First-time filmmakers from Kerala and first-time actors from a village in Maharashtra collaborated to make a Marathi feature film 'A Thing Of Magic'. Speaking about the project, the film director Nitin Anil said, “We turned a house in the village into a makeshift audition camp where over a hundred villagers turned up, out of which two children were selected to play the lead characters.”
The movie was made by a group of cinema-loving story-hunters and storytellers, in collaboration with a village full of welcoming people who are unafraid to dream. The film’s production team travelled more than 2000 kilometres from the southern state of Kerala and set up camp for a month-long shoot in Arale, a beautiful nondescript village in Maharashtra.
All actors in the film were first-timers and residents of the village and weren’t predetermined by choice. The filmmakers approached them directly when particular scenes had to be shot. Around a hundred people of Arale acted in the film. The film had some golden moments of unscripted and non-staged moments as well. This wouldn’t have been possible without the support from the village residents, many of whom were in the cast and surprised us with their effortless acting.
The script originally written in Malayalam and English was translated into Marathi and directed mostly in Hindi, proving that language can be no barrier for filmmaking. The journey also unearthed the acting talent in common men who are tucked away from the mainstream. The film provided a platform for them to perform and show their talent besides enjoying the challenges and thrills of movie-making.
