Surrendered Maoists watch film on their lives in Gadchiroli’s first AC theatre

Nagpur: A group of surrendered Maoists ventured out of their camps on Tuesday to witness a matinee show on their lives on the silver screen, hoping for a better ending in real life. A special show of the Marathi movie ‘Ghaath', based on left-wing extremism, which was screened at the Berlin Film Festival in 2023, was held at Gadchiroli's first-ever air-conditioned theatre on Tuesday.Ghaath's director and cast, who also attended, approached the families in the camp where the surrendered rebels live under police protection. "They came along with their families, and it was a surprise for them. They were not told beforehand that a movie based on Maoists was being screened," said Chhatrapal Ninawe, the film's director.A group of surrendered Maoists and their families and friends came for the show, says the filmmaker. Ninawe says the reactions from the former rebels were the biggest critical appraisal for him. "The movie tries to show the lives of Maoists in all its shades. It has everything; internal dissent between groups, drifting away from idealism, and disillusionment of the cadre. The real Maoists agreed that the story was a true depiction, except that they wanted an optimistic end," says Ninawe.The movie has a dark end; the main character, who is a surrendered Maoist, dies. The real-life former rebels said the ending should have depicted him moving towards a better life, he said. Ninawe and the cast, Amit Shende and Dhananjay Mandokar, interacted with the former Naxals after the show. "Looking ahead for better times, many said they live in dire financial conditions and there is a constant threat of being hunted down by their former comrades," said Ninawe. The movie was shot in Gondia and Bhandara districts, which border Gadchiroli and have similar landscape.Ninawe said he was always keen to know if the movie showed the true picture, and the former rebels vouched for it. They were approached at the camp in Gadchiroli, avoiding much interaction with the outer world. For many of the kids, it was the first experience of watching a movie on the big screen, he said.The Gadchiroli town got its first-ever air-conditioned theatre only last month. An inflated setup, it was built out of district development funds as part of efforts to bring small joys of mainstream life. The theatre is run under a public-private partnership by Picturetime Digital.