Master of spices!

Marathi directors are increasingly getting motivated to draw from real to the reel
Pune is fast becoming a city of inspiration for storylines in Marathi films. With movies in the recent past like Balgandharva that was based on the legendary theatre personality, Shala inspired a book with a similar title by a Pune based novelist and Pune TC that told the story of outstation youth who settles in Pune and more, filmmakers seem to be looking at the city as a potential plot churning hub.
Following suit, talented Marathi duo- actor-director-writer Girish Kulkarni and director Umesh Kulkarni have come up with an interesting film Masala that is inspired by none other than amche Pune’s popular spice company — Pravin Masalewale.
Spices individually are known to add taste to food, but mixed together in the right proportions they conjure up a masala that lends a unique flavour to every dish. Applying this simple principle to life, the story depicts a common man’s struggle to set up a business without following any wrong practices and giving an extra thought for his fellow travellers while moving ahead accepting their shortcomings and enhancing their potential on the way. Having penned the script actor-writer Girish Kulkarni who also plays protagonist Revan Patil in the film says, “Anna Hazare’s andolan highlighting corruption in the country last year and somewhere created a turbulence in our mind. We were looking for a subject that would give direction to a common man. At that point we met Vishal Chordiya, director of Pravin Masalewale, who narrated his grandfather’s success story and that was it. We had got our role model.”
Playing Sarika’s character was a learning experience for actor Amruta Subhash who is paired opposite Girish. “Of all spices, Sarika is like turmeric whose calm nature like the properties of the spice heals a lot of wounded souls,” quips the actor. Apart from this, fans of Dr Shreeram Lagoo can look forward to catch a glimpse of the veteran actor in the film. “My role as a jeweller in the film that lasts only for a few minutes is very short but important,” says Lagoo.
Director Sandesh Kulkarni shot continuously at 40 odd locations in 25 days which was quite a tedious task.
We hope that like their earlier films this Umesh-Girish produce too adds masala to our viewing.