‘Mayasabha should have been shut down at least 50 times’: Rahi Anil Barve says it’s extremely risky to create original stories | Bollywood News
3 min readMumbaiJan 29, 2026 04:15 PM IST
Just a few months ago, as Kanu Behl’s Agra was finally ready for its India release, the director had to publicly seek support. The film was struggling to secure screens across the country, as much of the prime slots had already been allocated to commercial biggies. What started as a simple tweet asking for help from multiplex chains soon grew into a small movement of sorts, with several independent filmmakers (such as Payal Kapadia, Rima Das, Arati Kadav, Vasan Bala, and Chaitanya Tamhane, among others) joining Behl to fight the inequities that indie films face every week. However, recently, Rahi Anil Barve, gearing up for the release of his next film Mayasabha, slated to hit theatres this Friday, expressed a more sombre view on whether things are truly changing, even as he fully supports his fellow filmmakers.
In an exclusive chat with SCREEN, Barve said, “I know one thing for sure: nobody wants to support you. That’s why I didn’t make any noise. This is a blazing iron we chose to hold ourselves. We are indeed very well aware of the problems that come with making such films. And somehow, I was prepared for it and knew the situation would end up like this.” Talking about the struggle he faced while making Mayasabha, he added, “The film had no backing at all. God only knows how it got made. Sometimes I’m shocked because this film should have been shut down at least 50 times. So now, no matter how much you shout, how much support you try to get, even if you get 100, 150, or 300 signatures, it’s not going to change anything.”
Rahi Anil Barve clarified that Mayasabha is entirely distinct from his previous cult classic, Tumbbad.
He continued, “The only thing that will sustain this film is word of mouth. That’s why it’s important that audiences know over Friday, Saturday, and Sunday that this film is playing in theatres. For that, PR is essential, and you can see how we are battling for it. All of this is part and parcel of the choice we made. We are not nervous or scared at all. This is a risk we have consciously taken. We know that the film will outlive every one of us. We don’t want to tell 50 people in the industry to start spreading the word. Not at all. We are very proud of the experiment we are doing, and the fact that it is coming to theatres on 500 to 600 screens.”
Rahi Anil Barve also reflected on the challenge of making something truly original in today’s industry: “The trailer and teaser show that Mayasabha is its own beast. It doesn’t give the illusion of Tumbbad. Whatever Mayasabha is, it is original. The characters are original. And it is extremely risky to create something original in today’s times. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be in such a state as an industry.”
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