Marathi cinema has been churning out remarkable films, marked by strong content, technical finesse and visual appeal. Yet, unlike Malayalam cinema, it has not become a regular viewing choice for the non-Marathi-speaking audience. A filmmaker said on condition of anonymity, “Look at the craze for Malayalam films, even among those who don’t know the language. Our films are no less and deserve that kind of acceptance.”
Shariq Patel, former CEO of Zee Studios and who backed several Marathi films explained, “Marathi cinema had a golden period from 2013 to 2019, beginning with Fandry. Films like Sairat, Namsamrat, Balak-Palak (2013) etc. also succeeded. In short, the peak of Marathi cinema happened before the OTT era. Meanwhile, Fahadh Faasil and other actors broke out in Malayalam cinema and it coincided with Covid. It was the case of the right films of the right size being available at the right time.”
He also added, “Moreover, it got the benefit of the halo effect of South blockbusters like Baahubali and KGF. There’s a perception that ‘South films bahut accha business kar rahi hai’. But when asked about the quality of films, Malayalam movies like Aavesham (2024), Manjummel Boys (2024) etc. would be mentioned. Moreover, Malayalam cinema was available for cheap prices and hence, it was picked up by Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. Meanwhile, Marathi cinema was mostly present on Zee5. Because of the platform not getting very popular, some very fine Marathi movies didn’t get the desired viewership. Also, there exists a South head for acquisition in both Netflix and Amazon. They don’t have a Marathi head as such.”
Why doesn’t Marathi cinema get preference from the streamers? Shariq Patel explained, “The reason they buy South films is that the South diaspora is present in huge numbers around the world. There’s a Marathi diaspora outside India as well, but it’s nowhere near the same number. Also, South films are cheaper and acquisition heads usually opt for a bouquet of films. There might be, say, just 5 Malayalam films in their library. But if you add Tamil, Telugu and Kannada films as well, the total number climbs to 25 or 30. The higher the number of films, the more enticing it becomes for the user. The language doesn’t make a difference, as the user gets to watch so many South films for the price of one subscription. This is the South strategy followed by the platforms. However, there’s no such ‘Marathi strategy’ as it’ll be too narrow. The same goes for Punjabi, Bengali and Gujarati cinema. Picking up 4 films from one of these industries will not be enough.”
Author and film critic Ganesh Matkari commented, “During Covid, Hindi and South films received support from OTT partners and got direct-to-digital releases. However, only one Marathi film, Picasso (2021), released directly on digital. Meanwhile, June (2021) got a pay-per-view release on Planet Marathi. Even now, filmmakers are struggling and there are no takers. The OTT giants examine the theatrical performance of films. They categorically tell producers that since their films didn’t do well in cinemas, they can’t expect huge money from streaming.”
He added, “As far as I know, many films currently shown on OTT are released under a different model – producers get paid based on viewership. The more views a film gets, the more the producer earns. Even then, the payment isn’t substantial.”
On the other hand, popular actor-producer Adinath Kothare said, “I am not aware of the current scenario. But I am sure it has changed a lot in the last 5 years. A lot of Marathi films have performed well at the box office. These films are now being paid handsomely by the OTT giants. So, that trend is changing.”
The economics
When asked how much it cost to make a Marathi film, Shariq Patel replied, “Most Marathi films are made in Rs. 3-5 crores and no one is trying to go past that figure. Some filmmakers even try to spend less than that. Anything more than Rs. 5 crore is difficult to justify because there’s no digital market. At the most, you’ll get Rs. 50-70 lakhs for digital rights and the same amount for the sale of satellite rights. Music rights might be sold for Rs. 20-25 lakhs. So, a producer would earn around Rs. 2 crores from non-theatrical sources. You need to chase 50% of your investment from theatrical. Also, there’s P&A, which would cost an additional Rs. 1 or 1.5 crore.”
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