Godavari to have its world premiere at Vancouver International Film Festival

Nikhil Mahajan’s Marathi movie Godavari is all set for its world premiere at the Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) on 4 October.

The festival will be on from 1 to 11 October. The film will be shown virtually throughout the duration of the festival and in-person on 4 and 10 October as part of the Contemporary World Cinema line-up.

Godavari stars Jitendra Joshi who also makes his debut as producer with this project. The film has been produced by Jitendra Joshi Pictures along with Blue Drop Films. It also stars Sanjay Mone, Vikram Gokhale, Neena Kulkarni, Priyadarshan Jadhav and Gauri Nalawade.

Godavari is a river that arises in Nashik district of Maharashtra and flows east through the state, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh to join the Bay of Bengal. The film tells the story of Nishikant (Joshi) whose job is to collect rent for his family of landowners. He is fed up and angry with his stagnant, routine life. The film is about what he and his family go through.

“Godavari isn’t only an intimate drama, it’s a cleansing experience, one steeped in the wisdom of tradition, compassion, and acceptance,” said an official statement from the festival.

With Godavari, Mahajan returns to Marathi cinema as director. His previous venture was Baji (2015). “With Godavari, Mahajan shifts gears seamlessly into a dramatic space after a six-year hiatus from [Marathi] filmmaking. It marks a decided metamorphosis of directorial style and vision and is his most personal film to date,” the statement added.

Mahajan’s previous directorial venture was the Hindi Netflix show Betaal (2020).