Bhai is an ambitious undertaking considering the vast scope of work as well as the responsibility to please the phenomenal fan base of P L Deshpande.īhai sees Manjrekar teaming up with the renowned playwright Ratnakar Matkari. A veteran director of more than 30 films, Mahesh Manjrekar has handled a vast variety of subjects, from comedy to crime and everything in-between, but the biopic is a genre he hadn’t yet touched upon. Backed by Viacom 18, the film is in two parts, Poorvardh and Uttarardh, releasing in January and February respectively. The year begins with one of the most awaited films of the year - a biopic on P L Deshpande, among the greatest humorists of our times. █ 01 Bhai – Vyakti Ki Valli (Poorvardh & Uttarardh) Kashinath Ghanekar, Naal and Mumbai Pune Mumbai 3, which pulled large crowds into the theatres, raising the bar for the coming year. The year ended on a high note with a number of successful films like Ani Dr. Happily, the number of Marathi shorts and documentaries was unusually large in the non-fi ction category of the Panorama, which more or less compensated for it. Although the unexpectedly low number of feature fi lms in the fi ction category of the Indian Panorama at International Film Festival of India was a surprise in 2018, we can overlook this as a oneoff incidence and hope for a better performance this year. The uncertainty of the past couple of years has disappeared and the industry is ready to face new challenges. The year 2018 was a good one for the Marathi film industry, which seems to have gotten back on its feet. The success of 2018 raises the bar for films releasing this year