‘Khari Biscuit’ offers an emotion filled story of a brother and his blind sister
3.0
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Unlike his previous love stories , this time director Sanjay Jadhav deviates from his entertainment formula, to offer an emotion filled story through his latest released Marathi film ‘Khari Biscuit’. Actually, ‘Khari Biscuit’ is a sensitive emotion filled film on the life of two siblings, who turn orphans, when their mother living in slums dies in an accident. When five year old blind girl Khari (Vedashree Khadilkar) expresses her wish to her caring brother Biscuit(Adarsha Kadam) , he tries to fulfil the same by working hard as a child labourer. But, when she demands something unachievable by her brother, the determined brother goes on to make what is impossible as possible, attempting different ways.
What follows in the process, is what Sanjay Jadhav has presented through an interesting screenplay of this film. He has dedicated this film to all the brothers and sisters in this world and therefore emotions play a very important part in this film. But, what is more important is that he takes the support of the most popular game of cricket. Set on the backdrop of the ICC World Cup One day Cricket matches of 2011, when India won the World cup after 28 long years. Since this was the last World Cup of India’s master blaster Sachin Tendulkar, it turned out to be a biggest gift for him. And therefore, the director has used his popular image cleverly in the film’s story.
Though the main plot of this film is good, few happenings in the film fail to convince . But, the director has extracted the best from the two child artistes Vedashree and Adarsha and both of them have responded very well . Good support also comes from Nandita Dhuri and Sanjay Narvekar through their limited roles. There are many other newcomers in supporting roles and they too have performed convincingly. As far as the locations in and around the city of Mumbai and Thane are concerned, they give a realistic look. Music by Suraj Dhiraj goes well with the film’s subject. All in all, director Sanjay Jadhav sold a dream to many underprivileged children especially the brothers and sisters.
‘Mann Udhaan Vara’ – sunshine after tears
3.0
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There have been many films in the past, where we have seen the fight of rape victims against injustice. In most of the films we have seen the revenge taken by rape victims by taking the law into their hands. In some cases, it was like teaching a lesson to the rapists, by adopting other methods. But, in the process, even in metro cities, we have seen that it is the victim who suffers the most. How does this victim overcome this trauma even if the rapists are punished by the law ? Latest released Marathi film ‘Mann Udhaan Vaara’ directed by cinematographer turned debutant director Sanjay Memane has an answer and they have tried to focus on this important aspect.
The story of this film revolves around Sarita Devrukhkar ( Monal Gajjar) a rape victim, who is a Nurse from a middle class family. Instead of focusing on the long procedure for justice, the film presents quick justice . The main focus is on the rape victim and the mental trauma she goes through. Sarita prefers to go to her village and stay with her uncle for a change. It is at this picturesque quiet village in Konkan she discovers many things and comes across people , who are filled with love in their hearts . Watching their way of facing their own problems, she finds a solution to overcome her distress. In short, it is the process of ‘sunshine after tears’ for her.
Director Sanjay Memane has paid more attention on the dialogues which are penned by Sumitra Bhave and Sunil Sukhtankar to clearly portray each and every important character in this film, be it Binda ( Ritwij Vaidya) a young music lover from the village, who lives with his grandmother ( Uttara bavkar) and is helpful to others, Sarita’s kind hearted Uncle Bhau kaka ( Kishore Kadam) who is busy with his social commitments, a handicapped folk singer Vishnu ( Sagar karande) and his ideal house wife Chandra ( Sharvari Lohakare) , Gana Bhau ( Dr. Sharad Bhutadia) an old man, all of them living in the neighborhood of her Uncle’s house.
Very cleverly the director has shown the friendly relations developed between Sarita and Binda, but instead of unnecessarily giving it a love story angle, he has preferred to show a good understanding between them by allowing them to take their own time to take an appropriate decision about their good relationship. There are few drawbacks in the screenplay , but considering the sincere effort of the producer and director to show the way to such victims, is to be applauded.
