The team of Chumbak, the first Marathi feature film ever to be presented by Akshay Kumar unveiled its film poster and teaser this Thursday, 28th June.
The poster depicts the three key characters of the film caught in a strange situation outside the Reserve Bank of India in Mumbai. The mobile repairer Disco who is called the ‘Expert of all cons’ on the poster, the waiter boy Baalu, called ‘RBI governor’s assistant’ and an gullible looking Prasanna played by Swanand Kirkire called the ‘Best Scapegoat to con’ adorn this heartwarming and quirky poster.
The teaser too of this Sandeep Modi directed film is an intriguing watch, as we see Swanand Kirkire’s Prasanna and Sahil Jadhavs character Baalu fight it out in their own sweet way for the window on their bus ride together.
The Marathi film industry has been abuzz ever since Akshay Kumar took to social media to speak his heart out in Marathi about the film Chumbak which is the first film presented by him. The film is produced by Aruna Bhatia and Naren Kumar and is a Kyra Kumar Kreations Production.
The Team Chumbak had also recently released the first look of three key characters in the film. One of them was Prasanna Thombre played by the two-time National Award winner noted lyricist, singer, musician and writer Swanand Kirkire. Acting in a leading role for the first time, Swanand Kirkire plays the role of a mentally slow simpleton from a village near Solapur.
“Nominated for the Best Actor award at the recently concluded New York Indian Film festival, Swanand Kirkire was the top choice for the character as he has the innocence of a child which Prasanna’s role needed” says director Sandeep Modi. He credits producer Naren Kumar and writer Saurabh Bhave for suggesting Swanand Kirkire’s name for this unconventional choice, as this is the first time he is playing a main character in this movie.
Swanand says “I had assumed that the team wanted to meet me for its music, but I was taken aback once I realized they wanted me to act, that too in a leading role, that too in one of the toughest ones I have ever heard! But listening to the script and the faith the team had, we dived into it all including me, Sandeep, Saurabh and Naren”.
“Building on the part of a mentally slow naive man with our own personal observations of people around us and extensive research with doctors and counsels working in this area, we all built this part together brick by brick, with the love and dignity we wanted to bring to it”, says director Sandeep Modi.
Other poster released was that of ‘Disco’ played by debutant teen actor Sangram Desai who hails from a village near Kolhapur. Disco is a migrant mobile repairer in Mumbai. The casting team led by Romil Modi and Tejas Thakkar unexpectedly discovered Sangram from a village near Kolhapur. Playing a part of a street smart migrant, Sangram who had never been to Mumbai spent a month in the city observing and learning its pulse under the guidance of director Sandeep Modi and writer Saurabh Bhave to build the part. Acting for the first time, Sangram even learnt the basics of repairing a phone for preparing the part.
Baalu was one of the three key characters to have its poster released first two weeks ago. Baalu, played by debutant teen actor Sahil Jadhav from Pune, is a restaurant waiter boy who lives to fulfil his one little dream. The heart warming poster depicts the character very effectively. Sahil Jadhav is a young school teen from Pune who is facing camera for the first time with Chumbak.
Having never faced the camera prior to this, Sahil had to quickly dive deep into the part and went through two weeks of workshops and training with director Sandeep Modi and writer and Saurabh Bhave to prepare for it. Leaving no stone unturned, Sahil worked in a restaurant to prepare for the part, living with them for days.
Chumbak presented by Akshay Kumar, will be released all over Maharashtra on 27th of July 2018.
