2 November 2026 Ahmedabad: The Gujarati comedy-drama film ‘Damru’, produced under the banners of Gujotsav Productions and Vraj Films, directed by Hardik Pareekh, and starring well-known actors including Sanjay Goradia, Nakshraj, Maulik Chauhan and Makrand Shukla,has been receiving an overwhelmingly positive response and love from audiences since its recent theatrical release.
Gujarati viewers are enthusiastically watching this regional film with their families, leading to housefull shows. However, due to the festival season release of other multi-budget Hindi/other language films (such as ‘Ramayana’), this successfully running local Gujarati film is facing severe difficulties in securing adequate showtimes and screens in cinemas.
Despite wanting to support the film, many theater owners are unable to allocate showtimes to Gujarati movies due to pressure from distribution companies or content conditions imposed by big banners. As a result, despite high audience demand, the film ‘Damru’ is suffering injustice due to a lack of screens. This situation is not limited to just one film; it negatively impacts the livelihoods and employment of technicians, cameramen, lightmen, spot boys, and various small and big artists associated with the entire Gujarati film industry.
Furthermore, during festive seasons when common and middle-class families cannot afford expensive tickets (ranging from Rs.1,500 to Rs. 2,000), affordably priced Gujarati films (around Rs. 100 to Rs. 200) provide the best entertainment. If local films do not get showtimes, ordinary viewers are deprived of the opportunity to watch cinema in their own mother tongue.
The team behind ‘Damru’ has clarified that they are not against any big movie, but a native-language film must get a fair opportunity of at least 1 to 2 shows on its own soil. Considering this overall situation, Team ‘Damru’ humbly requests the Honorable Chief Minister, Honorable Home Minister, Government of Gujarat, all cinema owners, and distributors to ensure that every multiplex and theater allocates at least 1–2 shows for ‘Damru’ based on audience demand, so that Gujarati culture and cinema can thrive.
