A story about a neglected voice: Directors Karan Chavan and Vikram Patil on ‘Imago’

Marathi film 'Imago' has been shortlisted for this year’s Oxfam Best Film on Gender Equality at MAMI 2018.
A story about a neglected voice: Directors Karan Chavan and Vikram Patil on ‘Imago’
A story about a neglected voice: Directors Karan Chavan and Vikram Patil on ‘Imago’
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Marathi film Imago has been shortlisted for this year’s Oxfam Best Film on Gender Equality at MAMI 2018. Imago is the story of Namrata, a shy and introvert teenage girl living in a small village in Maharashtra and suffers from leucoderma or vitiligo, a skin ailment. But the co-directors say that the film will work as a catalyst to change the negative perspective or approach of people towards the disease.

“We are trying to create a new vision. We are inviting you to look through our perspective where all are equal and beautiful in a thousand unique ways. Usually one tries to portray the pain and disgust the diseased character goes through, whereas Imago is a film that tries to portray the beauty of the character. Cinema as a medium allowed us to explore and portray this beauty,” explain Karan Chavan and Vikram Patil.

The director duo is excited that their debut film has been shortlisted for the Oxfam Best Film on Gender Equality at MAMI 2018 with the theme ‘Cinema Beyond Stereotypes’ and especially so since the story belongs to a neglected voice. They believe that cinema is changing and breaking stereotypes consistently. “It has become easier to tell stories of the characters that were neglected, rejected before. We think times are changing. The reason behind the same is the audience’s choice. They are accepting the content that we are producing and hence that gives us more strength to produce something true to our heart.”

The director duo is also very confident about the strides that regional cinema is making. “It is not as tough as it was a decade before. Firstly, festivals are availing great platform for regional filmmakers. Secondly various digital platforms, OTT platforms are giving us the opportunity to reach audiences nationwide. Also, the audiences are allowing themselves to watch films made in different regional languages with subtitles.”

Nine films have been shortlisted for the Oxfam Best Film on Gender Equality in 2018. The winner of the Oxfam Best Film on Gender Equality Award 2018 at MAMI for this year will be announced on November 1st, 2018 - on the closing night of the festival.

 

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