Mrinal Kulkarni is known for her acting skills with her latest film being ‘Kashmir Files’ but in the last few years, she had shown her prowess in directing films too like ‘Rama Madhav’, ‘Prem Mhanje Prem Mhanje Prem Asta’ and ‘Ti and Ti’. ‘Sahela Re’ is her recent directorial film and stars Sumeet Raghavan, Subodh Bhave and Mrinal in the lead role. Produced by Planet Marathi, the only OTT that exclusively streams Marathi content worldwide.’Sahela Re’ was released on the platform in October 2022 and was an instant hit.
“The medium is something new and through the release of the film, I instantly reached my audience in so many countries. This film has been my weapon. It revolves around a man who live in the US and the woman that he went to college with is living in India. They meet after 22 years at the college reunion and it brings back old memories. Even though apart, this man was always thinking about what she must be doing in herself. She knew about him having a crush on her but because of this unspoken attraction, she married and is now living with her husband and children,” explains Mrinal about ‘Sahela Re’.
She further adds, “After the reunion, he travels to her house which is quite away from the city. She is now living in a secured environment and has lost herself as a woman. They spend an unplanned day together with moments of laughter, tears all in a day. He tries to bring back her confidence. After he returns to the US, she writes to him that every woman needs a Sahela which also means Krishna in her life, to give her support and courage without being intimate, which can be the beginning of a new relationship.”
Mrinal was surprised with the feedback that the film received online. “The platform sends the statistics in a month and I was very happy to see such a huge viewership. What made a difference is that people started talking about the film and discussing it on social media as soon as they watched the film on the first day itself. Planet Marathi is doing well because it focuses on Marathi content only and very soon Goa also will have Planet Goem,” she says.
Most directors have a preference on whether the audience is more vocal on offline screenings or online screenings. Mrinal feels that the audience interactions are more visible whether online or offline. “In the theatre, it is not visible to see the reactions of the audience except for their laughs for a comedy film. Only if there is a Q&A session followed by the screening that you can understand what the audience loved about the film. Since ‘Sahela Re’ is a subtle film, there was a lot of online interactions with the audience,” she explains.
Mrinal’s son, Virajas Kulkarni, is also a director and is equally involved in theatre. His theatre group, Theatron, recently completed 11 years in September 2022. His latest directorial offering was ‘Victoria – Ek Rahasya.’ Speaking about her dynamics with her son, she says, “The film has done very well and it is a completely different film in the horror genre. As a director, he has been formally trained while I have learnt more through my experience so he adds to my knowledge and we share a great relationship. Now since he married Shivani, an actress, it has added a more theatre and film atmosphere in the house. We are a majority in the family and my husband, who is a lawyer feels left out.”
Speaking about her upcoming projects, Mrinal has lots of work in her hand. “I am directing two films and I am also directing a web series with 8-10 episodes. It is too early to talk about the web series. The films are titled, ‘Lagna Vigna’ which is romcom while ‘Phakta mahila Sathi’ is a light movies with a thread of suspense.”
How does she spend her day? “I am a workaholic. If I am not acting, writing or directing, I love to cook, read books and I am a huge movie buff. I love reading books on biographies and autobiographies and romance and short stories. I feel like 24 hours are not enough,” says Mrinal Kulkarni, who loves visiting Goa especially over long weekends to take a break from a hectic work environment.
Mrinal is no stranger to the Konkani film industry in Goa. She was the lead in ‘A Rainy Day’ directed by Rajendra Talak. “Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to watch any Konkani films but I do have a few friends in the industry who tell me about the films. I enjoyed working in the film and since Konkani is similar to Marathi, I could deliver the dialogues. I’m open to Konkani films,” she says
with optimism.
