TRUST ME I KNOW WHAT I'm DOING

Speaker 2 (00:00.622)
My name is Abhay Dharndekar and I share conversations with talented and interesting individuals linked to the global Indian and South Asian community. It's informal and informative, adding insights to our evolving cultural expressions, where each person can proudly say, trust me, I know what I'm doing.

So periodically on Trust Me, I Know What I'm Doing, we share a spotlight conversation and feature brief chats with an individual or a group from the community about a special topic or a unique endeavor. Now I grew up in a Marathi American household and even as a born and raised Californian, there was a lot of attention at my house to Marathi film and cinema. So much that the idea of watching Tukaram, Ram Shastri, Simhasan or Umbartha were not really foreign to me as a 12 year old.

Marathi cinema is the oldest film industry in India and from Dadasaheb Phalke making the first feature-length movie more than a hundred years ago to Prabhat Films all the way to 2016's Sairat, you can directly connect the dots from this rich legacy to every corner of India's film industry today. So on this spotlight episode of Trust Me, I Know What I'm Doing, and yes, I'm aware of the mild irony of this, Namaskar and welcome all us. And as usual, we're going in English.

So let's focus on how this Marathi film legacy is undergoing a contemporary revival at the intersection of art, business and community, especially through the North American Film Association and its founder, Abhi Golab. As a serial entrepreneur, investor and passionate Marathi film enthusiast, Abhi has personified that bridging of tradition and today's film landscape and is the convener of the upcoming 2025 North American Film Festival in San Jose.

Notably, he is the producer of the acclaimed award-winning 2011 film, De'ur, a movie that not only achieved commercial and critical success, but also underscored the social impact and artistic power of Marrakech's storytelling. His experience with De'ur shaped his unique approach to filmmaking, blending an entrepreneurial drive with a keen sensitivity to meaningful, community-centered stories. And now with the nonprofit Nafa,

Speaker 2 (02:10.636)
and the focused lens of the upcoming North American Film Festival, it was great to explore how Abhi and NAFA are creating opportunities, connecting local voices with international platforms, and using film as a common language of inclusion and growth. The mission of NAFA is pretty simple, to advance the Marathi film ecosystem through collaborative efforts in production, distribution, and film festivals. And I've personally found that for any group, a spirit of inclusion and priority to strong storytelling,

is one that builds sustainable connection and emotional endurance. So as we sat down for a conversation and after a brief Marathi introduction that you can see on the YouTube version of the podcast, I was actually thinking of how people get introduced to movies when they're so young. And so I asked Abhi if he could reflect on some of his own first Marathi movie experiences and memories.

So actually it's a great question because my mom used to watch a lot of Marathi films and that's how I grew along with the films. And as you know, in India there are two religions, right? People have either they are belonging to a religion of films or they belong to the religion of cricket. so that's where I grew in the same thought process. And when I used to watch Marathi films, those days, Dilidur Darshan used to run those films on every Saturday.

And then we used to get that film and then, you know, like all the people in that housing complex used to come together because maybe one or two people have only the televisions. So then you're sitting and watching the film. I think I as small community, small community. you get to like, you know, watch the film like the crowd and then that effect is much different. So think most of the films that I saw, like I have got imbibed in my mind and I have watched so many Marathi films and that's where I think, you know, I love those films.

Yeah. Was there one or two that are one specifically that you remember? Boy, that's the first time I remember actually that community or like, you know, everyone is gathered around that TV set or not.

Speaker 1 (04:04.462)
So I think, know, this movie called Ashihi Banwa Banvi and that kind of left long lasting marks on my mind because I think it was very humorous take. And so I think I was in seventh grade at that time. that's where, you know, like just in the last year when we did the similar replication of Ashihi Banwa when we had NAFA first film festival.

How old were you, by the way?

