Mumbai, “Gondhal”, the Marathi psychological thriller selected as India’s official entry for the 99th Academy Awards, will have exclusive preview screenings in six cities from October 9, ahead of its worldwide theatrical release in six languages, the makers announced on Friday.
Written and directed by Santosh Davakhar, the film will be previewed in Mumbai, Pune, Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru. Set against the backdrop of Gondhal, a traditional ritual of rural Maharashtra featuring music, dance and mythology, the film revolves around a newlywed couple. “This is a story born from Maharashtra’s cultural soil, and we have always believed that its atmosphere, sound and visual world should be experienced collectively in a theatre. After the honour of representing India at the Oscars, it feels especially meaningful to open the doors of the film to audiences. I hope viewers enter the theatre without preconceived notions and allow the story, the culture and its psychological journey to speak for themselves,” the director added.
After the previews, the film will release more widely in Marathi, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada in India and overseas, the makers said in a statement. The film follows Suman, a suffocating young bride, who uses her lover Sarjerao’s obsession in Gondhal ritual and turns sacred tradition into a deadly chess match, according to the official synopsis. “For us, these previews are more than just early screenings; they are an opportunity to bring ‘Gondhal’ back to audiences for whom the theatrical experience was always at the heart of the film,” Davakhar said.
