Filmmaker-actor Mahesh Manjrekar recently said that he feels the Marathi film industry has the right talent to make a film like ‘KGF: Chapter 2’, saying that producers must invest money in the visions of its filmmakers. During a film event in Mumbai, Manjrekar quipped how ‘KGF: Chapter 2’ starring Yash managed to save the Kannada film industry, which was almost on the verge of ‘shutdown’.
“We have to shout from the rooftops that Marathi cinema is great. The press is here and I want to say this. Some years back, the condition of the Kannada film industry was such that it seemed like it would shut down anytime. But there was one person who believed in making a film and spending a lot of money on it. That person made a film named KGF and it created history. What makes me happy is that they didn’t make both parts of KGF in Hindi. They shot the film in Kannada, dubbed it in Hindi aur fir audience ke sir ke upar feka!,” Mahesh said at the event, as reported by Bollywood Hungama.
He further reiterated how Marathi filmmakers were on par with the directors of Malayalam cinema in providing strong content, thereby suggesting that the industry must scale up its production. “Somebody has to believe in us and spend money, like the way KGF producers did. I mean, come on, KGF – Chapter 2 collected Rs. 1000 crores! Can you imagine?” he added.
For the unversed, ‘KGF: Chapter 2’ was written and directed by Prashanth Neel. It was produced by Vijay Kiragandur of Hombale Films. ‘KGF: Chapter 1’, the first of the two-part gangster saga fared decently at the Hindi box office but the second part collected more than Rs 430 crore. The film’s worldwide collection was more than Rs 1000 crore, the biggest in the history of Kannada cinema.