Speaker 1 (04:31.724)
We kind of simulated that with all the artists coming in person. So I think that has really left a significant mark on my.

almost a full circle moment for you, right? Very true. Yeah. I kind of share the same thing. It's sort of a full circle moment. My first Marathi movie was when around the same age. This was in 1982. And my first two movies that I remember actually were seeing in a theater setting, Ram Shastri and Lakkachi Gurshta. And they were part of a Marathi Chitrapat Mahamandara tour and North American Film Festival way back then in 1982 with Sudhir Phadke and Dr. Jabbar Patel and

Sharad Birgaonkar at that time, Smita Patil, many, many others. It's so wonderful to see now full circle for you personally, and then also this kind of torch being carried on. For you, you entered this world as a producer, of course, of the award-winning film, Deol. Was that spirit of organizing and financing and mobilizing resources, especially as a producer, was that kind of the fuel?

that was actually required to accelerate this phenomenon and movement when it comes to NAFA.

Yeah, know, like, interestingly, when I got into the film productions, I had no connection to that industry whatsoever. Yeah. In fact, during the school days, I hardly remember me getting a chance to be even on the stage because in those days, not all the kids were allowed to come on the stage, only the good looking and performing kids are on the stage. And I was always in the audience. So I had like no connection that anybody could have considered me in this industry of filmmaking or digital media.

Speaker 1 (06:09.09)
But then that's what happened during the time of Deul where this movie story got pitched to me. And thanks to my first venture that got acquired here in US and then that story got pitched to me as a financier, I realized that as an entrepreneur, I can be more value adder than only a financier. And that's where I became more like a hands-on producer.

And I saw this industry very closely. I saw people, their dedication, their connections. And then I became kind of good friends with most of the film fraternity members. And that's where, you know, they all did pretty well. But then just to prove that was not a fluke, because it was my debut awards and, know, box office hit, I produced the second one and then a third one. And I got into that. Now, going back to your question, you know, when you are trying to bring this contents to the horizon.

as an American, Marathi American, as we can say, I feel that there's not much happening here in US, not Marathi producers who are producing the films in India are getting any revenues here. So there is no business model for them to come and showcase the films here. And then you see the contrast with South Indian films or Hindi films, that they earn tons of money from these geographies. And that's actually sparked that idea in my mind that why don't I connect those two dots.

Because I know both the geographies very well, I know the industry very well and there is a hole in this market. So why not I try filling this hole as an entrepreneur.

It's a glaring obvious gap that's there. For you, mean, there must have been some aha moment that after having this experience, being able to recognize that there's a gap there, not just a personal one, but a community one and a market gap as well. Was that sort of a natural fit then that you can, again, as we were just talking about this before we started, but you know, the passion translating into more work. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (07:58.734)
Absolutely, because as an entrepreneur, think what gets my adrenaline on is in terms of if there is any gap and then if me as a human can bring the value. I really felt that we can really do something in this space. Though this was completely outside my comfort zone, I'm kind of a newcomer in this space because even when we thought of doing the filmmaking, I always had done it in the setup of commercial.

Set up right? mean, it's not like a nonprofit social organization community. That's a completely different ballgame So all my companies so far all my startups so far I've always been like a you for commercial for-profit purposes But then I decided to go ahead with North American Film Association as my next baby in terms of you know establishing itself in the in the continent of North America because I feel that

There is need for this kind of requirement is there for the community, the Marathi community, and then that local talent here. And that's what I thought of, like, you know, going ahead with this kind of a concept.

you know, that has so many tentacles that spread from there, the social impact of it, definitely the community impact, not to mention the artistic impact of it. You mentioned that this is a nonprofit. has, NAFA has a core mission.

to produce films, to distribute them, and mainly to showcase them, right, through festivals. Why is prioritizing these three strands, producing them, getting the creative arm, scaling them to distribute, and then of course showcasing and socializing them through festivals, why are prioritizing these three strands particularly so important for the North American community, not just the Marrakech community, but for that matter, anybody who's interested in.

Speaker 1 (09:45.102)
Yeah, certainly. you are right, know, that kind of requirement is there also across other languages. But I focus more on Marathi because I have my roots.

and then I feel very proud to be called as a Marathi person. And especially if you look at Marathi cinema, Marathi cinema is known for its sensible stories. Marathi and Bengali are those kind of movies where people can learn a lot from their story. But we don't need to be preachy. mean, even my movies like Deol or even Bhartiya, it was giving some social message at the end of the day. Correct.

There's a lot more subtext to that.

