‘Zollywood’ taking Zhadipatti theatre’s essence to masses

Nagpur: The little-known story of Vidarbha region in Maharashtra found solace in the Trushant Ingle directed Marathi film ‘Zollywood’ which got appreciation in the ‘Jagran Film Festival’ in Mumbai.

The film showcased the hidden narrative of the region which is rich in its cultural and theatrical heritage. Debutant filmmaker Ingle’s film Zollywood brings to the fore the region’s rich and one of the oldest theatre festivals — Zhadipatti. The film explores the traditional theatre scenes from the region and how it gives a platform to budding theatre artistes to tell their side of the story to the masses.

Like Marathi films or Bollywood cinema, Zhadipatti is equally popular in Vidarbha. The movie also touches upon the fact of how the artistes have kept the theatre alive. Ingle threw some light on his deep-rooted relationship with Zhadipatti which inspired him to portray the beauty of its people, their love for theatre and lifestyle on the big screen. Hailing from Nagpur, Ingle always had a keen interest in digging out the creative concept of theatre and film making. He gave opportunities to non-professional actors, who belong to Zhadipatti. “I had the idea of the film in my mind for a long time. I was fascinated by Zhadipatti and wanted to share my experiences through a realistic movie,” said Ingle.

The writing of the script and the production of the film started in 2017-18. Right from casting to the sets, everything has a feel of the old school theatre.

After Ingle narrated the story to director of the movie ‘Newton’, Amit Masurkar, the latter came on board. “I knew how to deliver this piece of art to people, who love theatre as much as the people of Zhadipatti and I do. That’s the reason I took 80% of the cast who were unprofessional actors,” said Ingle.

The cast of the movie has actors such as Ajit Khobragade from Zhadipatti, Ashwini Ladekar, Dinkar Gawande, Anil Uttalwar and Asawari Naidu. “I have worked with Zhadipatti as an actress for 19 years. I am the only female writer there. I had a wonderful experience. Being from a theatre background, I was acting for the screen for the first time. I think we have been successful in delivering the essence and beauty of Zhadipatti through our film. I played the character of a woman who takes care of her home and still manages to keep the importance of theatre alive in her life.” said Naidu, an actress.

Ingle believes that Zhadipatti has the art, which is beautifully preserved and guarded. It will continue to inspire generations to come. Expressing his views about the worldwide release and appreciation that the film has received, Ingle said, “This film to me is like my own baby. I have nurtured it and made it bloom. My team and I have put in a lot of hard work. Being my first film as a director, I am thrilled to see such a good response. We want to screen this film at more film festivals. We have sent the film to various film festivals across India,” added Ingle.