A train of thought

IT IS one Marathi film that is definitely grabbing eyeballs. Incidentally, it happens to be one of the strongest contenders in the International Marathi Film competition at PIFF this year. Dombivli Fast written and directed by Nishikant Kamat portrays the victims of large-scale non-chalance, laxity and insensitivity. Madhav Apte, a middle-aged, hassled banker who decides to clean the scum from the society by taking the law in his hands, makes for a thought-provoking protagonist.

“I just wanted to show a middle-class person in realistic, contemporary settings,” says Kamat who was inspired by Robert De Niro’s character in Taxi Driver and took one and a half years to pen the story. With a gripping narrative as its USP, Dombivli Fast makes for quality entertainment as well.

<What has also leveraged the film’s appeal is its marketing strategy. “It was a conscious decision to market the film aggressively. We even had personalities like Shobhaa De and film-maker Khalid Mohammad reviewing the film,” reveals Kamat who incidentally scripted the Neha Dhupia starrer Julie.

Kamat further delves into some more trivia about his first directorial venture. “Dombivli Fast was made with a budget of over Rs 50 lakhs, that is quite a big amount for a Marathi film. Actually, I would love to make a big budget, commercial film,” he says.

For someone who began his career as an assistant director in Marathi serials, Kamat has also dabbled in editing. He has also edited a few episodes of Hum Paanch. “I became a script writer due to lack of good work in the television industry,” he says candidly.

For the time being, Kamat is enjoying a busy work schedule. After having scripted a few Hindi films which await release, he will soon start work on two Hindi films as a director. And as for Dombivli Fast that is already been requested by American distributors for a release in the US, Kamat reveals that he has already applied for an entry for this year’s Cannes Film Festival.