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By:

Bharati Dubey

17 May 2026 at 1:38:10 am

Raja Shivaji sparks a new era for Marathi cinema

Mumbai: As Raja Shivaji marches steadily towards the Rs 100 crore mark, the film has reignited debate around the future of the Marathi film industry. Having already crossed Rs 80 crore at the Indian box office, the historical drama is now only the second Marathi film after Sairat to achieve the milestone. Its success has raised a larger question within the trade: can a major blockbuster finally attract sustained investment into Marathi cinema, an industry often marked by cycles of growth and...

Raja Shivaji sparks a new era for Marathi cinema

Mumbai: As Raja Shivaji marches steadily towards the Rs 100 crore mark, the film has reignited debate around the future of the Marathi film industry. Having already crossed Rs 80 crore at the Indian box office, the historical drama is now only the second Marathi film after Sairat to achieve the milestone. Its success has raised a larger question within the trade: can a major blockbuster finally attract sustained investment into Marathi cinema, an industry often marked by cycles of growth and slowdown? Much of the buzz surrounding the film stems from the support it received from prominent Hindi film stars, several of whom reportedly came on board to back the project and the industry. Trade analyst Girish Wankhede believes the film’s biggest achievement lies in the scale of collaboration it represents. “The real strength of Raja Shivaji lies in its creative ensemble star cast, which Riteish Deshmukh successfully brought together. By roping in heavyweight Hindi stars like Abhishek Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt, and Salman Khan, the film showcases the immense combined value of cross-industry collaboration. This strong gesture of Hindi cinema’s biggest names extending full support to a Marathi project has created a powerful impression, generating tremendous curiosity and respect for Marathi cinema among audiences, investors, and other industries. It underscores how Marathi films can now command pan-Indian attention and star power,” he says. At the same time, Wankhede feels it may still be premature to call the film a runaway commercial success given its production scale and costs. “What is heartening is the visible new energy and creative fuel that Riteish Deshmukh has infused into Marathi cinema. With him at the helm of affairs, the film looks strong and polished, and this momentum, further amplified by the star support, is already drawing serious attention from investors who were earlier hesitant about the regional space,” he adds. Producer Suniel Wadhwa, Co-Founder and Director of Karmic Films, says the film’s performance could play an important role in rebuilding investor confidence in theatrical cinema. “The success of Raja Shivaji could significantly improve investor confidence in theatrical cinema, especially at a time when many non-film investors have become cautious about the sector. If the film succeeds as a large-scale theatrical event rather than just an opening weekend phenomenon, it will reinforce the belief that culturally rooted Indian stories still possess massive commercial potential across regions and demographics,” he says. However, Wadhwa points out that the industry continues to face deep structural challenges. “One of the biggest is the shortage of true theatrical stars who can create urgency for audiences to step into cinemas. Streaming has created visibility, but not necessarily ticket-selling mythology. At the same time, India remains heavily under-screened, and even strong films often struggle with inadequate show slots, limited showcasing windows, and overcrowded release calendars. Many films today are judged within the first 48–72 hours, leaving little room for organic word-of-mouth growth,” he says. According to him, the theatrical business is evolving rather than disappearing. “Audiences are now reserving cinema outings for event-driven experiences — spectacle, emotion, mythology, action, horror-comedy, and culturally resonant storytelling. Films that can create that collective viewing urgency will continue to attract both audiences and serious investment capital,” he adds. The Marathi film industry has witnessed a mixed year so far. More than two dozen films have released, but only a handful — including Raja Shivaji, Kranti Vidyalay Marathi Madhyam, Aga Aga Sunbai Mahnatay Sasubai, and Super Duper — have performed strongly at the box office. Veteran journalist Dilip Thakur believes Marathi cinema has already begun regaining momentum after the slowdown caused by the pandemic. “New Marathi films are getting launched regularly. The upcoming film Bapya had its screening at Sunny Super Sound, which was attended by non-Marathi journalists in big numbers. The story of Bapya is complex and difficult to make. The point here is that a producer agreed to put his money into the film. Sabar Bonda was another difficult subject which won an award at Sundance. So, producers willing to invest money in such subjects is one positive sign,” he says. Thakur also points to the continued appetite for mainstream Marathi entertainers. “The boom after Sairat still exists in Marathi cinema. There was a setback for four years because of Covid, but the industry has gained momentum. Ravi Jadhav’s new film Fulawara, based on tamasha folk art, will soon go on floors in Pune,” he says. He further notes that Marathi cinema is increasingly attracting investors from outside the industry. “Most Marathi films have non-Marathi investors. They are putting in money because there is business in Marathi cinema. But not every film becomes a hit. Subhash Ghai also produced a few Marathi films. If the subject is good, people are willing to invest,” he adds. Not everyone, however, is convinced that one major hit can alter the industry’s fortunes overnight. Nitin Datar, president of the Cinema Owners Association, remains cautious about reading too much into the film’s success. “Only one film success is not going to bring investors. In the last five years, out of nearly 500 films produced, the success rate has not been encouraging,” he says. Datar acknowledges that the presence of Hindi stars has helped boost the film’s commercial appeal but stresses that Marathi cinema still lacks enough bankable stars capable of consistently drawing audiences to theatres. “The production houses and directors have attracted audiences. Unfortunately, producers haven’t been successful in attracting financial assistance, which has resulted in low production and advertising budgets. But if films succeed in pulling audiences over the weekend, exhibitors automatically increase shows and reduce screenings of underperforming films from other languages. The audience is always there, waiting to visit theatres in large numbers for a good film,” he says. For now, Raja Shivaji has undeniably given Marathi cinema a strong moment in the spotlight. Whether that momentum translates into long-term financial confidence and sustained industry growth remains the larger question.

