Tag: Mahesh Kothare

Shemaroo Entertainment launches new Marathi movie channel – Shemaroo MarathiBana

MUMBAI: Catering to the Marathi speaking audience, Shemaroo Entertainment Ltd, India’s leading content powerhouse today announced the launch of their new Marathi movie channel – Shemaroo ‘MarathiBana’. Prominent celebrities and stalwarts from the Marathi Film industry like Mahesh Kothare, Varsha Usgaonkar, Siddharth Jadhav, Swapnil Joshi, Rinku Rajguru, Adinath Kothare, Chandrakant Kulkarni were present to grace the occasion amongst many others. Shemaroo MarathiBana is a one stop destination for some of the most popular Marathi movies and theatre plays which were launched with a sole objective to entertain the Marathi audiences. The channel will entirely focus on Marathi audiences across Maharashtra and Goa and will serve their preferences through the high-quality rich content offering.

The name MarathiBana stands for Maratha pride and the channel is expected to go a long way popularising and bringing entertaining content that depicts the rich Maratha culture. Shemaroo MarathiBana promises to bring a premium international feel to the channel, thereby making it aesthetically appealing and helping it stand out in the cluttered movie space. The newly launched channel will showcase a wide array of Marathi movies from the most recent ‘Bhay’ starring Abhijeet Khandkekar to the classic Ramesh Deo’s Prem Andhale Aste released in the year 1962 along with hits like Apna Manus, Poshter Girl, Mitwaa, Classmate etc. Additionally, the channel will also telecast famous Marathi plays which is a rare offering from a TV channel for its viewers.

Shemaroo has a strong understanding of the Marathi audiences and is a significant player in the Marathi movie industry with a prominent content library of Marathi films and plays. The company has also been producing and syndicating regional content for a few decades. Shemaroo’s content has been playing across various leading channels as part of their programming schedule. Therefore, launching a Marathi movie channel that will be home to high-quality content was the next natural progression to entertain the audiences under the Shemaroo banner.

Commenting on the launch of Shemaroo MarathiBana, Shemaroo Entertainment CEO Hiren Gada said, “The launch of ‘Shemaroo MarathiBana’ further expands Shemaroo’s presence in the Marathi speaking market, where we are bringing some of the rich content on our premium Marathi movie channel.

We have been dominant players and have had a strong foothold in the media and entertainment industry for both viewers and advertisers. Taking the legacy forward we will now be tapping on the humongous consumer base of the Marathi speaking audiences through this launch. We are sure to entertain the right set of audiences by providing them entertainment in the language they enjoy and prefer.”

Present at the launch, versatile actor, Swapnil Joshi said, “Shemaroo has always been entertaining us for decades and I have been a part of that journey with them. They have been prominent players in the Marathi and Bollywood industry, and I am super excited to join them to launch their new Marathi movie channel, Shemaroo MarathiBana. The name MarathiBana suggests pride and integrity and Shemaroo will be the medium to ensure we feel proud while we go back to our roots and connect with our culture through the movies.”

Mahesh Kothare, the veteran Marathi actor, director and producer said, "I have been associated with Shemaroo since their inception and it has been the only place, where one could find any movie under any banner. I have grown with Shemaroo in my creative journey. I am excited to see them launch Shemaroo MarathiBana, which is going to be a new avenue for all Marathi movies and Marathi film makers. Shemaroo has made it big in the industry and I am sure it will continue the legacy of success with this new launch. I look forward to watching the movies & plays and be a part of Shemaroo MarathiBana to entertain my Marathi audiences."

Actor Shreyas Talpade said, "Shemaroo has been the pioneers and legends of the industry, with a huge content library. It was high time they came up with a channel of their own. And I am glad, they are doing this because we as film makers always look for new and better avenues to showcase our work and projects. Over the last few decades, Shemaroo has emerged as a leader in the content space. They have always been at the forefront and taken our work to the viewers in the best possible manner. So now that they are launching their new channel, I am sure in no time it’s going to rule the Marathi film market and become the number 1 channel. All my good wishes to Shemaroo on the launch of their new Marathi movie channel, Shemaroo MarathiBana. I hope that they show some of my films and we continue to work together in the future."

Shemaroo MarathiBana will offer wide range of Marathi movie titles and plays in various genres to entertain audiences. Shemaroo MarathiBana is already available on DD Free Dish along with various cable operators and soon to be available on all other leading DTH platforms & cable operators of Maharashtra and Goa.

