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Half Ticket has a universal story: Samit Kakkad
The film, directed by Samit Kakkad will be releasing in China in the coming months
After Half Ticket released in 2016, it has been screened at more than 35 film festivals across the globe. The film is the journey of child actors Shubham More and Vinayak Potdar and their quest to taste a pizza. The film was screened at the Indiwood Panorama Competition at the 2nd edition of Indiwood Carnival 2016 in Hyderabad. It was also shown at the 57th Zlin International Film Festival 2017 held in the Czech Republic and won the Ecumenical Jury Award.
His latest achievement is that it is the first Marathi film which has been picked to be released in China. Director Samit Kakkad shares, “The producer got a call and the exhibitors were keen on picking the film. Nanubhai (Jaisinghani, producer) called me and I was thrilled. My immediate reaction was that we should definitely do it. As a film-maker, it is about my film going across the world. People will be able to relate and connect with my labour of love. Money is important, but apart from that, it is great feeling to have your film reach far and wide.”
The film will have subtitles and release in a couple of months in China. Samit revisited the labs and made a few changes to the final product. “China is a great market. And, I have often said this, Half Ticket has a universal story. You can put it in any language and the relevance and connect remains. It is a family film and works in every scenario. I am looking forward to make it in many more languages.”
So, will this pave a new path for regional films in the international market? “Well, I think it will help in a great way. Marathi films are known for their rich content. I feel our good films will get better and bigger exposure and it could take a really different route. It can start a trend.”
Samit is currently working on his Marathi film 36 Gunn and Hindi dream project, Bachchan.