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On July 27, in a panel discussion at the second edition of the NAFA Film Festival in San Jose, renowned Marathi actress Sonali Kulkarni asked the audience, “Just because a traditional Maharashtrian dessert is difficult to make, should we stop making it altogether?”
She was referring to the fact that making films is difficult, but that shouldn’t mean that independent filmmakers stop trying. She emphasized that the solution is not to give up on, but to create a support system to make it easier for filmmakers to pursue their creative vision.
That is what the North American Film Association (NAFA) wants to do for Marathi films here in the United States. The brainchild of Bay Area-based healthcare entrepreneur and film producer Abhi Gholap, NAFA hosted the second edition of its annual film festival at San Jose’s California Theater from July 25-27.
The film festival included a red carpet and awards night, and presented shorts, feature films, workshops, and opportunities for the diaspora to connect with luminaries from the Marathi film and television industry.
A Platform For Homegrown Marathi Films
Last year, the NAFA Film Festival debuted, intending to celebrate Marathi films in the United States and bring acclaimed Marathi feature films from India to diaspora audiences. This year, NAFA further expanded the reach of their festival, putting on a slate of nine short films and four unreleased feature films for the 2025 edition. Additionally, fifteen celebrity actors, directors, and music professionals from the Marathi film industry participated in five panel discussions and nine masterclasses over the course of the festival.
NAFA aims to create a self-sustaining network of Marathi actors, directors, musicians, cinematographers, and editors, and connect them with financiers willing to get projects on the production floor. The organization also stepped in as producer for three of the short films presented at this year’s festival.
During a panel discussion, the directors of the three shorts, Sri Mirajkar (Yogayog); Harsh Mahdeshwar (Submission); and Sandeep Karanjkar (Girl With A Red Hat), spoke about the importance of having a network of like-minded professionals to draw upon.
Karanjkar, whose film was a finalist at the Cannes World Film Festival, credited NAFA for giving a Marathi director like him the platform and the means to make an English language film in which none of the actors are Indian.
“I used to crash New York’s film parties to find people to work on this film with me, I really wanted to get out of my comfort zone,” said Karanjkar. “Why should a Marathi person only make a Marathi film?”
Chabila and Raavsaheb – Into the heartlands of Maharashtra
Two feature films presented at the festival transported viewers to the rural heartlands of Maharashtra, where life looks very different than it does for the Maharashtrian diaspora settled in the cushy rolling hills of the South Bay.
Chabila, written and directed by Anil Bhalerao is a slow burn set in the stark stone quarries of rural Maharashtra. Here, a group of nomadic laborer families work long hours in the blazing sun breaking rocks with metal rods and hammers. They are employed by the owner of the quarry, a local goon who pays them a pittance for their labor; their wages are so low that most of the children in these families join their parents working in the quarry instead of attending school. All but one: Ganya.
Ganya’s father Kisanda wants him to join work at the quarry to make an extra buck, but his mother Jana dreams of a better life for Ganya. So the teenager attends the local school, endures bullying at the hands of higher-caste schoolmates, and hangs on to his mother’s dream of escaping the drudgery of their existence. The story presents the bleak reality of the millions in India who live in abject poverty, trapped in never-ending cycles of caste oppression, economic exploitation, and generational trauma. Despite their limited means, Ganya and his family try to find moments of happiness in simple pleasures like saving up for a packet of Parle-G biscuits, sleeping outside their hut under the stars, and trips to the bazaar that sets up every month in the nearest town. The film takes its time to reach its conclusion, but the film is a commendable effort to present a story rooted firmly in its geography and the lives of the people who cannot escape it.
The other film Raavsaheb is named after its titular character, a maneating tiger that inhabits the forests of eastern Maharashtra, terrorizing the indigenous communities that live there.
A mining company plans to tear down parts of the forest to set up another mining operation. On the one hand, the mine would bring much needed employment to the indigenous communities living in the region. But on the other hand, it could exacerbate Raavsaheb’s menace as the mine would eat into his habitat.
Director Nikhil Mahajan introduces us to a colorful cast of characters that drives the plot forward. We see a coalition emerging between a recently transferred police officer, a jaded forest service official, a journalist and a social worker, who all want to protect Raavsaheb’s territory. They are up against the inexorable appeal of money and power manifested in an avaricious employee of the mining company and an opportunistic local politician. The plot meanders — through unexpected and far-fetched turns — before the grand exposition, which leaves the viewer feeling somewhat satisfied.
Celebrities Light Up The Festival
This year, fifteen celebrities from the Marathi entertainment industry graced the red carpet at the NAFA film festival. Actor Sachin Khedekar delivered the keynote address, while renowned actor and director Amol Palekar received the Lifetime Achievement award at the festival’s award night.
To mark the end of the festival, ten of the fifteen celebrities shared the stage for an all-star panel discussion about the future of Marathi cinema. The panelists were directors Madhur Bhandarkar and Gajendra Ahire; music composer Avdhoot Gupte; and actors Dr. Mohan Agashe, Sonali Kulkarni, Ashwini Bhave, Adinath Kothare, Sachin Khedekar, and Swapnil Joshi. Actress Vaidehi Parshurami moderated the panel discussion.
The panelists emphasized that the Marathi entertainment industry’s strength has always been content over glamour and scale. They explained that because the film and television industries draw heavily from the rich Marathi literary and theater traditions, the content they produce is thought-provoking and rooted in realism.
Avdhoot Gupte pointed out that originality will count for even more in the entertainment industry with the advent of artificial intelligence. “Don’t be afraid of AI,” he said, “it is your friend and you have to learn to work with it instead of compete against it.”
Adinath Kothare said that diaspora audiences can help amplify the Marathi film industry by stepping in to finance projects. “If films have received support from multiple countries, that also helps the films’ prospects in international film festivals which traditionally do not prioritize Indian films,” he said. He pointed out that organizations like NAFA are helping facilitate such conversations and that the future for Marathi films is bright among the diaspora.
After putting on a successful second edition of the festival, founder Abhi Gholap has set his sights on even bigger goals in the year to come. He said that NAFA is producing its first feature-length Marathi film, and will begin producing other films with local talent in the United States. Another important development is the upcoming launch of a NAFA OTT platform that would be a distribution channel for Marathi films in the United states.
“This isn’t just a plan—it’s a movement,” said Gholap. “NAFA is building a bridge between continents, cultures, and creators, ensuring that Marathi stories find their rightful place on the world stage.”