Veteran Marathi filmmaker Ramesh Deo markets movies at IFFI

Panaji, Nov 24 (UNI) At 82, veteran Marathi actor Ramesh Deo, best known to non-Maharashtrian audiences for his performances in hindi movies like 'Anand' and 'Khilona' is a busy man these days.

He is busy shooting his ambitious bilingual (Marathi/English) film 'Vasudev Balwant Phadke' based on India's first armed revolutionary with a budget of Rs three crore.

''I want to create something big. Marathi filmmakers should shed the mentality of making movies in shoe string budget and stop cribbing about lack of marketing avenues,'' Deo told UNI.

At the same time, he is the perhaps the first Marathi filmmaker who has set up a stall at the CII's Film Bazaar at the 37 th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) which was inaugurated here yesterday.

Speaking about his decision to set up a stall at the Film Bazaar, Deo said he wanted to explore new avenues of marketing films.

Deo said there can be no success without risks. He said filmmakers should first have confidence in their own creativity and the confidence will automatically be reflected among distributors and the audiences as well.

''I have set up distribution companies in London and Canada as my dream is to show my new film to the English audience. I will be dubbing the film in Shakespearean English when I release it overseas to give it an authentic accent and feel,''he said.

''My effort here is to try out buyers for my film and fortunately from the first day itself,many foreign delegates seem curious about the film. There is no harm in trying if anybody is interested in buying distribution rights. If nothing works out, I am going ahead with distribution of the film myself,'' Deo added.

He said lives of freedom fighters have always inspired him.

'Younger generation should learn about the difficulties and faced by freedom fighters and the ensuing sacrifices made by them,'' he added.

Speaking about Phadke, Deo said the British in Maharashtra were so petrified of him that even the British Parliament raised the issue in their proceedings and deliberated on how to contain his terror.

' The film is deals with the period in 1872-79 and covers Phadke's life since childhood till death. He never harmed British women. When he was sentenced to jail in Aden, iron was welded on his body and he suffered such tortures throughout. But, the British could never break him. He told the British that they had seen his bravery and now they will see his endurance. When the jailer in Aden met him in his last days, Phadke requested him to place his tortured body on the soil from India which he had carried with him in a pouch to Aden so that he could breaths his last on it,''Deo said.

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