It was a good opportunity, says Aditya Sarpotdar on advancing release of Zombivli to 26 January

Director Aditya Sarpotdar has said that the decision to advance the release of his film Zombivli to  26 January was taken in order to capitalize on the Republic Day holiday.

Starring Amey Wagh, Vaidehi Parshurami, Lalit Prabhakar, Trupti Khamkar and Janaki Pathak, the film is touted to be Marathi cinema's first zombie comedy.

At the trailer launch, the cast and the director said that though Zombivli was slated to arrive in theatres on 4 February, the absence of competition vis-à-vis Hindi films and the success of the Marathi-language drama Jhimma (2021) had given them the confidence to advance its release. 

Noting that the release of major Hindi films had been postponed, Sarpotdar said, "The last movie [to run in theatres] was Mahesh Manjrekar's Nay Varan Bhat Loncha Kon Nay Koncha (2022). After that, no Marathi films were lined up for release."

The filmmaker added, "We had decided on 4 February, by when COVID cases would go down, and we could get more viewers. But with theatres having no new content, especially on 26 January, a public holiday, we decided to take a chance and opt for a holiday release."

The director also admitted that the success of Jhimma, despite the 50% attendance rule in Maharashtra, influenced the decision. "The makers of the film took the first step, which others did not. Even with 50% attendance, they decided on a theatrical release."

The filmmaker stated that word-of-mouth publicity has played a vital role in the industry's survival. "I think Marathi cinema, at any point in time, has only grown through word of mouth. If that happens, the night curfew or attendance restrictions do not matter. It will grow," he said.

According to an exhibitor, the 4 February weekend is being targeted by the makers of Marathi films such as Mahesh Manjrekar's Panghrun, the Ankush Chaudhari and Vaidehi Parshurami-led Lochya Zaala Re and Avinash Kolte's Faas, This makes the decision of the Zombivli makers all the more sound.

Wagh said, "We would often discuss the release of the film [Zombivli], and our friends in the industry would give us confidence about the film. The family audience and youth are awaiting its release."

Produced by Yoodlee Films, the feature was shot in 2020 while the nation was in lockdown mode.

Sarpotdar insisted that it was the courage of the cast and crew to go ahead with the project in these circumstances that emboldened him. "The cast faced the biggest challenge. When we started, the government imposed the social distancing rule. For a film where zombies bite everyone, how do we maintain social distancing? So, they deserve credit for managing to get tested every day and carrying on," he said

Describing these hurdles as exciting, Lalit Prabhakar said, "When you face these challenges, and finally learn that your work is good, it only inspires you to do better. It makes you feel better about the end-product." 

The director thanked senior artiste Pradeep Joshi and actresses Trupti Khamkar and Janaki Pathak, who were keen on attending workshops before the shoot, despite the pandemic. He said, "I remember my meeting with Trupti, who literally came down to meet me in the office. This was unexpected because we had written the entire film on Zoom. The writer, Mahesh Iyer, and I had never met in person. I met him only at the first preview of the film. In such a situation, Pradeep kaka, Vaidehi, and Trupti came in and did workshops, so the film happened."

Sarpotdar is set to make his Hindi debut with the horror-comedy Kakuda, starring Riteish Deshmukh, Saqib Saleem and Sonakshi Sinha. The filmmaker has already discussed the possibility of a sequel to Zombivli as well as a follow-up to his earlier film Faster Fene (2017).