January 15, 2020
Zee Marathi to launch Jai Malhar

MUMBAI: If Hindi general entertainment channels (GECs) are treating audiences to a growing number of mythology-based shows, why should regional channels be far behind?

Following in the footsteps of Mahabharat, Mahadev and Maa Durga will be Zee Marathi’s Jai Malhar, a mythological show based on the reincarnation of Lord Shiva as Lord Khandoba aka Lord Malhar, Maharashtra’s most revered warrior god.

Produced by actor-filmmaker and head of Kothare Vision, Mahesh Kothare, the show has been mounted on a lavish scale and promises to be like none other before it. Slated to premiere on 18 May, Jai Malhar will replace Tu Tithe Mee at 7:00 pm. Only the first episode will be for one hour and will be beamed on a Sunday.

Zee Marathi business head Deepak Rajadhyaksha says, “Mythology has always appealed to Indian audiences but nobody in the Marathi industry has touched the subject owing to the extensive research and heavy investment involved in recreating it. Zee Marathi has made an ambitious attempt to transform the saga of Maharashtra’s Lord Khandoba into a gripping and thoughtful show with state-of-the-art visual effects and presentation. The original mythological narrative hasn’t been disturbed but what has been modified is the style of storytelling, making it riveting and in tune with contemporary screen techniques.”

Jai Malhar has Kartik Kende as executive director, Rupesh Tatkari as director of photography, Nilima Kothare and Neeta Khandke as costume designers, Santosh Ayachit as creative head and scriptwriter, Pankaj Padghan as music director and Chandrabhan and Abhijat in charge of graphics. The 60-strong team is largely constituted by young and promising talent.

For now, a deal for producing 312 episodes has been signed. With shooting having commenced on 31 March at Film City in Goregaon, the plan is to can seven to eight episodes by the end of this month, with 12-hour shooting schedules. For a show of such epic proportions, set designer Satish Panchal has re-created elements from Lord Khandoba’s palace, the fort of Jejuri, temples and ashrams to make it look as real as possible. Sources say nearly Rs 1.3 crore has been spent on the set itself. As for the central characters of Lord Khandoba and his two consorts, Mhalsa and Banai, were selected from more than 2,000 participants who auditioned in the cities of Mumbai, Nagpur, Aurangabad, Nashik and Kolhapur among others. The names of the protagonists have not yet been revealed. Two cameras are being used on the set for shooting in HD. In keeping with regulations, a medical officer is available on the set every day to oversee that the animals used for the shoot are treated ethically and not harmed in any way.

“Once we were firm on the idea, we approached Zee Marathi and they instantly said yes to it,” says Kothare. “The show will appeal to all. For youngsters it’s a tale of a lover; for the elderly, it’s the tale of a God; and for kids, it’s the tale of a superhero. No show has ever been made on this scale in the Marathi genre.”

Apparently, Kothare has been conceptualising the idea for the past three years and has been in talks with the channel for about a year and a half. Sources say that each episode could cost anywhere between Rs 3 lakh to Rs 5 lakh, pegging a year’s exercise at approximately Rs 10 crore to Rs 12 crore. Nearly Rs 50 lakh has gone into costumes alone including clothes, headgear and weapons.

A marketing campaign has already begun in TV and print. On-air promos have already begun while a full-page ad spread was already published in leading Marathi newspapers such as Maharashtra Times and Divya Bhaskar. The full-fledged campaign will break approximately 10 days before the launch of the show on 18 May. The creative agency for the show is FCB Ulka while media planning has been done by GroupM.

April 23, 2014
Marathi film industry celebrates centenary

MUMBAI: The Maharashtra chapter of Federation of Film Societies of India recently celebrated the centenary of Marathi cinema at Nashik.

The Dadasaheb Phalke Birth Centenary celebrations committee-made documentary film Dream Sketch Wings directed by Gajanan Jahagirdar portraying Phalke’s role in laying down the foundation of Indian cinema, was also screened.

A 52-minute Phalke Anthology based on Dadasaheb Phalke’s silent films made by Pune-based the National Films Archive was also screened at the event.

Filmmakers like Kiran Shantaram, Mahesh Kothare, Sachin Pilgaonkar, Vijay Kondke, Mahesh Manjrekar and senior actress Sulochana were honoured at the event. Also honoured were filmmakers Amol Palekar, Jabbar Patel, Umesh Kulkarni, Paresh Mokashi, Sandeep Sawant, and producer Ramdas Phutane.

The centenary celebration of Marathi cinema is being done in parallel to that of Indian cinema.

May 14, 2012