It’s all for love of movies

Ashay Film Club conducts film festivals where members get to see quality cinema

It's all for love of movies

Ashay Film Club conducts film festivals where members get to see quality cinema

Some watch films for pure entertainment, others for catharsis. Those who are passionate about it go a little deeper. Interacting with members of Ashay Film Club and being part of it makes you realise that for them, films is more than drama, dance and music.

The film club was formed in 1985, by a group of college mates Satish Jakatdar, Pradeep Apte, Vandana Bhalle and others.

"It was around this time that the film society was growing as a movement. About four to five film clubs had formed and had become active in Maharashtra. They wanted to create a place where hardcore film buffs could watch quality cinema," says Virendra Chitrav, secretary of the club. Today, the club has more than 2,300 members who get to see about 80 films a year. These are not screened at movie theatres. They also conduct about 80 events based on films and literature. However, it's not only about films here. The members attend open forum discussions on films, book releases and various cultural and film festivals.

Tough journey
The journey so far has been easy for the club. Throwing more light on their early days, Chitrav said that in 1987 the club had hosted a film festival on Marathi comedy cinema and it had become a huge success. After, that there were various other festivals including the Raja Paranjpe film festival in 1985 which was also well-received by the members.

But the club faced a setback in 1992 with the onset of new television channels.

"It was during this period that trouble started for the film society movement. Between 1992 and 1997, the activities in the club were weakened," Chitrav said. "Jakatdar and I conducted a survey among doctors, writers, industrialists and found out what they were looking at and how we can fulfill their requirements."u00a0
The club started off with an audio-visual presentation on Marathi films for the next three years which became popular and popularity of Marathi cinema began to rise.

Pulotsav
The club now hosts events like the Asian Film Festival and Pulotsav (a tribute to P L Deshpande, an accomplished film and stage actor and music composer). The festival has gained immense popularity not only in the city but also across the country. They also felicitate prominent film personalities every year during the festival. During the Pulotsav, the Ashay Film Club gives away the P L Memorial Award. They also organise film appreciation courses at the National Film Archives of India (NFAI) and stock books related to the films.

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