#Staroftheweek: Abhijit Panse: Casting Prajakta Mali for Ratna's character was a gamble, but she proved everyone wrong

After impressing one and everyone with his hard-hitting films like 'Rege' and 'Thackeray', filmmaker Abhijit Panse is garnering praise from all sides for his first Marathi OTT film 'RaanBaazaar'.
In our latest edition of #Staroftheweek, ETimes caught up with the actor for an exclusive interview where he spilled the beans on the ‘overwhelming’ reactions he has been getting for 'RaanBaazaar', exploring the digital space and much more.
What kind of reactions have you been getting for 'RaanBaazaar'?
The amount of reaction that I am getting from the celebrity friends and our audience and it is unprecedented. I am actually overwhelmed. When the teaser was released on social media, both Tejeswini and Prajakta have been trolled for their risque scenes.
Go On..
I think people were not expecting such bold scenes from the Marathi industry. They have only focused on the skin show and have not understood what the content stands for. After watching global content, our Indian audience is mature to handle bold content.

You had two strong female characters in the film. How difficult was it to convince them?
The story of 'RaanBaazaar' was completed before lockdown. While I was writing the script, I was very clear that Tejaswini Pandit will portray Ayesha Singh's character. But when I deiced to cast Prajakta Mali for Ratna's character, everyone told me you doing gamble. But she proved everyone wrong.

OTT has been a gamechanger for many in the industry. How do you look at this change as a filmmaker?
My first love is a film (big screen). OTT has been a gamechanger for many during a pandemic. We have space now and we can tell our stories to them. Every creation is like a painting.