The buzz around Elizabeth Ekadashi, this Friday's warm-the-cockles-of-the-heart Marathi release, seems to grow by the day. Cine-goers not only in Mumbai and Pune but also in smaller towns like Nagpur, Solapur and Kolhapur will be making a beeline for this simple story which brings a smile right from its title to the minimalist poster itself.
But this hasn't surprised either critics or audiences given that it has been made by Paresh Mokashi, the man whose classic debut Harishchandrachi Factory (HF), was India’s official Oscar entry nearly five years ago. No wonder the box offices across have been warming up to charm of the Elizabeth Ekadashi (EE) compared to the chill of the barely watchable Kill Dil. “I've been getting calls about how well its doing,” an ecstatic Mokashi said over phone from Maharashtra's pilgrimage town of Pandharpur where he shot the movie. “I'm promoting the film here,” he lets on amid giving directions to his driver. About the five year interregnum, Mokashi says he had been busy digitising all the data on ancient scriptures he has been gathering for well over two decades.
So it wasn't the wait for a perfect script then? “No,” he laughs, “This story is based on my wife Madhugandha Kulkarni's childhood experience of growing up in Pandharpur. Something about the way she narrated the setting up of kiosks to selling knick-knacks during the bi-annual Ekdashi pilgrimages gripped me. And I knew in my heart that this was the right subject to make a film on.”
The plot unravels in Pandharpur where a young boy Dnyanesh (Shrirang Mahajan) lives with his mother (Nandita Dhuri), younger sister Mukta (Sayli Bhandarkavathekar), grandmother and a uniquely named bicycle built by his late father. The kids' and their friends love for this bicycle and the turn of events as the family grapples with a huge financial crisis forms the crux of the plot.
The film was shot during the crowded Kartiki Ekadeshi pilgrimage last year. Wasn't that a logistical nightmare to pull off, we ask. “We only used a Cannon camera 1DC and did not use a tripod. That ensured we got free movement and feel to the shoot,” he informs. While admitting that Marathi cinema's simple, realistic takes have struck a chord with audiences, Mokashi underlines, “This may not mean that they will be ready to deal with European-style abstract content. It is reassuring to know that the audiences are taking with equal gusto to an EE, Fandry, HF or even a mainstream high-octane action flick like Lai Bhari. I think it means there's space for all kinds of films.”
Mokashi has also turned lyricist for EE. “Given the theme and its treatment, we were looking for a certain kind of song to convey EE's spirit without getting heavy on metaphors or language. When we found nothing working I had to think up something myself. It was a real struggle. But once I got the first words Dagad, Dagad , the rest just flowed out of me.”
Elizabeth Ekadashi is going to open IFFI 2014. It is among the seven Marathi films being showcased at Goa this year, four of which are EsselVision Productions.
