Is the popularity of Swapnil Joshi diminishing ?
Swapnil Joshi, the so called superstar of Marathi films, was in great form, when his film ‘Duniyadari’ became a hit, in the year 2013. This also helped , in the success of subsequent film ‘Mangalashtaka Once More’ released few months later, as he was riding on the success of his previous film. But, some critics felt that ‘Mangalashtaka Once More’ received good response, because there was Mukta Barve, talented Marathi actress, as his co star.
Later, Swapnil did sign two big films. One of them was Sanjay Jadhav’s ‘Pyarwali Love Story’ with Sai Tamhankar and the other was ‘Welcome Zindagi’ with Amruta Khanvilkar, another talented actress. But, ‘Pyarwali Love Story’ didn’t do well. And, ‘Welcome Zindagi’, which was released in June this year, was a flop. The only film which gave him respite , was ‘Mitwa’ , which was released on Valentine’s day, early this year. But, once again, the critics felt that success of ‘Mitwa’ was its mesmerizing music.
Swapnil then had lots of hopes from Sanjay Jadhav’s love story ‘Tu Hi Re’, which was released few days ago. But, once again, this film too did business, below expectation. And, this gave an impression, that the popularity of Superstar was diminishing. Swapnil himself, will have to find the reasons, as to why his last two films didn’t do well.
Even otherwise, he desperately needs one hit, before the end of the year, to remain in the race. At present, hero of Marathi films, is its story. And, therefore, success of Marathi films is totally dependent on good story, which would appeal the audience . Anyway, Swapnil’s next film will be ‘Mumbai Pune Mumbai-2′ , which is for Diwali release. There is one more film, he has signed with director Swapna Waghmare and then there will be another big banner film, for which the search for his actress, is going on through 9x Jhakaas reality show contest. Will ‘Mumbai Pune Mumbai-2′ prove lucky for him, to bounce back ? Let us wait till Diwali. But, till then, he will have to work very hard, on promoting his forthcoming film.
Bollywood actor Rahul Roy all praise for Marathi films
Known for his super hit film ‘Aashiqui’ on debut in 1990, Bollywood actor Rahul Roy has acted in about 28 films, during the past 25 years. Now days, he is noticed at the music launch functions of Marathi films. Few months ago, he was seen as a chief guest for the music launch of the film ‘Just Gammat’. Recently, we saw him once again, as chief guest for the music launch of forthcoming Marathi film ‘Mohor’, directed by Vijay Patkar.
Rahul’s presence at the ceremony, certainly gave way to the rumors about his possible debut in Marathi films. At present, many Bollywood personalities have been entering Marathi cinema. So, even if he performs in Marathi films, in near future, it will not be surprising. But, while speaking on the occasion, Rahul was all praise for Marathi films. ” Marathi films have excellent stories and good content. I myself watch selected Marathi films, with my friends.” he said.
Knowing about the genre of the film ‘Mohor’, he added, “Those who play comedy roles, are very serious people in their real lives. I have myself experienced this, while interacting with so many artistes.”
After releasing the music CD of the film, Rahul interacted with the artistes and crew of this film and offered his good wishes to them. ‘Mohar’ stars Sayaji Shinde, Prasad Oak, Aditi Sarangdhar , along with Vijay Kadam, Helmata Bane, and debutante child artistes Prajakta Jagtap and Chaitanya Ghadge.Music by Milind More and DOP Raj Phadtare are the other credits of the film.
Much awaited film ‘Khwada’ to finally release on 22nd October
It is not the first time that a national award winning film, has taken a long time to release in theatres. In the past, Marathi film ‘Dhhag’ won two national awards; but it took more than a year to release the film in theatres, that too in very limited screens. But, Bhaurao Karhade, who has made his debut as a director, through his film ‘Khwada’ and also won national award, has been lucky to find a presenter.
Chandrashekhar More, one of the leading art directors of Hindi film industry, has come forward to be presenter of ‘Khwada’. Now, this film will be released all over Maharashtra on 22nd October 2015. This was officially announced at a press conference held recently. While speaking on the occasion, Bhaurao Karhade thanked Mr. Chandrashekhar More and said that he made this film to provide wholesome entertainment to every member of a family. He also hoped that the audience would get a unique cinematic experience, while watching his film.
