Regional cinema tells the story of common people, stories which allow people to experience all nine rasas (moods). This helps them relate to regional films, which are performing well in recent times, says Hindi film actor Akhilendra Mishra.
During a press conference at IFFI on Thursday, film actor Akhilendra Mishra, better known for his role as Kroor Singh in the TV serial Chandrakanta, said that regional films splendidly convey the message that needs to be delivered to its audience.
The use of regional languages does not prevent the audience from watching these movies because the actors, screenplay and storytelling in these films brilliantly convey the idea and message of the film.
He further opined that more space, and dedicated press coverage and representation, in the respective languages, need to be provided at events like IFFI to each regional film. Regional cinema offers all nine moods (navras) to the audience, which is the actual language of cinema. It is a lot more than just entertainment.
Pratik Sharma, director of Lotus Blooms, which has the language Maithili as the medium, said that regional cinema appeals to people because they can easily connect to the movies emotionally. My movie Lotus Blooms is a story based on the mother-son relationship.
It shows the mother's journey when her son is separated from her. He revealed that this movie has fewer dialogues and most of the story has been conveyed through symbolism. This is because nature does not talk, but it reveals things symbolically, as in the lotus blooming silently without making any noise.
Later, Kamalakannan S, the director of Kurangu Pedal, a Tamil movie, said that his movie tries to explore the subtle relationship between father and son. The son is willing to learn to ride the bicycle, whereas his father does not know how to ride a bicycle himself.
It is interesting to find out whether the boy begins to ride the bicycle, what he does to learn it, etc. Kamalakannan S further said that he is sure that this film will be accepted and praised by many because they can relate to the story.
Meanwhile, Mangesh Desai, producer of Dharmaveer: Mukkam Post Thane also said that since 2013 he has had the dream of making a movie on the late Anand Dighe, a Shiv Sena leader from Thane, Maharashtra.
Desai further said that the main reason behind making this film was to make people aware of the noble things Dighe did in his lifetime; he tried to solve the problems of the local people and stood with them whenever there was a need. He also announced that he would come up with a sequel of Dharmaveer shortly.
Actor Prasad Oak, who was present during the press conference, said that Dharmaveer was his first lead role in a movie, where he played the character of a well-known political person known for his larger-than-life persona.
Oak further said that although he had worked in more than 90 films in his career, playing the role of Dighe appropriately was a herculean task. "People of Thane consider Dighe a great hero, and if I had made any mistake in playing Dighe, it would have been difficult for me to face these people. Therefore, I did thorough research on Dighe's personality," he added. People have praised the actor's portrayal of Dighe.