One can imagine the atmosphere around this time in a household where a child is appearing for his/her Class XII board exams. Deepak Patil’s Marathi film Barayan starring Anurag Worlikar, Nandu Madhav, Pratiksha Lonkar, Sanjay Mone, Vandana Gupte and others, talks about the same. The film is releasing this Friday.
Patil, who has produced the film along with Daivata Patil, says that the release of the film has been planned on January 12 because Class XII board exams will be held next month. “With the exam fever on, I am sure people will come to watch it,” he says.
Ask him what inspired him to write the story and he says, “I have worked in Hindi and Marathi television for many years. But I always wanted to make a film. A few years ago, when my nephew passed his Class XII boards, everyone in the family was discussing what he should take up next. I realised that when I had passed my board exams, my family members too were discussing the same. I thought of highlighting this tradition through a creative medium and adapted it accordingly.”
Considering the story is relatable, did it make their craft easy? Actress Pratiksha Lonkar, who plays the protaganist’s mother in the film, says, “It’s not about being easy or difficult but about how much honesty you are portraying the character with. Once you connect with the story and the character, it becomes easy to portray it. Actors usually say, ‘I am approaching the character differently.’ But I feel, it’s not about being different but enacting in a way that people can connect with the character and the story. Once that connection happens, they will like the film.”
To this, Nandu Madhav adds that though personally he hasn’t been through a situation as shown in the film, he has seen his relatives, neighbours go through it. “There are two kinds of researches — formal and informal. We informally researched on the subject by following people around us. It helped us imagine what if this happens to us, how will we handle the situation and so on.”
Anurag, the protagonist, says that being part of the film has been a learning experience. “While shooting, I learnt the little nuances of the character and scenes. It’s been amazing working with them,” he says.