The film ‘Chhava’ may have received mixed reviews, but in terms of earnings, it broke records by earning more than 800 crores. This film gave director Laxman Utekar the biggest hit of his career. However, there was a time when he did many small jobs. He sold eggs, set up a Vada Pav stall and immersed the idols of Ganpati of rich people on Ganesh Chaturthi. Laxman Utekar was born in a small village in Raigad district of Maharashtra. His maternal uncle brought him to Mumbai in his childhood. There he did very small jobs to earn two meals a day. He shared his story in a podcast on the YouTube channel ‘Mama’s Couch’. He told that at the age of 6, he used to sell boiled eggs outside the bar. Later he set up a Vada Pav stall in Shivaji Park, but the BMC confiscated it. Earned two and a half rupees by immersing the Ganpati of the rich
During Ganesh Chaturthi, Laxman Utekar and his friends used to help in the immersion of Ganpati of rich people. Rich people themselves would not take the idol to the water, so Laxman and his friends would take the idol and immerse it and charge Rs. 5 in return. Out of this, they would get Rs. 2.50. Interest in editing developed while delivering tea Laxman Utekar also told that one day he saw an advertisement for cleaning job in a film studio in the newspaper and he started sweeping and mopping there. He would even clean the toilet and work with such honesty that his boss praised him. He would also deliver tea in the studio and from there he developed interest in learning sound and editing work. Gradually he did many jobs like washing cars, selling newspapers and even selling popcorn. One day he came to know that Sahara company was building a new studio. He would go to that place and stand there every day. After three months, one day a man named Rajendra Singh Chauhan came. He asked why he was standing there every day? Laxman said, “I am standing there for three months to hear this question.” From that day itself he got the job. After this, he started working as an assistant with cinematographer Binod Pradhan. Then he shot many big films, like ‘Hindi Medium’, ‘Dear Zindagi’, ‘102 Not Out’. As a director, he started with the Marathi film ‘Tapal’ in 2014. Apart from ‘Chhava’, he directed films like ‘Luka Chuppi’, ‘Mimi’ and ‘Zara Hatke Zara Bachke’.