So we are not trying to give that message through preaching mode, but rather we are trying to give it through a satirical mode so that people like laugh and then they realize that they're laughing on themselves. And that's where they, you know, it teaches them a lot. In fact, I strongly believe that movie is that medium where even if the illiterate person sits in front of it, he or she can learn a lot from that.

So it's a very good communication mechanism. So that is where when NAFA concept was coming in my mind, what I was looking for is, like, you know, we have got a lot of local talent here. Lots of kids are very keen in getting into the films and thanks to our neighborhood Hollywood fraternity. So we certainly wanted to bring in that ability for ourselves to produce our own films. And now that with OTT kind of the platforms, the streaming platforms, you know, like really the geography doesn't have any more borders.

Speaker 1 (11:10.078)
So it's like a flat world now, right? So you're really taking those contents to various countries seamlessly. So my idea here was that, hey, why not I produce a movie on a backdrop of Las Vegas or on a backdrop of San Francisco and then have kind of a horror comedy or maybe a nice love story. But then it's made in Marathi. And then that movie can then be shown in the cities of Pune and Mumbai. And people will say, wow. They never imagined that this can happen also overseas.

You're almost crossing the anchors a little bit, right? especially for those who are global Marathi or global Indians, global South Asians, or for that matter, global film lovers. You know, the stories are transcendent. They're not just dependent on language. Have you found that especially the scaling, the distribution process, the festival process? mean, obviously those things take practice. So has that been something that you have found? I wouldn't say easy, but, you know, of course, take some work. But as.

that experience grows, that more and more people feel like they are wanting to join that. Has that been so far the experience that you've had?

Yeah, you like you wouldn't believe when I floated this concept of NAFA, you know, we started with maybe like 20, 25 people to begin with. And now in a span of, I think, within 45 days or 60 days, we had like almost 300 people across US signed up for this.

to be the members of this. Now we are little over thousand members and I think the community is growing and since we are also handling the film distribution there are lots of film producers and director from India that in direct touch with us they want their films to be released here but only releasing the film is not a indicator of a success but when the last the recent film that we released here they got 12 percent of their revenues coming from US.

Speaker 1 (12:57.794)
And I think this is the money that many producers and directors in India were living on the table that NAFA is facilitating.

there's a craving for this here, there's a market for it here, it certainly is poised to grow. And again, storytelling does not necessarily limit itself to members, right? I mean, there are audiences, there are many, many stakeholders in this ecosystem. And because storytelling is so universal, and Maraki Films, while having a terrific legacy in history, I mean, we mentioned Maraki docus going back many, years here, and then on top of that...

so many more modern waves of creativity, you know, throughout the 90s, 2000s and so forth. The global appeal and scale of this kind of cinema has great incredible interest, but also lots of challenges, right? I mean, what do you think it takes to overcome those barriers to scale even more now, right? You mentioned the markets there, but even more now with financers and backers and directors and audiences.

to in a way start paralleling a little bit more of what the Bollywood or the Tollywood or the Collywood experience might be. Is there a day where the Mollywood experience really starts happening?

So if you look at that experience, audience, the audience total available market who can get that experience, right? I I'll go other way around. As the registered Marathi people in US, there are around half a million people. There'll be more who are not registered, but half a million, right? It's a very small community, not even in the top five. So from that perspective, we do understand that it's a limited market.

Speaker 1 (14:33.208)
But at the same point of time, if you are able to show them the film screenings, then instead of we going from city to city, we wanted to establish a partnership with the theaters across nation. So that's what the first thing that we did, that how can I show the film in every city the same day it get also released anywhere on this earth. So from that perspective, people do not even wait to go for some pirated movie screening and everything, because now they get to see everything next to their homes.

Secondly, people who are trying to bring in some innovations in this space, like us, mean, NAFA is not an inventor. The model was already existing there. are innovating that model. We are improvising that model where we can create a revenue generation abilities for the film producers so that they can see this as a good ROI and they can invest more. If they can invest more, there'll be more Malari films will come. And then if they are able to get their own revenue generated through various means, I'm sure that there'll be more.

more more newcomers that they will jump into.

work that has to go on even before the film gets to the theater and then scaling that of course to have it available in just about every neighborhood, right?

