Marathi feature Ghaath to make its World Premiere at the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival

The new year is starting on a high note for film studio Platoon One Films, with their exciting new feature Ghaath set to make its World Premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival, one of the world’s leading film festivals to be held in Berlin from 16-26 February 2023. Written and directed by Chhatrapal Ninawe in his feature debut, the film is a slow-burn thriller set on the fringes of India’s Maoist-affected jungles and revolves around the tense interplay between guerrillas, civilians and the police.

Excited and overwhelmed in equal measure, Chhatrapal says, “It was a long, hard and adventurous journey, but I’m so honoured to finally be premiering our film at the Berlinale, home to so many artists that have inspired us along the way. Ghaath is a film about trust, betrayal and ambush. It is a thriller which goes deep into the jungles and deeper into the psyche of its characters. I’m grateful to Platoon One Films and Drishyam Films for having faith in our film, and I hope it finds its audience in Berlin, India and beyond.”

Actor Jitendra Joshi says, “Shooting on location in the jungles of central India was certainly difficult and challenging, but this incredible news makes it seem all worth it. The whole cast and crew worked so hard on the film – so it’s a big win for the team, for Marathi cinema, and for Indian cinema as a whole.”

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Actor Milind Shinde says, “Ghaath is a very unique Marathi film, right from the subject to the screenplay to storytelling. The story itself is the hero of the film! It’s a proud moment for us all that our hard work will be showcased on the silver screen in Berlin.” Actor Suruchi Adarkar adds, “Ghaath is a very realistic film, and most people don’t know the realities of these situations and these regions. I hope the film reaches as many people as possible.”

The film is produced by Platoon One’s Shiladitya Bora and Drishyam’s Manish Mundra, both well-known in the industry for backing fresh talent and pushing the envelope of Indian films internationally, along with Milapsinh Jadeja and Sanyukta Gupta, and stars acclaimed Marathi actors such as Milind Shinde (Har Har Mahadev and Babu Band Baja) and Jitendra Joshi (Tukaram, Godavari, and Sacred Games) as well as Suruchi Adarkar, Dhananjay Mandaokar and Janardan Kadam.

After 2017’s award-winning hit film Newton, Ghaath marks producers Shiladitya Bora and Manish Mundra’s second outing at the Berlinale, as the Rajkummar Rao starrer had also made its world premiere at Berlinale in 2017 and later went on to become India’s official entry to the Oscars.

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Starting 2023 with such great news, producer Shiladitya Bora shares “At the heart of Ghaath is a powerful and unique story, and I have immense faith in Chhatrapal’s craft. We are thrilled that our film is embarking on its journey into the world with such a prestigious and wonderful platform as the Berlinale, and plan to bring it to our audiences back home soon after.” Bora had earlier produced the Marathi feature Picasso in 2017 starring Prasad Oak which went on to bag a Special Mention at the National Film Awards and also became Amazon Prime Video’s first Marathi acquisition.

Manish Mundra, founder-producer of Drishyam Films, says “At Drishyam Films, we’ve been making award-winning cinema for almost a decade now, but Ghaath is very close to my heart as it is our first regional feature. I’m so excited to be back at the Berlinale with this film, and grateful to the team that has given it all to make this dream possible.”

To celebrate the news, the makers have released an intriguing first look poster for the film. Slated for a Summer 2023 release, Ghaath is produced by Platoon One Films and Drishyam Films.