Gujarathi actress Monal Gajjar who has already performed in some south Indian films, makes a good debut in Marathi. She perfectly fits into her character and has clearly shown distress through her facial expressions. In the role of Binda, Rutwij Vaidya shows promise. Kishore Kadam is at his best in the role of Sarita’s uncle, but it is Sagar karande who surprises the audience with his non comedy type of role, which he has done with conviction . There is no doubt that his character also derives sympathy. There are two devotional songs picturised on him. Being a Sanjay Memane film, he has obviously paid more attention on capturing the beauty of Konkan , through the camera lenses of Milind Jog. Music of the film goes well with the setting of this film.
‘Zollywood’ presents the plight of Zadipatti stage artistes with ‘Show must go on’ message
3.5
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Vidarbha region in Maharashtra is known for facing worst drought situation every year. But, this region is also known for producing talented stage artistes through ‘Zadipatti’ a hub created at places like Gadchiroli, Chandrapur, Bhandara, Gondia and part of Nagpur district . For the past 60 years the tradition of tent theatre has flourished in these areas where budding artistes get an opportunity to showcase their talent. These stage plays which are good form of entertainment in remote areas, receive a very good response from people who gather at such places in large number.
These stage plays are held between the period Diwali to Holi i.e. between October to March, when the plays are performed whole night in these regions. Forthcoming Marathi film ‘Zollywood’ presents the true story which happened in the lives of these ‘Zadipatti’ artistes and is set on the backdrop of this region. Produced by Wishberry Films and Directed by Trushant Ingale the film shows the plight of these stage artistes, in an entertaining manner. The focus of the film is on the production houses, which are called ‘Press’ who form their own group, right from selection of the script, artistes, giving publicity to the event by printing posters, erecting tents, selling tickets and making payment to the artistes. And we get to see the competition among them to attract the audience.
The six main characters in the film Aman (Anil Uttalwar) & Raja (Kajal Rangari) the two cousins running the ‘Press’ who separate over financial matters, NarayanRao ( Dinkar Gavande) a well wisher of theatre art, who believes in keeping this art alive, Dipak (Ajit Khobragde) a young writer who later turns producer, Poonam(Ashwini Ladekar), Rajni (Asawri Naidu) look so natural through their respective characters. They bring liveliness in every scene . In addition to this, the superior photography by Yogesh Rajguru, clever editing work by Vaibhav – Dabhade and excellent sound recording by Anmol Bhave provide very good technical support to this film.
Very cleverly the director who is himself a writer has created a perfect environment within his budget, through selection of suitable artistes who utter their dialogues in typical Varhadi dialect to give that local feel . Though the content is limited , the director has created many interesting sequences to generate humour in the screenplay right from the beginning till the climax. And towards the end he doesn’t forget to send across a strong message to the viewers that no matter whatever happens, the show of this traditional art must go on.
The film was screened at the ongoing Jagran Film Festival on Thursday 26th September 2019.
‘Palshichi PT’ presents the plight of budding female athletes from villages
3.0
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Sports based subjects are not new to Marathi films. The uniqueness depends on how the subject has been dealt with. And this makes latest released Marathi film ‘Palshichi PT’ look different from others. Set on the backdrop of a village Palshi from Satara district, the film revolves around teenager Bhagi (Kiran Dhane) who is a daughter of a Shepherd who grazes his goats on the outskirts of village . Bhagi assists her mother in household work besides attending the school. Being always late for school, she gets punished and is made to run on the school ground. So, we find an athlete produced by compulsion.
When it is time to send the school’s entry for the Taluka level sports meet, Bhagi becomes an automatic choice of the PT teacher. However, not much of interest is taken in her participation and therefore One handicapped drawing teacher Bidkar Sir (Rahul Belapurkar) is sent along with Bhagi and other school girl for this competition, in which Bhagi tops and bags a prize. So, it is time for sending her entry for the State level meet. With no support from school authrities, finally, with the support coming from the drawing teacher, Bhagi is able to participate in state meet and sets a new national record in 400 mts run.
This new record brings her name and fame. As she is all set to participate at the national level, Bhagi receives an arranged marriage proposal from a newly recruited Police Hawaldar Vikas ( Rahul Magdum) . To keep with the village tradition, it is time for her marriage. On the other hand Bhagi does not want to live life like her elder sisters who are married and living in misery. Her well wisher and coach Bidkar Sir tries to persuade Bhagi’s father.
