Debut Marathi Film 'Magazine' Brings Rural Nostalgia to the Big Screen

Debut writer-director Shubham Shevade has released his Marathi indie feature film titled Magazine in theatres on October 23. The film tells the story of an urban teenager named Velu from Pune who goes to his ancestral village of Dattawad in Maharashtra to find a deeper meaning in life. The protagonist's journey mirrors the filmmaker's own life experiences, as Shubham previously studied filmmaking in Los Angeles after graduating in Engineering from Pune. He worked in LA for three years and made short films before deciding to return to India during the pandemic to tell stories from his motherland.

Making The Film

Shubham came up with the idea for the film after visiting Dattawad, the village of his wife and producer Aparna Kulkarni. He began photographing the village and noticed that locals saw the place differently compared to his outsider perspective. The film was shot in the heart of village life, capturing lush green sugarcane fields, large trees, and a 100-year-old swing in an aged mansion. Before writing the screenplay, Shubham worked on a storyboard with a basic premise to build a visually driven experience. The 45-page screenplay later comprised 45 scenes written in images without dialogue, and actors received their lines just two days before the shoot.

Release And Screening

Theatrical release happened during a busy time when multiple Hindi and Marathi movies were fighting for screens. Shubham and Aparna planned a strategy to take the film to limited screens first and increase shows based on audience reception to avoid losses. Despite people telling them not to make the project, the creators held a premiere at Dattawad attended by more than 2,500 people under the open sky. Promotional events included trailer launches in schools, theatre groups, and acting institutes.

Context

Independent regional cinema in India often relies on unconventional storytelling and personal experiences rather than large studio budgets. Filmmakers taking the indie route frequently use grassroots promotion strategies and limited-screen releases to build word-of-mouth momentum in local markets.