MADE IN HEAVEN

Premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival, Jayant Digambar Somalkar's first Marathi feature film, Sthal, examines the fraught dynamics of arranged marriages

- Ishita Sengupta

None of the actors in Sthal has faced a camera before. They converse in Varhadi, a regional dialect of Marathi

When Jayant Digambar Somalkar received a confirmation email from the Toronto International Film Festival, he thought it was a joke. “I could not believe it. I remember checking if it was fake. I was very happy,” he says. His Marathi feature Sthal (A Match) has been selected to premiere at the festival’s Discovery Programme, a section devoted to showcasing the work of emerging filmmakers from across the globe. That it is the only Indian film to make this cut elevates the prestige of the inclusion.