That Indian entertainment is more than just Bollywood is a point organisers of the annual Marathi International Film and Theatre Awards (Mifta) want to prove.
The first edition of the new awards show, modelled after the successful India International Film Academy (IIFA) Awards, are being held from December 16 to 18 in Dubai. Over 150 Marathi film and theatre artistes will take part in various activities around the event, organisers said in a press statement.
Actor-filmmaker Mahesh Manjrekar, the brain behind the MIFTA, said the event is a celebration of popularity and fame of Marathi films and theatre across the world and will commemorate the golden jubilee of the formation of Maharashtra, a state on India’s west coast that is home to Mumbai, the country’s financial capital.
He told media he wanted the event to “make people aware about the existence of good, top-notch Marathi films. And we chose Dubai primarily because the Maharashtrians here have always patronised and supported good Marathi plays and cinema.”
