Sachin Pilgaonkar had tears after reading the script of Sohalla, says director Gajendra Ahire

Filmmaker Gajendra Ahire’s Marathi film, Sohalla, is all set to release on Friday, 4 January 2019. The film is an emotional drama featuring Sachin Pilgaonkar, Shilpa Tulaskar, and Vikram Gokhale. 

Ahire has been making films since the early 2000s, but this is the first time he has worked with Pilgaonkar in a film. Ahire said that the actor didn’t throw any starry attitude during the making of the film. “He is a very dedicated and disciplined actor. He believes in leaving everything to the director. He is very focused,” said the filmmaker during an exclusive chat with Cinestaan.com. 

Ahire said that he didn’t have Pilgaonkar in mind while writing the film. “After I completed writing the script, I met him in Sangli around two or two and a half years ago. I had the script with me, which I narrated to him,” said the director. 

The actor’s reaction after the narration left the director stunned. “After reading the script, he had tears in his eyes. We decided to make this film,” added Ahire.  

The film will also feature Vikram Gokhale, who starred in Ahire’s Anumati (2013) to critical acclaim. The director said that since then he shares a close friendship with the veteran actor, who is always ready to work in his films. “He is a friend. He never asks about the role or anything. He is like a young man. He is always ready to work any time. He did a lot of study in order to play that character,” he said. 

Revealing an interesting bit about Gokhale’s character in Sohalla, Ahire added, “His strength is his voice; but in this film, he has no dialogues.” 

The year has ended on a good note for Marathi cinema with the success of films like Ani... Dr. Kashinath Ghanekar (2018), Naal (2018) and Mulshi Pattern (2018). Therefore, Ahire believes Sohalla also has a chance. “Audience wants to watch something meaningful. People have rejected nonsense in recent times. This is evident in both Hindi and Marathi. My film is in the category of meaningful cinema, so let’s hope for the best,” he said.