Marathi filmmaker Hemant Dhome came into his own just after Covid. His 2021 release Jhimma, about seven women who travel to England as part of a tour group, pulled pandemic-weary families out of their homes and into cinemas.
Jhimma underlined Dhome’s talent for comedy and handling a diverse cast as he tucked themes of sisterhood, independence and self-realisation into a feel-good story.
Dhome has since directed Sunny (2022) and Jhimma 2 (2023). His latest film Fussclass Dhabade will be out in cinemas on January 24. The film explores the relationship between the three Dhabade siblings who come together for the youngest brother’s wedding.
Kshitee Jog (who is married to Dhome in real life) plays the eldest sister, Siddharth Chandekar is the middle brother, and Amey Wagh is the one whose nuptials run into unforeseen complications.
The story of a comically dysfunctional family is not exactly new, Dhome acknowledged in an interview with Scroll. “I have focused on relatable characters because even after much effort, how many new stories can there be,” the 39-year-old filmmaker said. “It’s the presentation and the characters that can bring newness. The film is funny and emotional, relatable and real. It’s the story of every home.”
The plot is partly based on Dhome’s experiences with his younger sister and weddings in his family. Fussclass Dhabade has been largely filmed in Mansar and Narayangaon in the Pune district, where Dhome grew up.
These places may not as buzzing as Maharashtra’s largest cities, but their residents are up to speed with the latest trends, in addition to being rooted enough to avoid moving away, Dhome said. “There is less of a compulsion to move to a big city like Mumbai or Pune – you can achieve whatever you want where you live itself,” Dhome added. “The exposure, the networks, they are all there in cities like Aurangabad, Nashik and Kolhapur.”
Fussclass Dhabade hopes to reflect this dynamic, while also expanding the scope of the wedding movie. “The film also deals with certain issues, such as a married couple that is unable to have children, or the taboo on discussing sex within families,” Dhome said. “Arranged marriages take place without checking for sexual compatibility – the couple is expected to deal with the problem on their own.”
The trailer points to a production that brings to Marathi cinema themes that have been hugely popular in Bollywood – large families with quirky members, strained ties that reach breaking point during a gathering, an elaboration of wedding rituals. Fussclass Dhabade has been produced by Dhome and Jog along with T-Series and Colour Yellow Productions. The involvement of Bollywood producers gave Dhome a larger budget and a bigger canvas, he said.
“I love the dysfunctional family genre, films like Dil Dhadakne Do and Kapoor & Sons,” Dhome added. “There are also films like Hum Aapke Hain Koun and Hum Saath Saath Hain, which we don’t often see in Marathi cinema. My film isn’t exactly like these movies, but is my own take on them.”
Dhome incorporated some of the lessons from Jhimma 2 into Fussclass Dhabade, especially about the balance between comedy and emotions. Jhimma 2 had a weaker plot and less memorable characters, which cut into its collections.
“Jhimma was more fun and it had the element of newness too,” Dhome observed. “Jhimma was like a day out, especially for women. For Kshitee and me, that film will always be close to our hearts. But Jhimma 2 was a bit too emotional. This time, we have gone back into the fun zone.”
Given Dhome’s track record, expectations are high from Fussclass Dhabade. The film’s theatrical run will be closely watched by trackers of Marathi cinema, which faces intense competition from Hindi releases in Maharashtra.
Marathi filmmakers need to update their playbook if they want to stay relevant to their core audience, Dhome said.
“We as makers have failed to build trust between audiences and films,” he observed. Taking viewers for granted, ignoring their increased appetite for movies in other Indian languages as well from around the world, forgetting that audiences will patiently wait for a film to be out on a streamer or on television rather than watch it in a theatre – none of these pre-pandemic assumptions work anymore.
“We need to up our game for sure,” Dhome said. “We need to accept that audiences are much more exposed to all kinds of films after the pandemic. They know about colour correction and camera angles. We have no choice but to improve.”
Films such as Drishyam, Kantara and Pushpa 2 earned their highest collections in Mumbai and Pune. This suggests that Marathi viewers are not staying away from theatres – rather, only from Marathi films that don’t give them similar highs, Dhome added.
But it isn’t enough to mimic non-Marathi films – Marathi filmmakers need to make stories rooted in the cultural ethos, Dhome said.
“Viewership is fragmented these days – you need films that will appeal to families, that Marathi audiences feel come out of their own worlds,” he pointed out. “It won’t work to blindly follow trends.”
No amount of marketing can rescue a film with a weak trailer or indifferent songs, Dhome said. “Until people feel compelled to watch a film, they won’t turn out, how much ever you market it. You have to give audiences a visual language that is cinematic. If audiences don’t turn out for a film, it’s not on them. It’s on the filmmakers.”
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wrote a bunch of scripts before turning director with Baghtos Kay Mujra Kar in 2017. Dhome
