Sachin Pilgaonkar Inaugurates Kissa Shuru Talkies, Bringing Film Entertainment to Maharashtra's Villages

Rural Maharashtra has long grappled with limited access to cinema, forcing villagers to travel significant distances to nearby urban centers whenever they wish to watch films. Kissa Shuru Talkies, a recently launched initiative, aims to resolve this persistent gap by streaming fresh cinema directly into homes across the countryside.

The platform's official launch took place in Mumbai, where Maharashtra's Minister for Information Technology and Cultural Affairs Ashish Shelar presided over the proceedings. Veteran film actor Sachin Pilgaonkar served as chief guest, while the gathering drew numerous personalities from Marathi cinema, including Deepak Tijori, Abhijeet Panse, Viju Mane, Sameer Vidwans, Ashish Bende, Subodh Khanolkar, Priya Berde, Kushal Badrike, Santosh Juvekar, Pushkar Jog, and Vishakha Subhedar.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis sent a special message to mark the occasion. Organizers also revealed intentions to extend the service into Karnataka and Gujarat in the coming months.

The Kissa Shuru Talkies Home Cinema operates as a modern HDMI-enabled device that connects to standard televisions. Rural viewers can access newly released films without visiting theaters, with filmmakers uploading fresh content to the platform every Friday. Each viewing costs just ₹99, offering an accessible and budget-friendly entertainment option for countryside populations.

The technology incorporates two patent-pending innovations. The Family Safe Mode gives households the ability to filter and select age-suitable films for family viewing, while the Producer-to-Audience Video Call feature permits directors and filmmakers to engage directly with audiences in remote villages. The system also employs sophisticated DRM protections and forensic watermarking to safeguard the films.

Director Gajendra Ahire publicly endorsed the venture during the launch, describing it as a meaningful development for rural viewers. The first film to premiere on the platform was also announced at the event.

The initiative emerged from the work of founders Santosh Birajdar, Abhishek Jathar, and Shirish Shinde, who identified that thousands of Maharashtra villages remain without theater infrastructure, leaving residents disconnected from contemporary cinema. They developed Kissa Shuru Talkies to address this disparity and simultaneously create fresh opportunities for Marathi filmmaking.

Ashish Shelar commended the project, stating that the concept represents a timely and creative solution developed by young Marathi business leaders. "By maintaining the spirit of 'our own cinema' and simultaneously distributing films to rural households upon theatrical release, this endeavor merits recognition," he said. "The initiative will significantly expand the audience for Marathi cinema and strengthen connections with viewers across villages."

Sachin Pilgaonkar echoed this sentiment, highlighting that numerous talukas and villages throughout Maharashtra continue to lack cinema facilities. "Some audiences must travel as much as 50 kilometers merely to view a movie," he noted. "Under these circumstances, this platform represents both a necessary and worthy undertaking. It offers rural communities a valuable opportunity, and I encourage them to embrace it fully. I am confident this will prove beneficial for filmmakers, producers, and audiences. Given my long association with Santosh Birajdar, I wish him and his team tremendous success."