Maithili cinema is the film industry of theMaithili language mainly active in theMithila region ofBihar andNepal. It is a small scale film industry based in the Mithila region. In the recent years the Maithili film industry is gradually increasing its horizon. Apart from the native land, Maithili movies are being shot in the countries likeUSA andCanada. The movies are being recognised by the National Film Award panel. In 2016, the Maithili movie "Mithila Makhaan" wonnational film award in the category of "Best Maithili Films".[1][2][3] In the recent year, author cum filmmakerKislay Krishna wrote a book on the history of Maithili cinema with titleMaithili Cinemak Itihaas. The book was selected as the best book on regional cinema by the jury of the 4thSincine Film Festival 2023 held in Mumbai. The author Kislay Krishna was awarded by theSincine Film Festival Award for his literary work on the history of Maithili cinema.[4][5]
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The journey of Maithili cinema can be traced since 1965. The first Maithili film wasKanyadan which was produced in the year 1965 but released in the year 1971.[6] The movie was based on the novelKanyadan (English translation - The Bride) written in theMaithili language by the author Harimohan Jha in 1930. It was directed byPhani Majumdar.[7] The second Maithili film wasMamta Gabe Geet. Its shooting started from the year 1962-1963 and continued parallel with the movie Kanyadan but due to some ups and downs in the production of the movie, it was released in the year 1982. During the shooting period its name wasNaehar Bhel Mor Saasur. The movie was produced by the litterateurKedar Nath Chaudhary and directed byShree C Parmanand. The movie Mamta Gabe Geet is also considered as the first complete Maithili film because in the movie Kanyadan there was mixture of some Hindi language dialogues too but the movie Mamta Gabe Geet was made completely in Maithili language.[8][9][10] The third Maithili film wasSasta Jinagi Mahag Sinoor. It was a superhit movie and became very popular among theMaithil audiences. It was released in the year 1999.[11] In 2004, a movie namedGaribak Beti was released.[12] In the same year another movieSenurak Laaj was also released.[13][14] Similarly in the year 2005, a Maithili movie with titleKakhan Harab Dukh Mor was released on the screens of some cinema theatres in theMithila region. It was a superhit Maithili film and became popular among the audiences in the region. It was directed bySantosh Badal. It was based on the popular story of the Maithili poetVidyapati andUgna Mahadev.[15][16] According to the statistics, this Maithili movie did a business of 39 crores and more than 1 crore DVDs have been sold till 2024.[17]
In 2016, the Bollywood actressNeetu Chandra and her director brotherNitin Chandra took an initiative to revive the Maithili film industry with the production of the Maithili movieMithila Makhan. It was first movie in the history of Maithili cinema to win National Film Award. It was promoted by the famous Bollywood starsHrithik Roshan,Nawazuddin Siddiqui,Manoj Vajpayee,Vidya Balan,Sonu Sood andJackie Shroff.[11]
On 2 November 2018, author cum directorRupak Sharar released a Maithili moviePremak Basat on screens of different cinema theatres in the Mithila region. It was also released inDubai,Qatar andKuwait. It was a superhit Maithili film. It is said that the movie was the most expensive movie in the history of Maithili cinema. The budget of the movie was of 1 crore Indian rupees. The movie was produced inMumbai. In the movie, international standard sound and visual technology were used. The songs of the movie became popular among audiences.[18][19][20]
Similarly the Maithili movieJackson Halt was another superhit movie produced by Neetu Chandra in the year 2023 which was screened at the 55th edition of theInternatonal Film Festival of India (IFFI) 2024 held inGoa. It was acrime thriller movie in Maithili language. The Maithili film producer Neetu Chandra established her production houseChamparan Talkies as well as created her ownOTT plateformBejod to release regional Maithili movies.[21][22]
The Maithili film director Santosh Badal after the success of movieKakhan Harab Dukh Mor, released another Maithili movieRaja Salhesh on the screens of theatres in the Mithila region in the year 2024. The movie was a superhit Maithili film of that year. A large numbers of audiences flocked to watch the movie in cinema theatres of the region. Apart from the Mithila region, the movie was also released on the screens of some multiplexes in the metropolitan cities ofMumbai andDelhi.[17]
In the year 2024, the first two-daysMaithili International Film Festival was organised on 25–26 June at the Girija Hall inJanakpur city of the Mithila region inNepal. It was held to promote the development of the Maithili film industry, Maithili language, literature and its culture. It was jointly organised by theJanakpurdham Sub-Metropolitan City and theLok Sanchar Janakpurdham. It was inaugurated by the chief ministerSatish Kumar Singh ofMadhesh Pradesh in Nepal.[23][24]
One of the major challenges for the Maithili cinema is the lack of proper platforms to release the Maithili movies. Maithili movies are not getting distributors, theater screens, multiplex cinema screens and even online OTT plateforms. The another major challenge is lack of active audiences to watch the Maithili movies even having the population of Maithils people around 7 - 8 crores. According to the famous Maithili filmmaker Nitin Chandra, the Maithili cinema is still struggling to get some time on television or theatrical release .[25]