And then also, when you are trying to bring out the subjects, there are many subjects that come out which are based on the cities in India, like Maharashtra, like Korkhan, or maybe Baramati or Latur. But what about the subjects here? Because the Marathi Americans are in US for now more than six, seven decades, and they have their own challenges, own topics, and people would love to watch those. And it doesn't need to be only the Hindi, Karan Johar, glossy banner.

Speaker 1 (16:08.558)
It can be also a Marathi banner. And that's what even I had shown in Deul, that when Deul won Suvarna Kamal National Award, it got it across all the languages. So the Marathi as a language, we never took an advantage of being Marathi. And that's why we are a minority. That's why you please give him an award. No, we actually even took the artist like Nana Patekar, who had a national appeal. Though he's a Marathi guy, has a national appeal. We also got Nasruddin Shahab. We got Sonali Kulkarni. And that's where the presentation matters. I think Marathi movies today,

They are thinking that, my audience is only a very classified audience. And then they themselves put restrictions on them. Because language, we are watching a lot of series on Netflix which are coming from Korea. And the movies which are also coming from France and even Iran. So the language is not really a barrier. So I think the idea here is that, can you make a global cinema?

It can be in Marathi as a language, one of the language, but you can still make a global cinema and then that global cinema can really reach the border.

I think the Korean model is incredibly powerful, right? With Parasite and others on Netflix. it can show that there's not only great commercial appeal, but very much critical appeal as well. And same thing with They Were, that's a great example of that. I know that Rohan Kanhore's film Sabar Bonda was featured at Sundance this year. So definitely something for us to be very proud of. Marathi, as you mentioned, there's stories that are...

Definitely there's a craving for those stories, not just based in Maharashtra, but abroad as well. And certainly in North America, Marathi films certainly feel like they serve as anchors for a lot of people. And they serve as anchors to days gone by and we get nostalgic about them. But definitely there are current stars or directors in Maharashtra who are showcasing their work. What is Nafa doing, maybe you think, to plant seeds?

Speaker 2 (18:06.432)
and actually build ladders for that filmmaker, for that producer, for that director who are looking to now kind of create their homegrown stories and really kind of spread and scale those.

So two things in that. One is, are many producers or filmmakers in India where their stories are not necessarily confined to state of Maharashtra, but there is an angle in that story where they need to have that story happening in the foreign countries. Now, NAFA is actually going to provide that platform because there are some filmmakers who are now partnered with us where they're 20 minutes, 25 minutes of work. They want to do it in US and then on that backdrop.

because the story demands that. But then instead of they bringing all the crew and cast here, which is very costly and very logistically challenging, now they are going to come only a director and a main artist and the rest of the infrastructure we will provide. And now, for example, 30 years ago, when America started providing the software outsourcing to India, I the film outsourcing is happening other way around. And we are doing it more like that.

You're getting that cross current there, right? Yeah. Well, that's great. And then, of course, I know that there are workshops and the ability for people to grow this from the ground up.

So you have sort of a bilateral approach, right? I you have the platform and the infrastructure for those who are already the experts. And then you have kind of the master classes and the substrate for people to sort of grow that here. I've heard very, very smart investors who probably share the same sentiment where they say, whatever you do in your investment dollar, don't get involved in restaurants and definitely don't get involved in movies. They'll just break your heart sometimes.

Speaker 2 (19:50.626)
My question and even curiosity to this is in this process, maybe what have you had to unlearn a little bit of or sort of unbiased yourself or even let go of when it comes to the Marathi film business?

You can be commercially smart or you can be passionately enthusiast. Now you can choose one. In my healthcare business, I think I will not do anything which is passionately enthusiastic activity like the way I'm doing in the films. In the films, I think, as you said rightly, it's a bad idea to invest in the films and restaurant business because both of those are the perishable products and they have their certain shelf life and that is the big challenge.

But at the same point of time, if you can really establish that as an industry, that essentially triggers my interest as an entrepreneur. And then if the Marathi film industry that was established in India, which is not necessarily only Marathi, but it became more like an Indian film industry by Dadasaheb Phalke in 1913, and then in America,

that can be reestablished, can be re-nurtured, can be mentored in a proper way. And I think this can create a lot of opportunities for the next generation. So I think it is also my give back to the society that can we be that conduit to establish that infrastructure so that more and more people can come forward, they can produce more films, people get more jobs, they get more revenues. I think that whole industry can come up.

