“Soham is directed by Datta Bhandare. It’s going to be a well-budgeted film and there’s depth in the story and the characters of the film. The plot of this film is that we have westernised English education at a level which is not necessary at all. If we bring richness to our languages and learn them, that is a very commendable thing. Like in the film, the school where I was shooting, there were students who were 12 to 13 years old going in a line, in a disciplined manner but were fighting in Sanskrit. Can you imagine that? We are living in India, we speak Hindi language, follow Hindu culture and religion is Hindu and we don’t know anything about Sanskrit but there are songs of Sanskrit, there is a subject, teaching is happening in Sanskrit. This is a matter of concern in our education system. What have we lost and what should we do or what should we follow, which footsteps to follow, with the help of this movie, we will show the way,” he says.
The film is significant for Navin. “Of course, it’s a different film for me. I’m playing the role of the male protagonist and the whole story is being shown through me. I’m negative at first, then I lead and make the public believe and aware that we forcefully invest and spend so much money on the education system and culture which is unwanted and how it is unwanted is shown in this film. The subject of the film is very deep. I think this film will do wonders and the audience who will watch this film will appreciate it,” he says.
Talking about balancing Marathi and Hindi Projects, he says, “I think balancing working in the Marathi or Hindi industry it’s easy because you’re comfortable in both the languages and you have the experience and you have faced good, bad, ugly experiences and you can now focus on working. It’s just a thin line between Marathi and Hindi language.”
However, he has a long way to go in Marathi cinema, says the actor, adding, “I don’t think my potential has come out that much till date or the directors have been successful in taking my talent. I have done 4 – 5 big films and 3 films are yet to be released. I don’t think just by working in 8 to 10 films, your talent shines. In the Marathi industry, we have so many talented people, be it comedians, directors, story writers, people who have knowledge about technical things. I never get tired of praising them because they have their own identity. If you watch television shows, comedy shows, everyone has made their mark in the industry. I love to appreciate them and would love to work with them.”
He says, “The Marathi industry has flourished in recent years. The talents of Marathi Industry, in terms of directing, writing, acting, are world famous and get National Awards. Every year there are one or two movies that get noticed and people across the world, even if they are not Maharashtrians, they appreciate it. This is a matter of pride.”
The audience has also changed, he says, “The audience has become very sharp. They watch only good content. They know where to spend money. So be it new actors, the senior actors, the known actors, the Marathi audience loves them. And if your first film is a hit, they do go watch films in theatres again of those actors and directors. And I think our Marathi audience is quite alert and aware and they do go watch if the content is good. If not, they wait for the film to premiere on TV. They enjoy themselves at home and comment about it. Through social media they comment about the movie. ” Their taste has definitely evolved and reached the upper level,” he says.