In her second feature, Idak, cinematographer Archana Borhade had to shoot on the tough terrains of Solapur and Bhimashankar in Maharashtra with unpredictable weather and in available light. Adding to challenges was the fact that one of the film’s leading characters is a goat. “We had two similar goats — Somya and Gomya — who were both incredibly playful and fun to be with on location, but it was quite a task for our trainer Shankar Anna to get them to perform for the camera,” said Borhade who made her debut with Phuntroo (2016), the first sci-fi film in Marathi.
“The goat would often take its own path and we would have to follow it wherever it went. From the focus pulling perspective, it was quite a feat to keep the goat in constant focus,” she said.
Borhade’s patience and perseverance have paid off after she was awarded the Maharashtra State Award for her work in the Marathi film. Produced by actor Sharad Kelkar and Baishakhi Banerjee, the film is also nominated for best film and best story. The Deepak Gawade-directed drama follows a 30-something man’s journey to a religious fair where he is assured of divine redemption once he sacrifices the “idak”, goat in colloquial Marathi.
