By Subhash K Jha

Last month, while Paresh Mokashi was in the US to check out his film’s “Harishchandrachi Factory’ prospect at the Oscars, he got a chance to screen the quirky bio-pic on the father of Indian cinema Dadasaheb Phalke at the Smithsonian University in Washington University on November 7, followed by another screening at the University Of Southern California on November 8.

“These two major screenings were followed by other smaller screenings in schools and universities. I was completely floored by the American curiosity about Dadasaheb Phalke.”

Unlike Mahatma Gandhi who was a global household name when Richard Attenborough’s film came along, Dadasaheb Phalke was relatively unknown to the Americans until this film.

Says Mokashi, “The Americans had vaguely heard of the father of Indian cinema. But not many of them were familiar with our films. To my surprise they responded to my Marathi film on Phalke without language barriers. They laughed at the right places, cried at the right places and held their peace when needed.”

But for the India release of “Harishchandrachi Factory’ on 22 January Mokashi is gearing up for a dubbed Hindi version. “I know a lot of the dialogues’ flavour will be lost in translation. But the important thing is to reach the film to a wide audience. I’d rather have Phalke speak in Hindi than restrict his thoughts to a Marathi-speaking audience.”

The director of this year’s Oscar nominated film “Harishchandrachi Factory’ has just returned to Mumbai after a 20-day trip to the US, particularly Los Angeles to lobby for his film.

Paresh Mokashi refuses to see the Oscars as a reason to lobby. “I don’t know why Indian filmmakers who have gone before me have spoken of “lobbying’ for the Oscar. The process of selection for the nomination is done in utmost secrecy. I wasn’t supposed to meet any member of the Oscar committee or jury. I just submitted the film for their viewing and left.”

The fact that UTV, who are distributing “Harishchandrachi Factory’ the world over have an office in the US helped Mokashi find his bearings in a country he had never visited before.

So encouraged was he by the response that on the way back from Los Angeles he stopped at London to submit “Harishchandrachi Factory’ for the BAFTA (The British Academy of Film and Television Arts).

“Now I’ll go back only if I’m nominated for the Oscars or the BAFTA,” promises Mokashi.

-Sampurn Media