What finally happens, is what film maker Dhondiba Balu Karande has shown skilfully in the concluding part of his film. Getting inspired by the progress made by village level athletes Kavita Raut and Lalita Babar , he has tried to highlight the hurdles faced by such sportspersons who come from poor background. PT is the name given to her ironically by her critics.
Very systematically the director has shown the mindset of the parents and also attitude of school authorities from district places towards sports. At the same time, he has touched upon the most important aspect of coaching, where the real coach who trains the budding athlete is left behind and the selfish and powerful people take the credit of their success. This selfish attitude can be seen through the characters like school principal, PT teacher and the politician and trustee of the school.
The film has a very good subject and the director has handled it well, but with limited script, he has tried to wrap up the film in just little over 100 mins. Being a low budget film, the technical support to this film fails to create the desired impact of the theme. Nevertheless, the efforts of the film maker to present this subject and the performances of the lead artistes have to be appreciated. The lead actress of the film Kiran Dhane is today a popular TV star among home viewers with ongoing hit serial ‘Ek Hoti Rajkanya’. Her popularity should have been used to promote this film. But, that didn’t happen. The film has been released in very few theatres without any advertisement in newspapers and this will deprive the real sports lovers from watching this sensible sports based subject.
Emotion filled ‘Baba’ is a tribute to all fathers
3.5
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In the past, through films like Gulzar’s ‘Koshish’ and Sanjay Leela Bhansali‘s ‘Khamoshi’ we have seen the struggle of speech and hearing impaired parents, while communicating with their child . Similarly in Marathi film like Samruddhi Porey‘s ‘Mala Aai Vhaychay’ we saw the problems faced by a surrogate mother, when after taking care of the child , the absconding Mother suddenly comes to take the possession of the child. The film had also shown the story in legal and emotional perspective of who should the child be with.
Now, Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt presented and Raj R Gupta directed latest Marathi film ‘Baba‘, we find a speech and hearing impaired poor village couple Madhav( Deepak Dobriyal) & Anandi ( Nandita Patkar) taking unconditional charge of a three day old illegitimate child born to an unmarried woman Pallavi( Spruha Joshi) , whose father refuses to accept the child.
The poor couple living in a remote village make all the efforts to offer love and affection to the child named Shankar ( Aryan Menghji) for eight long 8 years. Though the child can hear, he cannot speak, obviously because of the environment around him. When after eight years, the real mother returns with her husband Raajan ( Abhijit Khandkekar) after four years of their marriage, to claim the child, Madhav and Anandi are dragged into court by their lawyer Mr. Sapre ( Shailesh Datar) to prove their claim right. So, the Public Prosecutor Mr. Madke ( Jayant Gadekar) is provided to the poor couple. What transpires in the court of Judge ( Jaywant Wadkar) handling this legal battle and how the poor father Madhav makes desperate efforts to make his little son speak during the hearing period of the case, is an interesting emotion and humour filled story presented through the film’s screenplay.
What impresses the most, is the battle in the court, with Madhav and Anandi trying to prove their point through their family friend Tryambak(Chittaranjan Giri) who stammers while speaking. The director has very skilfully shown the lifestyle of Madhav and Anandi, while meeting the small demands of little Shankar. Moreover, the struggle of Madhav is clearly noticed through his efforts so as to not lose the custody of his beloved Shankar.
The film’s screenplay and presentation style seems to have been inspired by award winning Iranian Film maker Majid Majidi and therefore there is a lot of scope for this film to receive invitations from various international film festivals. The performances of the lead artistes are the best. They find very good support from the supporting artistes. The film has also received good technical support, with superb cinematography by Arjun Sorte, good art direction by Siddharth Tatooskar, Bhakti Tatooskar suitable sound design of Shijin Hutton- Abhishek Nair and perfect music and background music by the team of Rohan, Rohan & Susmit Limaye to create the perfect village backdrop during the period of 1990.
All in all, ‘Baba’ is an artistic film for all those film lovers who love to watch something sensible that touches their heart. This emotion filled film with some added humour, is also a tribute to all fathers in this world.
