Amruta Khanvilkar plays the lead role in Marathi film Chandramukhi. The idea behind Chandramukhi was to recognise the contribution of folk artists from Maharashtra across traditional dance forms like tamasha, lavani and mujra, says actor Amruta Khanvilkar.
Chandramukhi is also special for Khanvilkar as the film marks her first lead role in her over 12 year-long career where she has featured in movies across Marathi and Hindi languages.
The Mumbai-born actor plays Chandra, a leading tamasha dancer, in the 1980s-set Marathi romance drama. It is directed by National Award winner Prasad Oak of Kaccha Limbu fame.
“More than playing the character of a dancer, it was giving all those folk artists a salute. These people come from interior parts of Maharashtra and they give their life to dance forms like lavani, tamasha, mujra, etc.
Best of Express Premium
“There were times when these dance forms were all respected. With Chandramukhi, we had to bring back those days where tamasha was looked up to,β Khanvilkar told PTI in an interview.
Tamasha is a traditional form of Marathi theatre, often with singing and dancing, widely performed by local or travelling theatre groups.
Based on Vishwas Patil’s novel of the same name, Chandramukhi follows a passionate and twisted love story of Chandra and a rising politician Daulat, played by Adinath Kothare.
Amruta Khanvilkar, whose credits across Marathi and Hindi films include Natarang, Katyar Kaljat Ghusli, Raazi, and Malang, said she is glad that she bagged the lead role in a Marathi film.
“I have been in the industry for 12 years and this is my titular role in Marathi, the industry from where I started. It is not that I should get such roles in the first year in the industry, I believe there is always a process for an actor that one has to go through.” She also thanked director Oak and co-star Kothare for their support throughout the process of filmmaking.
View this post on Instagram
“Prasad held my hand and made me walk through this experience called Chandramukhi. Adinath has been a huge support, he is one of my best friends now. He is a very passionate person. We both got immersed into this film. His energy was infectious,” she added.
The 37-year-old actor said the director approached her for the film two-and-half years ago. She along with Oak then started searching for a producer and a right team to collaborate with.
When writer Chinmay Mandlekar came on board, Khanvilkar said he took seven to eight months to develop the script from Patil’s book. But, the production was delayed due to the pandemic-induced lockdown.
“When things opened up, we started and completed the shoot in 45 days. Then, the second lockdown happened and we were in fix as to what to do. But the producer was keen on releasing the film at 100 per cent capacity (in theatres). Usually, Marathi films do not have the budget. We work in constraint budgets and for my producer to say that we will wait, it was a gutsy decision,” she said.
Mounted on a budget of around Rs 5 crore, Chandramukhi has earned Rs 14 crore since its theatrical release on April 29, according to the makers.
Apart from commercial success, the film has received rave reviews from critics and the audience who have especially praised Amruta Khanvilkar’s work. The YouTube views of the song “Chandra”, composed by Ajay-Atul and sung by Shreya Ghoshal, has crossed the 2 crore-mark.
The actor said she is happy with all the love coming towards the movie.
“Even though it is a Marathi movie and the dialect is not pure Marathi, I am glad a lot of people from Hindi-speaking belt are talking about the movie,” she said.
- The Indian Express website has been rated GREEN for its credibility and trustworthiness by Newsguard, a global service that rates news sources for their journalistic standards.