Right, building an ecosystem. mean, you mentioned that word that like if you hit it, right, it actually can be incredibly enduring and have that longevity and just like a good restaurant you want to go back to and the same thing you want to revisit more more. Is the goal then to provide some sort of North American Harischandrachi factory? Is that the eventual idea?

Speaker 1 (21:42.638)
That's correct. So we have already created three short films so far last year. We produced three short films this year as well. Now our crew and cast and members are all in place. So the reason we produce short films is because we wanted to play Ranji Trophy before we play Test Cricket in terms of the cricket terminologies. And I think we have successfully done that. All of our short films those were produced last year went to different festivals. People are appreciating it and all those three films are based on the stories related to

land of America. So as you rightly said, know, producing Harish Chandraji factory of America is something that is definitely on our cards. And now we are in the process now to start our first feature film production, which will be the first Marathi film produced in US that will go across the globe.

Definitely a universal dashboard that's out there and lots of big goals. NAFA's first festival was last year and this year promises to be even brighter, shine and even more prominence. We talked a little bit about this but in an era where watching movies with other people in a theater or in a group seems to be taking a backseat to the content that I can see right on my phone or we can consume at any moment, any time of the day with just sort of a

dizzying amount of choices, right? It's just a universe of so many different choices that are out there. Why are festivals and gatherings and discussions and workshops and screenings like this actually so valuable and important? What's the value add in 2025 where in fact I can at the drop of a hat actually have some of that in my fingertips?

Yeah, so I think I agree with what your viewpoint is and I think that's where the industry is transforming, transitioning. People used to watch movies in the theaters 10 years ago and 20 years ago and 30 years ago. But then maybe introduction of the video tapes, introduction of the CDs, introduction of the satellite-based viewing of the films and now the streaming of the data is of course going to be a technological transformation that world is going through.

Speaker 1 (23:51.758)
At the same point of time, are still people who would love to watch the movies because it's a different experience if you go to the theaters. Now, the people are going to theaters if they want to watch something bigger than life or just for the grandeur. Marathi movies normally doesn't come with the grandeur. They come with the topic of the subject which touches them. So there is no hero or heroine in Marathi movie. There is an actor, but the hero of the movie is actually the story. Now, if you are going to watch that story on your cell phone,

versus in the theater. It doesn't matter. I completely agree with you. But the reason that we are celebrating the festival is for people to go forward and start watching movies. How they watch doesn't matter to us. If they watch on the cell phone, perfect. If they watch in the theaters, perfect. But we want them to watch it. We want them to be aware that there are such contents available. Because even for us, when we are starting to take those contents to the audiences, we are not saying that we should be only in the theaters. We are also going to push it on our OTT channels. Like for example, NAFA.

is giving a 360 degree experience. So productions, film distribution, film festival. Now we also have Nafa radio. So we are the Marathi channel where we are now promoting the contents. We want people to listen to those songs. We want people to hear those interviews. And now we are launching Nafa OTT as our fifth offering where we will be offering the Marathi contents at their fingertips. So theater, OTT, doesn't matter. Go and watch Marathi contents is what we are emphasizing on.

Seems like, you know, so many spokes off of the same hub, right? There's a Maraki film story and you can sort of appreciate that in any avenue. It does come back full circle to people gathering around the Durr version TV set a little bit. But on top of that, I think there's huge value to...

gathering and making sure that there is some connection, some community and more importantly, relationship development, right? Because the relationship is not only just with the film, but it's with the people who are around that film. Let me get you out of here on this in the sense that we started this conversation talking about our own sort of first film experiences. And I want to end, you know, just a twist of that, where for those who are either attending a NAFA film event, this festival for the first time,

Speaker 2 (26:01.91)
or even perhaps watching and enjoying a Marathi film for the first time. How do you hope they feel after that experience?

