Actress Amruta Subhash finds it an uncanny coincidence that filmmaker Sumitra Bhave is no longer around as her last movie, Dithee (2021), which talks about the grief of losing a loved one, is set for release on the SonyLIV platform. Bhave died on 19 April.
“I did not know this was going to be our last film together," Amruta told Cinestaan.com in an exclusive interview. "It feels strange to read her credit as ‘the late Sumitra Bhave’. This film talks about how to come to terms with the loss of a loved one. She is no more and this being her last lesson is a strange coincidence."
Recalling the moment when the news of Bhave’s death reached her, she said, “Frankly, I was not ready for her passing away. I was devastated. But through this film she talks about this term advait, which means oneness. It means we are all one. She has used this term to come to terms with the sorrow of a near one passing away.”
This thought gives Amruta solace. “Through this film she is talking to me and telling me to come to terms with the sorrow of her passing and to be strong," she said. "That’s why this film is very precious to me."
Amruta’s first film Chakori, which was a short, was also directed by Bhave. “After that I did quite a few films with her," she said. "All my roles were different from one another and in each role she taught me a lesson.”
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Bhave and Sunil Sukthankar directed several films together. Of these, Amruta featured in Devrai (2004), Nital (2006), Badha (2006) and Astu (2014). Dithee was the first and only time Bhave went solo.
In Dithee, Amruta plays Parubai, a rustic woman. “Parubai has a cow which is having problems in pregnancy," she said. "My character is older than my actual age. She and her husband (Shashank Shende) are very tense about their cow. For village folk, a cow is like a part of the family, it’s not just an animal. My bonding with the cow is important in the film.”
Amruta finds it interesting how Bhave broke stereotype and changed gender characteristics in the film. “She has shown the husband to be emotional while the wife is a strong person who makes efforts to save the cow," she said. "Normally, we would see the opposite in movies. She [Bhave] used to say that men can also be fragile."
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Interestingly, Amruta had started her acting career in plays with Shende many years ago, but this is the first time they have featured together in a film.
Dithee has an ensemble cast that includes Mohan Agashe, Dilip Prabhavalkar, Girish Kulkarni and Kishore Kadam. “But my track with Shashank is very different," she said. "So I was not with the others [on the set].”
But she pointed out that big names from Marathi cinema and theatre were always part of the films directed by Bhave and Sukthankar. “In Nital, someone like Vijay Tendulkar was in the film," she said. "So her sets always used to be rich with conversations among these big people. Plus she was like an institution herself.”
On a lighter note, Amruta added that Bhave’s sets were also excellent for the taste buds. “Her sister Radha mavshi used to cook food according to the likes of each of us. It used to be excellent home-made food. It was like a family!”