EXCLUSIVE: Veteran Actor Dilip Prabhavalkar Reveals Why His Marathi Film Dashavatar Connects With Audiences Across Languages; Shares, “There’s Shock, Disbelief, Grief…”

Actor Dilip Prabhavalkar – who has starred in both Hindi and Marathi films, was recently seen in the suspense thriller Dashavatar. The film opened to mixed-to-positive reviews from critics and earned Rs 5.22 crore over its opening weekend, making it the biggest for a Marathi film in 2025. During an exclusive interaction with Bollywood Bubble recently, the veteran actor – who is also a National Film Award recipient, opened up about what attracted him to the film.

Alongside that, he also opened about how a Marathi film is being loved by viewers of other languages. Read on to know all he shared.

Dilip Prabhavalkar On Why He Said Yes To Dashavatar

Talking about what made him say yes to Dashavatar, Dilip Prabhavalkar shared, “There are so many memorable moments and scenes that have stayed with me, but three come to mind immediately. They were very moving, and honestly quite hard to perform without getting carried away emotionally.”

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Elaborating on three scenes that pushed be part of the project, the ‘Lage Raho Munna Bhai’ actor said, “The first is the chariot procession. He’s on his way to the temple to perform his final Dashavatar drama, something he had promised his son he would do once he got a job. He’s dancing as Bhishma, and then he spots his son at a distance, waving. He waves back and tries to say something to him, but his son can’t hear him. That turns out to be the last time he ever sees his son alive. It’s a large, festive scene, but underneath that it is heartbreaking.”

Dilip: These Moments Were Powerful, Emotional & Unforgettable

The ‘Sarkar Raj’ actor continued, “The second moment is during that last performance on Mahashivratri. While he’s singing, he receives the news of his son’s death. He walks into the jungle with his fellow actors completely stunned, unable to process it. There’s shock, disbelief, grief. It begins to rain, and he sits under a tree. People are around him, his friends are there, yet he’s utterly alone. And in that silence, everything he’s feeling becomes loud.”

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Sharing the third reason behind wanting to be part of Dashavatar, Dilip Prabhavalkar sahred, “And the third is a completely different kind of scene, the one with Mahesh Manjrekar. He comes to investigate, and the whole exchange feels like a chess match, a mind game. He’s trying to corner Babuli (me), but Babuli keeps slipping away from the questions, turning them around, refusing to be trapped. The mystery remains unsolved, and Mahesh Manjrekar leaves without answers. There are many moments like this, but these three have really stayed with me. They were powerful, emotional, and unforgettable.”

Dilip On Audiences Across Languages Loving The Marathi Film

When quizzed about why Dashavatar – a Marathi film, is connecting with audiences across languages, Dilip Prabhavalkar replied, “I think Subodh Kanwalkar, who is the writer and director of the film, never lost the grip. He was always aware that it is storytelling for a visual medium, so it crosses the language barrier, I feel. If the story has strength, the content is gripping, and the presentation, camera work, and of course if the performances and acting are powerful, audiences relate to the film.”

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He continued, “I can give you examples of Charlie Chaplin films like Gold Rush, The Kid, Modern Times, Circus, City Lights; they were all silent films. Why recent films of directors like Bong Joon-ho, Korean, or Jafar Panahi, Iranian, are of different languages but still have an impact. Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite also won an Oscar. So Dashavatar’s story, emotions, connected with the audiences.”

About Dashavatar

Directed by Subodh Khanolkar, Dashavatar tells the story on an ageing Dashavatāra performer whose final play turns into a spiritual and cultural battle. The suspense thriller blends myth with reality to explore sacrifice, faith, and the struggle to protect heritage and nature. Alongside Dilip Prabhavalkar, the Marathi film stars Bharat Jadhav, Mahesh Manjrekar, Siddharth Menon, Abhinay Berde, and Priyadarshini Indalkar in pivotal roles.

For more news and updates from the entertainment world, stay tuned to Bollywood Bubble.

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Grinell Jacinto

With nearly 10 years of experience, Grinell Esther Jacinto is the Desk Head of Bollywood Bubble. Her interests lie in everything that is kaleshi and she loves to dig deeper into the lives of B-town actors. She has a problem though – she loves horror films but will have chills the minute the theatres lights dims. She’s previously worked with Koimoi, UrbanAsian and SpotboyE.