Just when Marathi cinema was ready to rock, with two stupendously successful new ventures Valu and Tingya, came a spoiler last week. Bharatmata Cinema -- the only theatre in Mumbai to screen only Marathi films since 1941 -- yet again faces the threat of being pulled down by the National Textile Corporation (NTC). The '30s edifice stands in the India United Mill area, but now the company says it needs the space to give shape to its joint venture with a Madhya Pradesh-based group.

With the industry buoyant, Marathi cinema pundits say that letting go of Bharatmata makes bad business sense. One of India's oldest regional film industries, Marathi cinema had lost ground to Bollywood, after a golden run in the '40s and '50s, due to lack of screening space apart from lack of talent and the rise of television. However, since 2004, fortunes have been on the upswing.

In 2007, 90 films were made in all, with a Rs 60 crore turnover. In 2004 and 2005, 57 films were made (23 more than 2003) and 72 in 2006. Ajay Sarpotdar, the president of the Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Chitrapat Mahamandal, expects "the earnings of the Marathi film industry to go up three-fold this year".

What's heartening is not just these numbers but also the quantum leap in quality -- a far cry from the '70s and the '80s, when films modelled on Maharashtra's tamasha culture, replete with double-meaning dialogues, dominated the scene. This has been ushered in by the young brigade of Marathi filmmakers of around a dozen who have entered the field with oodles of talent, fresh ideas and interesting narratives.

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