Expect the unexpected

Adinath Kothare and Urmila Kanetkar Kothare in a still from Anvatt

By Aashay Khandekar

It is relatively easier to scare people by showing mutilated faces or by resorting to gore in films. A tried and tested formula in the horror genre, it has been used by many in the Marathi film industry. But intelligent psychological and supernatural thrillers may be few and far between.
Anvatt (The Unexpected) by National Award-winning director Gajjendra Ahirey, releasing on July 25, could probably bring the much-needed freshness to the genre. A suspense thriller, Anvatt is set in 1975 in a remote Konkani village, where a city couple arrives to live in an old mansion which is believed to be haunted. The husband, portrayed by Adinath Kothare, is a doctor and as a man of science, does not believe in paranormal occurrences. He insists on staying in the house despite some ghastly events. The plot thereon begins unraveling and sees him dig deep into the matter.
Kothare, who has acted in movies such as Full 3 Dhamaal (2008), Satrangi Re (2012), Zapatlela 2 (2013) and Hello Nandan (2014) — is stepping out of his “college boy” persona to play a character older than his age. “I play a doctor who is fearless and grounded. I am happy with my role because it has some depth. I have always stepped into the shoes of young characters. One feels happy as an actor when a director entrusts you with bigger roles. It shows you are growing as an actor,” says Kothare.
Urmila Kanetkar, Kothare’s wife, also plays his wife on-screen. “The experience will always be memorable for both of us. The location where we were shooting was actually very scary as there would be no electricity at night. To add to the spookiness, it used to rain heavily,” adds Kothare. To recreate the era, everything was changed — right from the get-up of the stars to the switches in the house.
But the best thing about the movie, he says, is the use of two Marathi classical songs sung originally by Asha Bhosle — Tarun aahe ratra ajuni and Ye re ghana. “These are my favourite Marathi songs. When Gajjendra told us he would be using them, I was excited. There have been many such experiments in Hindi but we have tried this for the first time in Marathi wherein songs which are romantic in nature have been used to create suspense. I was surprised to notice how their meanings change in a spooky setting,” says Kothare.
Other than Kothare and Kanetkar, the film has a strong star cast comprising Kishor Kadam, Makrand Anaspure, Vibhavari Deshpande and Bhargavi Chirmule. The music has been composed by Amar Mohile, who has previously worked on films like Sarkaar (2005) and Bhoot (2003). The cinematography has been done by FTII student Krishna Soren.