Doubt if we can release Jaaon Kahan... theatrically: Director

Mumbai : Aadish Keluskar, director of "Jaaon Kahan Bata Ae Dil" which won the Young Critics Choice Award at the 20th Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival with Star, says he is doubtful if the movie will have a theatrical release. He feels a digital release will help it reach out to a wider audience.

"I doubt if we can release 'Jaaon Kahan Bata Ae Dil' theatrically. Considering the rules and regulation that we have, to get certification of our film from the Central Board of Film Certification, we do not think we can release the film in cinemas. So we would rather prefer to release it digitally.

"I think if we really want to reach out to the progressive India -- the young minds -- digital platform is the only way out because even though the theatrical release and watching film on big screen has its own magnitude, unless it's a big canvas film, our potential audience prefers to watch a story on the move. Therefore, the screen size is much smaller," Keluskar told IANS in an interview.

The story of the film revolves around a relationship between a man and a woman. The director said that has come sub-consciously but the decision to turn it into a film came in the later stage of his thinking process when the story started resonating with him.

"At times we write a lot of things and they remain in our notebook and are not compelling enough to make into a film. So a point comes where a piece of writing goes leads to a catharsis and starts to resonate in the mind," said the director, who has earlier made films like "Kaul- A Calling" and shorts like "Zero By Zero", "I Love You Too" and "An Encounter".

"Jaaon Kahan Bata Ae Dil" is produced by Preety Ali and Vinay Mishra of Humaramovie.

At the Mumbai Film Festival, the film was nominated in multiple categories, including for the 'Oxfam Award for Best Film On Gender Equality.

According to Keluskar, the story of the film has been told from a female perspective of the relationship.

The film's lead actress is Khushboo Upadhyay, an FTII alumnus. The lead actor is Rohit Kokate from Osmanabad.

Keluskar is well-aware that the film industry is quite star-driven.

Asked why he did not approach any popular face to be a part of the film, he said: "Firstly I am one of those filmmakers who does not come under that huge circuit of stars, and I know this for a fact that if stars are doing some experimental film, that is quite a marketing driven decision.

"If a star has a certain fan following, they are serving to their fans through their films. It is nothing wrong because the film is an expensive art and making money is important.

"Having said that I let the story to be the star, and that is why I worked with actors who look real on-screen, like a character. I think these two practices are different but none of them is wrong. It's okay. It can co-exist."