Films come first

BALANCING ACT

Filmmaker-actor Mahesh Manjrekar, who shot and completed the Hindi-Tamil version of his Marathi film Kaksparsh while contesting the Lok Sabha election, says that he remade the film because the issue of widow marriage is relevant everywhere. 

   “It was tough. But I am first and foremost a film-maker. Even if I had won the elections, I would’ve continued to make films. Even while contesting the elections, I was a film-maker first,” said Manjrekar.

Kaksparsh is Manjrekar’s first Hindi film in four years. “To me, making films in Marathi was every bit as exciting and challenging. The only reason I decided to remake my Kaksparsh in Hindi was because the issue it addresses (widow remarriage) is relevant in every language,” said the director of Hindi films like Astitva and Vaastav.

He has replaced his favourite actor Sachin Khedekar from the Marathi original with actor Arvind Swamy in the Tamil remake. “I needed someone with no fixed image. Someone who would look convincing as a idealistic patriarch in a Brahmin family. I’ve cast Vaidehi Parshurami as the widow. She has done a part in one of my earlier Marathi films,” he said. 

“I’ve remade Kaksparsh in Tamil because the Konkani and Tamilian culture are similar,” he added. Ilayaraja has composed the music for both the versions.