On this occasion, the entire team of ‘Khwada’ including lead actors Shashank Shende, Bhausaheb Shinde and Anil Nagarkar were also present. The other cast of the film comprises of Yogesh Dimble, Rasika Chavan, Vaishnavi Dhore, Chandrakant Dhumal, Prashant Ingle, Vaishali Kendale, Amol Thorat, Nana More, Hemant Kadam and Surekha. Cinematography of the film is done by Veerdhawal, editing has been handled by Rohan Patil, art direction by Sandeep Inamke, lyrics by Vinayak Pawar and the music is given by Rohit Nagbhide. Highlight of the film is the great sound designing done by Mahavir Sabanvar.
Anand Shinde returns with another catchy number in ‘Shinma’
Anand Shinde who enrolled his name in Limca & Guinness Book of World records, with his super hit song ‘Navin Popat ha, lagala Mithu mithu bolayla’, has recorded more than 10,000 songs , which also includes songs from 112 films, till recent past. Recently, we saw him in his new look, with a new hair style, during the music release of forthcoming Marathi film ‘Shinma’. And, when his catchy number ‘Tujhi Chimni Udali Bhurr’ was played on A.V.System, there was overwhelming response from the audience present on the occasion. The appreciation was not only for the performers Ganesh Acharya and Gurleen Chopra, but also the legendary singer, which became clear, when his name was announced, to come on the dais.
‘Shinma’ which is an entertaining film filled with a social message, is produced by Aanil Joshi under the banner of Vedaant Entertainment and is directed by Milind kavade. Later, the music CD of this film was officially released at the hands of renowned choreographer Ganesh Acharya, who is also part of the star cast of this film, as he has performed along with Gurleen Chopra, on this song played on the occasion. Many well known celebrities from Marathi film industry, who are also artistes in this film, were personally present, to grace the occasion.
There are five songs in the film, each sung in a different style, adhering to different moods. While Varun Likhate has composed four songs which are situation based, one has been composed by Rohan-Rohan. Anand Shinde has rendered his song along with Kavita Nikam. Jay Atre, Rahul Salve and Sagar Wankhede have penned the songs, while Deepali Sathe, Rohit Raut & Varun Likhte have also rendered other songs, on the music of Manish Rajgire & music composer duo Rohan-Rohan.
The film stars Ajinkya Deo, Kishori Shahane, Saurabh Gokhale, Sanskruti Balgude, Gurleen Chopra, Yatin Karyekar, Vijay Patkar, Ananda Karekar, Anshuman Vichare, Ganesh Yadav, , Arun Kadam, Abhijeet Chauhan, Digambar Naik, Ashish Pawar, Jaywant Wadkar, Nisha Parulekar and others. The story of this film is written by Milind Kavade, Ashok Jhagde and Prakash Bhagwat while Milind Kavade has himself written the screenplay. Sagar Wankhede and Deepak Thube have written the dialogues. Renowned DOP from the South Santonio Terezeo, has done the cinematography of this film
Actor Vijay Chavan (Viju Mama) Not Out!
Usually ‘Drags’ are not appreciated by sensible audiences. Almost everybody who played drag couldn’t resist temptation of below the belt humor but one actor who do not fall into this category is Vijay Chavan. When he donned a sari to play a female character of Mavshi (maternal aunt) in a Marathi play ‘Moruchi Mavshi’ he was appreciated and adored by the audiences and his appearance as Mavshi for around 3000 times proves it. After doing competitive theatre when he got an opportunity on professional theatre, first with ‘Tur Tur’ and then ‘Moruchi Mavshi’, there has been no looking back. But after so many years and 250 films he is still grounded. He did about 50 plays and each one of them crossed 100 shows and that’s no small feat. He has always stood out among many big names leaving his own stamp in movies or plays.
