Movies
Marathi film Narbachi Waadi to compete at the 12th PIFF
Mumbai: Marathi film Narbachi Waadi produced by Film Farm that received enormous critical acclaim and was a box office success, has been officially selected to compete at the upcoming 12th Pune International Film Festival (PIFF).
The film is an adaption of the famous play, Shajjano Bagan by Manoj Mitra. The movie stars Dilip Prabhavalkar, Manoj Joshi, Kishori Shahane and is directed by Aditya Sarpotdar. The movie will be screened under the Marathi Feature Film competition section. Only seven movies have been selected in the Marathi feature competition.
Talking about the selection of the movie at PIFF an elated Film Farm co-founder Kalyan Guha, said, “It’s a great honour for us as our first major Marathi feature film has been selected for screening at the prestigious Pune International Film Festival. It has been our endeavour to offer world class content in various fields of media and we will continue to do so.”
The movie Narbachi Waadi, narrates the story of Narba, a simple man living in his wadi in Konkan and his struggle to reclaim his beloved piece of property. A gift from his ancestors, Narba nurtures this grove with love. One day a greedy landlord Rangarao eyes it and wants the wadi by hook or crook. But circumstances ensure that the Zamindar doesn’t get the land and he dies out of disappointment. Years later, his son tries fulfilling his late father’s wish of owning Narbachi Wadi.
Movies
Green Gold Animation creates CG character for Telugu film Rākāsā
Chhota Bheem studio expands into mainstream VFX with dialogue-free digital lead.
MUMBAI: Green Gold Animation, the house that gave India Chhota Bheem, is now stepping out of the kids’ zone and into the big screen with a rather silent but powerful performer. The Hyderabad-based studio’s VFX division has delivered a fully computer-generated character for the upcoming Telugu-language comedy-fantasy thriller Rākāsā, set for theatrical release on 3 April 2026. Directed by Manasa Sharma and produced by Niharika Konidela under Pink Elephant Pictures in collaboration with Zee Studios, the film marks a notable move for Green Gold into complex, character-driven work for mainstream cinema.
What makes the project stand out is its ambitious central character, a completely digital creation that does not speak a single line. Instead, the character relies entirely on animation, movement, facial expressions and body language to convey emotion and connect with audiences. This is a relatively unexplored approach in Telugu cinema at this scale.
Green Gold’s VFX team was involved from early pre-production through to final delivery, completing over 750 CG shots with a team of more than 100 artists. The work included detailed character animation, performance design and fluid simulations, all executed within tight timelines and practical budgets through strong planning and close collaboration.
Green Gold Animation founder & CEO Rajiv Chilaka said the project pushed the team to approach character creation differently. “Building a fully digital character where every emotion had to come through performance and detailing was very meaningful,” he noted.
Green Gold VFX supervisor and VFX creative director Murali Manohar Reddy added that the emotional depth had to be communicated entirely through visual performance. “This wasn’t about reinventing technology, but about using our tools and processes with precision to serve the story,” he said.
Producer Niharika Konidela praised the collaboration, saying the Green Gold VFX team understood the vision and brought strong detail and emotion to the character while working within practical constraints.
The film blends humour, action and mythological elements, following an NRI protagonist on a chaotic and magical adventure. It stars Sangeet Shobhan, Nayan Sarika, Vennela Kishore, Brahmaji and Ashish Vidyarthi, with music by Anudeep Dev.
For a studio best known for colourful kids’ animation, delivering a silent, emotionally expressive CG lead for a mainstream theatrical release is quite the plot twist. With Rākāsā, Green Gold Animation is quietly proving it can speak volumes even without dialogue.
