Renuka Shahane's dark debut

When Puneites saw Renuka Shahane's directorial debut Rita, they didn't expect the movie to be so dark that they couldn't see a thing.

So, after several complaints, Prabhat theatre has put up a board stating the movie will appear dark, as most of the scenes were shot at night. This, however, has not gone down well with Shahane and the film's distributor and they've blamed the poor quality of the projector. "I wanted the film to be shot in natural light and cannot change the lighting pattern just because projectors are bad," said Shahane.

But Prabhat theatre's general manager, Balkrishna Bhide, insists they're not to blame. "Our cinema hall has upgraded the technology, so there is no problem with the machine. But since I have received complaints from the audience, I decided to put up the board."

Disappointed
Nilima Hardikar, who watched the movie was upset. She said, "Isn't it strange that the theatre owner has put up a board clarifying the movie when the director or distributor have not even realised the problem? Whatever the problem may be, the dark scenes are a dampener."

Another viewer, Veena Lele, said, "I liked the movie, but I felt the day scenes should have been more clearer."

Shahane, meanwhile, added that similar complaints have been registered at another theatre in Pune too. Rahul Aksar, the distributor of the film, said, "I will send my technical expert to check what needs to be done to resolve the issue."