Vijay Chavan, fondly referred to as Vijumama by the industry people, was the first recipient of honour ‘Not Out’, an initiative to honor senior actors from Marathi entertainment industry while they still are active in the field, by Sailee Dream Ventures and Dream Shop Entertainment. The organizers Mangesh and Sudha Sawant and Bhushan Kadu whose brainchild is this idea, were unanimous on Vijumama’s name and when Vijay Chavan took stage in the garb of his trademark Mavshi costume, he received a standing ovation.
Incidentally Vijay Chavan has films like, ‘Zapatlela’, ‘Pachadlela’, ‘Zapatlela 2′, ‘Akleche Kande’, ‘Nana Mama’, ‘Misal Pav’, ‘Sangto Aika’, ‘Sasu cha Swayamvar’ to name a few. His son Varad started off the show with his crisp dancing in Ganesh Vandana and Natarang Naman. Pushkar Shrotri was his usual best in compering and some of his one-liners were intelligently tickling. Hemangi Kavi, Atul Todankar, Abhijit Chavan, Santosh Pawar, Kamalakar Satpute were part of the comedy skits while Pradeep Patwardhan and Kishore Ambiye staged a scene from Moruchi Mavshi with Vijumama himself. Deepali Sayyad, Pooja Sawant, Sanskruti Balgude enthralled the audience with their gyrating moves.
Plenty celebrities from the marathi film industry were present with best wishes for Vijay Chavan.
Vijay Chavan, a man of few words, thanked everybody for the good words and honor.
Ashish Wagh offers ‘Mr. & Mrs. Sadachari’
Ashish Wagh is a big name in Film Corporate Sector. As a leading distributor, he has distributed about 300 films. In association with Utpal Acharya, he has even produced a Bollywood film MMS. Now, he is producing and directing a Marathi film ‘Mr.& Mrs. Sadachari’, shooting of which is in progress at Kolhapur. Having already shot some parts of the film in Mauritius, the film will get ready for release on 4th December 2015.
The teaser of this film was released along with the film ‘Tu Hi Re’, thus generating curiosity among the film lovers. After the success of their film ‘Coffee Aani Barach Kahi’, Vaibhav Tatwawdi and Prarthana Behere are working together again, through this film. And, along with them are other popular artistes like Mohan Joshi, Uma Sardeshmukh, Sumukhi Pendse, Prasad Javade, Uday Nene, Vijay Andalkar and others.
Produced under the banner of Indian Film Studios , the cinematography of this film is by Balaji Rangha, art direction is by Mahesh Salgaonkar, while music is provided by Pankaj Padghan & V.Harikrishnan.
जगण्याची नवी उर्मी देणारा ‘उंच माझा झोका’ पुरस्कार
विविध क्षेत्रात पुरुषांच्या खांद्याला खांदा लावूनच नव्हे तर त्याही पेक्षा एक पाऊल पुढे जात स्वतःची वेगळी ओळख निर्माण करणा-या आणि प्रसिद्धीचा सोस न बाळगता अव्याहतपणे आपले कार्य करणा-या कितीतरी महिला आपल्या आजुबाजूला आहेत. अशा कर्तृत्ववान स्त्रियांच्या कार्याची नुसती दखल न घेता त्यांच्या कार्याचा य़थोचित सन्मान ‘उंच माझा झोका पुरस्कार’ द्वारे करण्यात येतो. यंदाच्या वर्षी देशात आणि जगात आपल्या कार्याचा ठसा उमटवणा-या दहा कर्तृत्वशालिनींचा गौरव नुकताच ठाण्यातील डॉ. काशिनाथ घाणेकर सभागृहात बुधवारी एका शानदार सोहळा करण्यात आला.
ह्या वर्षी ज्येष्ठ समाजसेवी मीराताई लाड ह्यांचा ‘उंच माझा झोका जीवनगौरव’ पुरस्काराने सन्मानित करण्यात आले. बरोबर रझिया सुलताना यांना सामाजिक कार्यासाठी, डॉ. प्रियदर्शनी कर्वे यांना पर्यावरण जागृतीसाठी, आंतरराष्ट्रीय मैदान गाजवणा-या धावपटू कविता राऊत, ज्येष्ठ लेखिका कविता महाजन यांना साहित्य विभागासाठी हा पुरस्कार देण्यात आला.
