National Award winning filmmaker and scriptwriter Gajendra Ahire who makes his transition to Bollywood mainstream cinema with his upcoming film Dear Molly elaborates on the growing importance of content in regional cinema and it being adapted by Bollywood and other film industries. Has this happened post Sairat success? Or was the power regional films always known but was never taken note of?

Gajendra Ahire answers. “Initially, there were many regional films being remade from Bollywood films but not vice versa. However now, there are many regional films being remade in Bollywood. The film industry is finally witnessing this shift where regional cinema is being given its credit and due importance. If there is a good story worth presenting, then I believe that story should be told in various languages so that it reaches a wider audience. With Marathi and the other regional film industries churning out good content, it is a good sign of growth and the Hindi film industry is also taking cognizance of it.”

Ahire has 49 films to his credit in which he has contributed in direction, story, screenplay, dialogues and lyrics. He is also known for his work in Marathi cinema. Dear Molly promises a wonderfully poignant story based on a father-daughter relationship. The film explores the journey of a daughter in search of her father in Sweden. The protagonist Molly had last seen her father when she was five years old.

Shot extensively in Sweden including Stockholm, some of the minor portions of the film were shot in and around Maharashtra. Dear Molly features Gurbani Gill as Molly who makes her debut along with well-known Marathi actors Alok Rajwade, Mrinmayee Godbole and Ashwini Giri and a prominent Swedish cast comprising Lia Boysen and Chris Holmgren among others.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 09, 2019 11:31 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).