‘Girlfriend’ Movie Review – Girlfriend with Spanish connection
3.5
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Writer& screenplay writer Upendra Sidhye who shot into fame after receiving Filmfare & Cine Blitz awards for best screenplay for the film ‘Mumbai Meri Jaan’ has now turned writer and director into Marathi with his latest release ‘Girlfriend’. So, being a writer himself, he has systematically developed the screenplay of this film on the backdrop of his own Pune city and using the social media very well, to target the young audience.
Through ‘Girlfriend’ Upendra presents the story of a simple and nice young man Nachiket Pradhan( Amey Wagh) a boy next door, who resembles the looks of Amol Palekar of 70s. Being simple, he has kept himself away from girlfriends. But, that comes in the way of his promotion in office and also spending time with his childhood friends, who are already in relationship. Being a graphic designer himself and active on social media, he prepares a fraudulent fb account by lifting a photo of Payal Mehta( Sai Tamhankar) and naming her as Alisha Narvekar to pose his girlfriend. What happens thereafter is a humour filled screenplay, which entertains especially the young audience.
The office and home atmosphere of Nachiket has been nicely created. Initially moving at a slow pace, the film does pick up little before the interval showing many interesting happenings in Nachiket’s life. His birthday coinciding with Valentines’ day has also been presented well to show his helplessness to find a girlfriend. The entry of Sai Tamhankar has been used well in the screenplay just before the interval. However, showing her in the narrative through a song sequence little before that has spoiled the show.
What keeps the audience engaged post interval is its Spanish connection through the character of Sai Tamhankar . Both Amey and Sai have offered variety through their respective performances, but without the support of other artistes in this film , they would not have been able to offer their best. Thanks to Yatin karyekar, Kavita Lad who play his supportive modern day parents and many other artistes who have played his close friends and office colleagues in the film. Prominent among them is popular TV star Rasika Sunil, who has impressed the most. Unfortunately, this talented actress hasn’t been used much to tap her potential. She is certainly worth considering for lead roles in Marathi films.
Other positive aspects of this film are, the music and background music by Hrishkesh , Saurabh & Jasraj , who have combined well to offer musical entertainment and nice photography of Milind Jog. All in all, ‘Girlfriend’ is an entertaining film which may draw more young audience to cinema halls.
Vikram Phadnis returns with another emotion filled subject ‘Smile Please’
3.0
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Having made his debut as a director in Marathi film industry through an emotion filled drama ‘Hridayantar’ two years ago, renowned Bollywood Costume designer Vikram Phadnis has now returned with another Marathi film ‘Smile Please’. While in his previous film Vikram presented the marital crisis of a couple married over 12 years, yet glued to their brittle married life, in the present film he presents the trauma faced by the wife after divorce, while facing her teenage daughter, who hates her and lives with her husband.
Nandini (Mukta Barve) a divorcee, who is an award winning fashion photographer, lives with her father (Satish Alekar) and housekeeper Jyoti (Trupti Khamkar). On few occasions, she keeps meeting her ex husband Shishir (Prasad Oak) and her around 12 year old daughter Nupur ( Vedashree Mahajan) . But, her daughter’s strange behaviour with her mother, disturbs Nandini, who undergoes disturbed state of mind. Life is not easy for her , as she has to keep away from her busy work schedule. At this crucial period of time, a little before the stroke of interval a youngster Viraj ( Lalit Prabhakar) who is known to her father’s friend walks in their house, as a guest for few days. Viraj wins the trust of all members of the family, except Shishir, who hates him.
So, in the post interval stage we notice how the efforts of Viraj help Nandini to face such a situation by regaining her self confidence . He also helps Nupur to understand her mother . In short, Viraj plays a good Samaritan. ‘Smile Please’ is a good effort from director Vikram Phadnis selecting a social problem which exists in families where both husband and wife have busy lifestyle. He has also shown the way but his screenplay really takes off only after the arrival of Viraj, however, the interaction between Trupti Khamkar in the role of Jyoti, the housekeeper and Satish Alekar (as Nandini’s father) , helps bring some humour into the screenplay.
