Stories from the past

When it was first scripted nearly two decades back,extremely hastily and under strict deadlines as a radio play on Mumbai Akashwani,its author never thought the journey would be so unremitting. Nearly two decades later and after having been scanned by every medium including the television and print,Bokya Satbande by Dilip Prabhawalkar is hitting the silver screen.

Shot in the city and directed by Raj Pendurkar,the film has three stories chosen from the collection of five sequels to the book. Bokya revolves around a 10-year-old boy,and his relations with acquaintances in the midst of humour,mischief and empathy. Incidentally Prabhawalkar,who recently received the Balsahitya Award for the book,also plays Belwandi Ajoba in the film. “When I wrote the stories my son was of Bokya’s age so I could gather a fair idea and understanding of their world and IQ. And quite unbelievably it became increasingly famous with many children writing to me and even interviewing on the books. Today its first three parts are in the twelfth edition and I recently wrote two more. Although the book is the best form of expression since the author is entirely responsible but cinema will always remain the most powerful and I believe both of them will have a reciprocal response in terms of popularity once the film is released,” adds Prabhawalkar.

Set to release on April 17 in Pune and Mumbai,the film is produced by Nishad Audio-Visuals. Aryan Narvekar plays the role of Bokya and the other artistes include Chitra Navathe,Vijay Kenkare,Jyoti Subhash and so on. The film has for songs written by Jitendra Joshi and directed by Shailendra Barve. “There are many films made on children,not for them. Being a principal I wanted to do something through the audio visual medium and these books have a subtle moral in every story. I am sure this film will help restore the children’s literature,” adds Kanchan Satpute,producer.

Although written in a generation gone by,Bokya continues to grab attention even from today’s children and Prabhawalkar plans to come up with another sequel as he adds,“Today’s children are very smart and knowledgeable hence when I proceed with a sequel I would have to introduce myself to the latest gadgets and so on. Even in the film we have modified a few scenes to suit the present trends. Although my character is kind of nasty to Bokya in the film,the actor in me is benefited by the author in me and vice versa .”