music, theatre. Today, there is a new audience that wants what they watch to reflect their own lives. I think that’s the big difference. Today’s audience doesn’t just want fantasy. They know life is tough, they want to see some reflection of that so I think that’s another big change. Today we are becoming aware that India is much more than a small group of people and a small group of ideas. That amazing diversity of India that I am so proud of and we have read about in school books forever and ever, we have actually managed to preserve 5000 years of civilization. We’ve maintained our differences, isn’t it wonderful? But today we are so busy trying to bring uniformity and films have played a part in this.