Nevertheless, the performances by Mukta Barve, Prasad Oak, Satish Alekar, Lalit Prabhakar, Aditi Govitrikar and Vedashree helps give a realistic look to the film. Mukta Barve in particular has stole the show with her superb performance. Music has limited scope in this film, with two songs, but Rohan-Rohan have made their presence felt . Costumes designing done by Vikram Phadnis is no doubt worth appreciating, but above all, it is the photography by Milind Jog which impresses the most. Though this film deals with a serious subject, it is certainly a worth watch film for the sake of superb performances by the main artistes.
‘Miss U Mister’ offers emotion filled light entertainer
3.0
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After directing films like ‘Mangalashtaka Once More’, ‘Mamachya Gavala Jaoo Ya’ and multi starrer ‘Bus stop’ writer- director Sameer Joshi is back with his latest presentation ‘Miss You Mister’. Starring Siddharth Chandekar and Mrunmayee Deshpande in the lead characters of Varun and Kaveri a newly married couple , who are working hard in their respective jobs, to purchase the office premises of their own to make Varun’s father (Rajan Bhise) happy, as he has lost everything in his business, due to heavy non repayment of loans.
To earn more money, Varun signs an 18 month contract with a UK company and proceeds to London. Both Varun and Kaveri find it very difficult to stay separately and are constantly involved in skype calls and whats app messages and videos. However, the latest technology is not enough to keep them strongly bonded. Some happenings create misunderstandings between them. But, their love brings back Varun on a short vacation mid way of his contract. Even after coming back, Varun has his own commitments to his parents and friends, which makes kaveri more desperate and she decides to move to her parents place. Her only connect is her cousin Rucha( Deepti Lele) , who has also gone through a break up, as her would be prefers to shift to Delhi. The series of interesting happenings which follow, finally bring them together.
Script writer and director Sameer Hemant Joshi has tried to present a light entertainer which is filled with emotions. Through this film, he talks about the importance of proper communication and trust between a newly married couple . But, at the same time he has tried to show that just expressing love for each other and constantly chatting over phone or video calls is not enough to understand each other well. In short, he has focused more on how the long distance relationship takes a toll on the newly weds. The happenings in their respective offices and Kaveri’s interactions with Varun’s parents, with her own parents and also with Rucha are picturised very well in a humorous way At the same Varun & Kaveri’s encounter with a family friend cum counsellor ( Hrishikesh Joshi) has something worth to convey to young couples. . The director has conveniently avoided melodrama in the screenplay and has paid more attention on humour arising out of many important situations.
Through their respective roles, Siddharth and Mrunmayee have done full justice to their characters . Mrunmayee certainly finds better scope but both of them together have given realistic look to almost all the scenes including those intimate scenes filmed on them. Good support comes from Rajan Bhise, Savita Prabhune, Avinash Narkar, Radhika Vidyasagar, Hrishikesh Joshi and Deepti Lele through their respective supporting roles. Kedar Gaekwad’s cinematography & Sayali Soman’s costumes makes this film more presentable. There isn’t any scope for music, as the director pays more attention on his interesting screenplay. But, the apt back- ground music and effective sound designing does invite the attention of the audience.
All in all ‘Miss U Mister’ is a worth watch film especially for young couples and their parents.
‘Bandishala’ – Woman’s fight against the system
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3.5
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Films based on true stories have always invited the attention Marathi film lovers. And if such subjects are presented in a realistic manner, by taking the cinematic liberties, they are sure to win awards. Latest released Marathi film ‘Bandishala’ falls in this category. Having won several state awards prior to theatre release, there were big expectations from this film. And the makers of this film have proved that their film certainly deserved all the awards received by them till now.
Written by Sanjay Krishnaji Patil, the film revolves around a young dashing Jail Officer Madhavi Sawant (Mukta Barve) who tries to bring discipline into her jail by personally supervising all the departments and taking tough actions against the dreaded criminals involved in challenging her discipline, because of their political connections. Well aware of the corrupt practices of her superior Sudanrao Jadhav ( Shard Ponkshe) and his connections with politicians and Minister, she gathers all the evidences of their dealings.
One night after returning from a ceremony along her family members, Madhavi’s car is attacked by five dreaded criminals, who kidnap and rape her. Totally shattered by this sudden horrible incidence, Madhavi tries to recover with the morale support from her husband Shekhar ( Vikram Gaikwad), but the kind of trauma she faces, during the court trial of the five accused of her rape, clearly shows how a woman is treated by the defence lawyer ( Ajay Purkar) in an attempt to prove the accused not guilty.
