Production of films started way back in the 19th century abroad. But in India, in 1885, Mahadev Gopal Patwardhan experimented with his Shambarika Kharolika (Magic Lantern), all over India.Even the British government recognized the efforts. In 1898, 
Harishchandra Sakharam Bhatvadekar of Mumbai alias Savedada produced Kusthichya Laghupat. In 1909, he filmed the felicitation of Rugler R.P. Paranjpye.
Ramchandra Gopal alias Dadasaheb Thorne filmed the play Pundalik and created history by screening it on May 18, 1912. Dhundiraj Govind alias Dadasaheb Phalke of Nasik made India’s first feature film Raja Harishchandra, screened on May 3, 1913 at Coronation Theatre in Bombay. Baburao Painter of Kolhapur created an epoch by making India’s own indigenous camera and projector, besides printing machine, developing speedometer. It is worth noting that all these trail blazing experiments were done by Maharashtrians.
From 1913 to 2014 the Marathi film industry have seen many ups and down.
This 100 years of span have given new generations of actors, directors, cinematographer and so on to marathi film industry. Marathi film started working on screenplay, storyline, locations and also on technical aspect of films.
Even audiance started appreciating hitech marathi movies. This growing phase of marathi film industry is now getting carry forward by Maharashtrian duo-father Kiran Thakur and daughter Sai Thakur who have installed the new 4 K resolution technology in Cinema at Citilight with the Citylight Film Festival.
It is the first year of the Citylight Marathi Film Festival where seven vintage cult films as well as seven award winning new films will be shown for a week starting from May 12 to May 19 at Citylight, which has been equipped with the technology to show films in 4 K resolution.
The festival is be organized by Kiran and Sai Thakur under the expert guidance of senior film critic and the brain behind International film festivals like MAMI and Third Eye- Sudhir Nandgaonkar. Every day there will be two show. One at 5.30 pm and second at 8 pm.
At a press conference to announce the festival, Sai Thakur felicitated senior journalists Kamleshwar Nadkarni and Sudhir Nandgaonkar, who has helped selecting the films for the festivals and the sponsors Makrand Vagasthal, General Manager of Kohinoor group of Hotels and Pankaj Kapoor, Marketing head of Reliance, besides Gajendra Ahire, director of Anwat and Shekhar Jyothi, producer, Anvatt.
The festival will be inaugurated on 12 May 2014 in the presence of various dignitaries from the film industry at Citylight with the screening of filmmaker Gajendra Ahire’s latest film Anwat which will be the first film in India to be shown in the 4k resolution technology. The week long Marathi film festival will showcase films like Asthu,Navri Mile Navryala, Tingya, Pinjra, Jogwa, Maherchi Sadi, Shaala, Umbarta, Khel Mandla, Maratha Tithuka Milvava, Pune 52, Jagachya Pathivar and Rege etc, besides a rare short film called Pu La on the late Pu La Deshpande, directed by Devhare.
Sai Thakur of Citilight said that the theatre is also planning to have its own children’s film festival in December this year, now that it has its own 4 k system installed, while Kiran Thakur said that his son Prasad Thakur had bought Citylight from its earlier owners with the idea of showing Marathi films in a big way and stated that he is proud that Maharashtrians have always created path breaking films at various stages like Shyamchi Aayee, fifty years ago and Shwaas, which was shortlisted for the Oscars ten years ago and expressed the hope that the first ever effort by Citylight to promote Marathi Cinema which has emerged as a big force to reckon with all over the globe, will be warmly welcomed by not only Maharashtrians but also non Maharashtrians, especially in the Dadar-Mahim area.
Sudhir Nandgaonlar applauded Sai and Kiran Thakur for mooting the idea of holding a Marathi film festival for the time and said that till date no theatre has held a film festival of Marathi films in Mumbai and thanked Gajendra Ahire for having the confidence to show his film Anwat even before its release on August 1 this year. Gajendra Ahire said that he is glad that with 12 cr Maharashtrians all over the world today, Marathi cinema has grown not only quantitatively but also qualitatively and the day is not far ahead when the flag of Marathi Cinema will soar higher with pride.
Source : Sachin Murdeshwar