How India's Regional Cinema Is Breaking Boundaries
by The Daily Eye Team March 11 2017, 5:41 pm Estimated Reading Time: 0 mins, 38 secsAn industry which was on ventilator has started breathing again,” says filmmaker Rajesh Mapuskar, making a clever reference to two Marathi films—Ventilator (2016) and Shwaas (Breath, 2004)—which won acclaim for their rich content and, in many ways, symbolise the growing global reach of regional cinema over the last decade. Ventilator, Mapuskar’s debut Marathi directorial venture, produced by Bollywood actor Priyanka Chopra under her company Purple Pebble Pictures, has been invited to the 55th New York Film Festival, to be held in May 2017. The film, a funny-yet-sensitive take on relationships at a time when a family member slips into coma, has earned over Rs 15 crore at the box office so far against its budget of Rs 3.5 crore.