To answer that question, let me also add a little bit of different dimension to this. So this year what we are doing is that in addition to the film festival, we have also organized the Marathi Red Carpet and Marathi Awards Night. So people know Cannes Film Festival more because of the red carpet than the film festival as a content. But that is where there are maybe one or two celebrities come there from the Marathi film industry to showcase themselves. Now here we are saying that, this is a dedicated platform of North America.

Come and showcase yourself. We are part of it. So we are having like 14 celebrities coming from Marathi film industry as well as Bollywood industry, including Amol Palakar, Sachin Khedekar, Mahesh Kothare. We are also going to have the youngsters like Vaidey Parshurami, Adinath Kothare, Swapnil Joshi. They are coming on this platform.

to showcase their abilities. But at the same point of time, we also have one of the big Marathi name, he is a big Bollywood director, Madhur Bhandarkar. He is also showcasing his work at Nafa Film Festival. So along with them, we are creating that experience of red carpet.

where more and more people will now come and that will also be getting more and more local talent in addition to the youngsters because we want to attract the youngsters to this community. And then that is where when the youngsters start adding a value, then that whole dynamic changes, that whole energy level changes. So this is what is going to happen this year. In addition to that, we are having the movie screenings which are happening like the first time movies. Nobody has even seen those movies because those are not even released in the market. So we'll be releasing four movies this year in Nafa Film Festival.

Speaker 1 (27:41.652)
Our own short films, short film competitions, student spotlight competitions. And then we also have a lot of master classes that people can learn from these experts. At the same point of time, the panel discussions, we are also having the sound workshop this time. So we are trying to give the experience to people that suppose everybody knows about this movie, Sholey. And we are saying that, OK, suppose you were in that movie, how will that look like? And now we are going to demonstrate that thanks to the technological advancements.

right here in the Bay Area and the Silicon Valley that we are able to simulate that for

I mean, something for everyone, when someone is at one of these events and they experience the red carpet, or for that matter, they learn about it later and they get inspired to, in fact, now watch a monarchy film. mean, coming back to our own first experiences, you know, now that they learn a little bit more, they get the buzz that's out there. And in a way, they see both the glamour and the, I think, hard work that goes back into this. How do you hope those first timers feel again after?

they've experienced this for the first time. What do you hope they are thinking to themselves and maybe what questions do you hope they're asking about?

Speaker 1 (28:47.31)
You know, these first timers will certainly get interested because and you see first of all they will come to this festival because there is some connect in their mind and we certainly know that that we cannot force people to speak Marathi or learn Marathi and this is they are willing to do that and we are not we are in this country of freedom and freedom of expressions where we do not want to enforce anybody to what they should do. We are telling them that there are better avenues. Why don't you consider that? And if we are touching that natural instinct in a human being

And if the human being get attracted towards that, that's a long lasting effect. And then from that perspective, when these first timers come and get attached, like for example, look at the way last year we did the festival. It was a sold out event. People loved it. And I really did not want to do it like every year. But then, you know, like because of so much of a demand, we decided to do this year also. And in addition to that, we also plan this awards night on red carpet. So I think we are getting a lot of feedback.

we are working on that feedback so that we can learn from that and we can improve from that. So last year when we did the first film festival, it was a completely new ballgame for us because I had done production and distribution, but I never planned a festival. then we could successfully pull it through thanks to all my volunteers and our executive committee members. But this year, the way we are trying to do it, even at a different level that we are trying to reach. We want people to note that there is something called as Marathi. We want people to note that there is something called as a sensible cinema.

they want to connect these two dots, they can come and attend this. Because this year we are also going to get lots of non-Maharashtrian speaking community to come and watch our movies because all our movies are with English subtitles.

And this is the spirit of it, right? So for people to have a great amount of enduring, lasting impressions of Marathi film, I think these kinds of events are going to go very, very far. Abhi, thank you so much for joining and know, I am really happy and I am and and the entire NAFA team here. Really a wonderful treat talking to you.

Speaker 1 (30:49.688)
Thank you so much. Thanks for having me. Come and watch Napa Film Festival. It's an experience happening on 25th, 26th and 27th of July at California Theater San Jose. Thank you.

Thanks so much again and you can learn more about NAFA and the Film Festival at nafafilmfestival.com. Till next time, I'm Abhay Darnika.