New Delhi: Thirty surrendered Naxalites and their families attended a special screening of director Chhatrapal Ninawe’s Marathi film Ghaath in Maoist-affected Gadchiroli on Tuesday. The thriller shows how land, water, and jungles—central to tribal life—are being torn apart by both the government and the Maoists.
The 2023 film, produced by Shiladitya Bora (Platoon One Films), was shot in the Gondiya and Bhandara districts of Maharashtra, 90 km away from Gadchiroli. The film’s director and actors, including Dhananjay Mandaokar and Amit Shende, were also present at the screening.
The screening was held at PictureTime’s inflatable theatre, which opened on 22 May in one of the remotest districts of Maharashtra. The mobile cinema hall has facilities like an AC screening room, 5.1 Dolby Sound, push-back chairs, digital projection, and a seating capacity of 120. It is also the first state-of-the art theatre in the region with a population of 10 lakh.
“Screening Ghaath in Gadchiroli for a hall full of surrendered Naxalites felt like completing the film’s journey. These are the very people who inspired my protagonist—a man trying to leave the movement—and I’d always hoped they would see the story on their own terms. I went in expecting a barrage of corrections, but the audience told me the details rang true. They affirmed the reality I tried to capture,” said Ninawe.
At the centre of Ghaath are Falgun (Dhananjay Mandaokar), a former revolutionary bent on revenge, his brother Raghunath (Milind Shinde), a Maoist leader, and ACP Nagpure (Jitendra Joshi), a cop notorious for killing Naxals. It’s a cat-and-mouse chase, with Falgun targeting Nagpure, and Nagpure hunting Raghunath to secure a transfer to his family in Pune.
“I also sensed real anger toward Somaji, the commander I portrayed on-screen, which only shows how personally they engaged with the film,” said Ninawe.
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‘An intense evening’
A Q&A session with the audience was also held once the screening was over, giving a chance to the former naxalites to ask questions about the film.
“For most of them, it was their first big screen experience. After the screening, we spoke for hours. It was an intense, emotional evening, and it convinced me that Ghaath has finally reached those it was truly meant for,” said Ninawe.
The audience also had cold drinks and samosas at the theatre, experiencing a proper family outing along with the movie experience.
Ghaath premiered at the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival in 2023, where Ninawe won the Giuseppe Becce Award for Best Director. The film had a theatrical release in India in September last year.
“At PictureTime, our mission has always been to democratise cinema by taking it to the remotest corners of India — places where the magic of the big screen has long remained out of reach,” said Sushil Chaudhary, Founder & CEO, PictureTime.
The screening was part of an initiative to screen independent films which don’t always make their way to theatres, especially in smaller towns.
The inflatable theatre is managed under a public-private partnership with the Municipal Corporation of Gadchiroli. It is owned by the municipal corporation, while PictureTime oversees the programming and operations. Earlier, the Vicky Kaushal-starrer film Chhaava (2025), a biopic on Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, was screened at the theatre, and had people flock to the mobile cinema.
(Edited by Aamaan Alam Khan)