‘Bandishala’ is actually the voice of all such women in our country, who are fighting for respect in this male dominant society. Simply acquiring power in the job on merit is not enough for a woman. She needs motivation from higher authorities and support from sub ordinates to implement her plans. And, this is what the strong character of Madhavi is fighting for, in this film. What she is actually expecting from her colleagues, she finally finds from the efficient S.P. ( Prasanna Ketkar) and his team of honest police officers, who not only nab the criminals but also gather sufficient evidences against them.
Director Milind Lele has created that strong impact of a gripping tale through this film, but at few places, we find more drama in the court, especially the way the Defence lawyer argues and the Judge watching such scenes mutely. The Public prosecutor played by Savita Prabhune has not been given much scope to defend Madhavi. Nevertheless, wonderful performances by the lead artistes, gives more realistic look to this film. Mukta Barve is at her best. Good support comes from Hemangi Kavi in the role of Ruksana, whose all women small workshop is supported by Madhavi. In Madhavi’s sensible and supportive husband’s role Vikram Gaikwad has also impressed. Another best performance comes from Umesh Jagtap , who plays a dreaded criminal Raghu Farkate undergoing jail sentence and having contacts with politicians. There are many other artistes like Sharad Ponkshe, Madhav Abhyankar, Pravin Tarde, Asha Shelar, Ashwini Giri and others, who have offered good support. Superb cinematography by Suresh Deshmane is another highlight of this film. Music by Amitraj is just fine for the three songs in this film.
All in all, ‘Bandishala’ is a well presented realistic film with hard hitting dialogues .
‘Mogara Phulalaa’ emits the pleasant fragrance of mild humour
3.5
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During the 70s film makers like Hrishikesh Mukherkee and Basu Chatterjee offered some quality films generating mild humour, very successfully through their gripping screenplay. Perhaps inspired by the films of these two film makers, national award winning Marathi film maker Shrabani Deodhar has tried this experiment in Marathi through her latest released film ‘Mogara Phulala’. And well suited to the title of her film, she has successfully presented this film to emit the pleasant fragrance of mild humour.
Very effectively director Shrabani Deodhar tells you the emotional bonding between a 30+ typical most obedient ‘mama’s boy’ Sunil Kulkarni ( Swapnil Joshi) and his possessive mother ( Neena Kulkarni) . The dominating mother whose younger brother in law and elder son have married the girls of their choice, after her husband’s death, wants her younger son to marry the girl of her choice. And Sunil who is a software engineer does what his mother feels right for him.
But, after rejecting about 38 marriage proposals, Sunil finally falls in love with a woman Shivangi Gupte ( Sai Deodhar) who is almost of his age, but is a widow, who has a little daughter Reva. Shivangi works as Asst ,Manager in a co-op Bank , where Sunil along with his friend Mayur ( Sandeep Pathak) have set up a software programme for them. Both come closer, when Sunil’s bachelor uncle who is a and dramatist visits the joint family and happens to stage a play for Shivangi’s bank for competition, on the insistence of bank manager Dhaigude( Anand Ingale). When Sunil’s mother comes to know about the closeness of her son with Shivangi, she plays a game to separate them. Finally, all goes well after sequence of interesting happenings .
‘Mogara Phulalaa’ is certainly a well made film to keep the audience engaged from start to finish. The appealing story of Shrabani Deodhar supported by crisp screenplay and dialogues by Sachin Mote makes ‘Mogara Phulala’ more presentable . Music is not the base of this film, but Rohit Raut’s music is appealing for two background songs. Equally good is Amol Gole‘s superb photography. But, what appeals the most are the excellent performances of Marathi Superstar Swapnil Joshi ,popular TV star Sai Deodhar , veteran actress Neena Kulkarni , Chandrakant Kulkarni and a big team of artistes in supporting roles. Director Shrabani Deodhar has extracted the best out of all these versatile artistes, in almost all the scenes. All in all ‘Mogara Phulala’ has turned out to be a worth watch film for all.