Privacy in Pieces: The Enduring Relevance of The Conversation

Updated: Nov 29, 2024

Privacy in Pieces

50 years since its release, Francis Ford Coppola’s ‘The Conversation’ (1974) remains a masterclass in paranoia, a film whose prescient themes about surveillance, privacy, and moral ambiguity resonate more deeply today than ever. Emerging from the embers of the Watergate scandal, Coppola’s taut, minimalist thriller was both a product of its time and a harbinger of ours. It was as if Coppola, riding high on a hectic creative crest – ‘The Godfather’ (1972) and ‘The Godfather II’ (1974) – was speaking to 2024 with ‘The Conversation’s’ theme of omnipresent technology and eroded trust in institutions blur the line between privacy and exposure.


The film stars Gene Hackman as Harry Caul, a surveillance expert whose technical prowess is matched only by his crippling guilt and emotional detachment. Hackman delivers his career-defining performance here, embodying a man unravelling under the weight of his own complicity in potential violence. ‘The Conversation’ is not merely a thriller but a character study of a man undone by his own expertise. Hackman’s Harry Caul is a virtuoso of listening, yet incapable of connection, a contradiction that Hackman conveys with heartbreaking subtlety. Harry’s attempts to shield himself from intimacy only highlight his vulnerability, making him an unwitting victim of the very skills that define him.


Set against the paranoia zeitgeist of post-Watergate America, The Conversation captures a nation unsettled by scandal and power abuses. The Nixon-era Watergate break-in, with its clandestine recordings and shadowy operatives, loomed large over the decade, finding mirrors in the 1970s decade of the ‘American New Wave.’ Coppola’s choice to make Harry a character consumed by his work resonates in our era of whistleblowers and data breaches.


The Conversation belongs to a lineage of contemporaries like Alan J. Pakula’s ‘The Parallax View’ (1974), Sydney Pollack’s ‘Three Days of the Condor’ and Pakula’s ‘All the President’s Men’ (1976) on the Watergate scandal itself.


Whereas ‘The Parallax View,’ a conspiracy thriller with Warren Beatty’s investigative journalist uncovering a labyrinthine plot by a mysterious corporation, is a frenetic ride into the heart of conspiracy, The Conversation is insular and introspective. Coppola eschews overt thrills for a quieter dread, using surveillance not merely as a tool of control but as a lens to examine moral accountability. The taped conversations that drive the plot function as a kind of confession — what is overheard implicates both the speaker and the listener. The paranoid soundscape of the film is the creation of another genius - editor Walter Murch, whose remarkable sound mixing and editing is the soul of 'The Conversation.'


Today, surveillance capitalism has turned the tools of eavesdropping into everyday conveniences with Harry Caul’s world of reel-to-reel recorders giving way to smartphones, social media and artificial intelligence. Alexa listens; algorithms predict. Unlike Harry, we participate willingly, trading privacy for convenience.


That Hackman did not even receive an Oscar nomination for this role (overshadowed by Art Carney’s sentimental turn in ‘Harry and Tonto’) remains a glaring omission in cinematic history. His portrayal of vulnerability and moral conflict in ‘The Conversation’ arguably surpasses his Oscar-winning turn in The French Connection (1971).


David Shire’s plaintive piano theme is as integral to the film as its visual and narrative elements, underscoring Harry’s loneliness and the cyclical torment of his conscience. Minimalistic and haunting, Shire’s score mirrors Harry’s unravelling psyche, with its repeating, unresolved motifs echoing the obsessive looping of the tapes. Like Nino Rota’s iconic work on The Godfather, Shire’s music transcends the film, evoking a mood of melancholy and alienation that lingers long after the credits roll.


The film remains an enduring reminder of the fragility of trust in public and private life, depicting a world where surveillance erodes not only individual privacy but also collective faith in institutions.


As Coppola once remarked, The Conversation was inspired by Michelangelo Antonioni’s masterpiece Blow-Up (1966), a film about the elusive nature of truth. In Harry Caul’s descent into paranoia, Coppola crafted an American analogue: a cautionary tale for an era of uncertainty, as urgent in 2024 as it was in 1974.


In ‘The Conversation,’ privacy is not only a right but also a fragile illusion, a sentiment amplified in our hyperconnected age. Like Harry’s tapes, its relevance cannot be erased.

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