We wanted to release Chandramukhi only in theatres, says producer Akshay Bardapurkar

The makers of the Marathi film Chandramukhi (2022) unveiled their main lead at a grand event at the Royal Opera House, Mumbai, yesterday in the presence of the entire cast and crew.

The film, starring Amruta Khanvilkar and Addinath Kothare, was announced more than two years ago and shot right after the first COVID-19 pandemic-induced lockdown.

Asked about having to wait so long to release the film, producer Akshay Bardapurkar said, "We have been waiting to release this film for two years. Our wait is finally over. We have our own OTT platform [Planet Marathi OTT], but in all those months, in spite of all the uncertainty around the reopening of theatres and the business of Marathi cinema, we never thought of releasing the film directly on OTT. We decided to wait. Now, finally, with full occupancy allowed, we are going to release our film."

Thanking his co-producers for their constant support, Bardapurkar added, "When you want to make such a film, you need strong support and we got that from Vista Capital's Abhayanand Singh and Piyush Singh and Golden Ratio Productions. I don't think it would have been possible to make a film like Chandramukhi, that too in such a period, without such support."

Chandramukhi has been directed by Prasad Oak, who has helmed films like Kaccha Limbu (2017) and Hirkani (2019). About Oak, Bardapurkar said, "I'm blessed that I got an opportunity to work with Prasad Oak, one of the most hardworking directors I have seen."

The film is based on the eponymous novel by Vishwas Patil, a bestseller for the past 30 years. Patil, who was present at the event, said 78 others had come to him over the years for the right to film the novel, but he only gave it to Prasad Oak. "Oak told me that unlike Kaccha Limbu, Chandramukhi is going to be a colourful, commercial film," he explained. "So I immediately said yes."