डॉ. सीमाताई साखरे, स्वीटी पाटेला, वैशाली बारये, वैशाली मोरे, पूजा घनसरवाड ह्यांचा विशेष सन्मान करण्यात आला. कार्यक्रमास ज्येष्ठ रंगकर्मी अरूण काकडे, धनराज पिल्ले व अनेक कलाकार मान्यवरांची उपस्थिती होती. अभिनेते अतुल कुलकर्णी आणि अभिनेत्री सोनाली कुलकर्णी यांनी पुरस्कारांचे निवेदन केले.
येत्या १३ सप्टेंबरला सायंकाळी ७.०० वा. झी मराठीवर हा पुरस्कार सोहळा प्रसारित होईल.
Teacher’s day reminds us of few memorable Marathi film characters
Come Teacher’s day and it takes us down memory lane to recollect, who were those great actors who played the roles of ideal teachers in Marathi films. The first character comes to our mind is that of a school master played by Dr. Shreeram Lagoo and his tragic tale in V.Shantaram‘s hit film ‘Pinjara‘.
Later, there were many films and many Marathi actors have played ideal teachers in subsequent Marathi films. And, how can we forget the name of Atul Kulkarni, whose performance as a teacher in the film ‘Dahavi Fa‘ brought many popular awards to this sensible film. Sandeep Kulkarni, also portrayed a committed school teacher in the film ‘Night school‘ few years ago. Very recently, we saw Nagesh Bhosale, who otherwise plays negative role, playing the role of an ideal teacher and his fight against injustice ,with the support of some of his ex students.
Our films are best medium to pass a social message through feature films. And, the strong characters of teachers in these films, play a very important role. Marathi Movie World salutes all those actors, who played this role, to help bring that desired change in the society and also inspire the audience.
Impressive First look of ‘Vakratunda Mahakaaya’
Releasing the films timely, many a times helps in the promotion of films. In the past, we have seen many Marathi films, releasing during festive season, if the film is set on the backdrop of that particular festival. Now, as the Ganapati festival is around the corner, we find one such Marathi film, with suitable title, ‘Vakratunda Mahakaaya’ releasing on 25th September 2015.
The first look of this film was released along with the press show of ‘Tu Hi Re’ on Thursday afternoon. And, it certainly sounds interesting, with action filled with emotions. As per the press note, The film’s plot revolves around an attempt of terrorist attack in Mumbai city. The bomb has been planted in a Ganesha soft toy. The whole plan turns upside down when a Muslim kid Altaf accidentally picks it up and runs away with it. So, it’s a story of a small boy and his new best friend Ganesha. The films to highlight today’s human reality and fast moving true lifestyle of a metropolis.
The film stars National Award winner writer Vijay Maurya along with Usha Nadkarni, Naman Jain, Prarthana Behere, Jayant Sawarkar, Shashank Shende & Rishi Deshpande . Directed by Punarvasu Naik the film’s story is by Yogesh Vinayak Joshi. Cinematography by Mitesh Mirchandani & Music by Sanket Naik- Sankarshan Kini are other credits. The big team of producers comprise of E-Sense Motion Pictures, Anurag Kashyap, Bohra Bros, Alumbra Entertainment Media, Sikhya Entertainment and Sabacom. By the way, with this bilingual (Hindi and Marathi) movie, eminent filmmaker Aurang Kashyap has made his debut as a producer in Marathi film industry.
Marathi film audience has become more wiser
Last year Marathi films not only did good business; but, they were well appreciated by critics and audience. Best examples are films like ‘Time Pass’, ‘Lai Bhari’, ‘Dr.Prakash Baba Amte’, ‘Happy Journey’, ‘Elizabeth Ekadashi’, ‘Yellow’, ‘Poshter Boyz’, ‘Viti Dandu’, ‘Rege’ & Rama Madhav’. But, compared to last year, now during the first eight months of this year, we haven’t noticed much of appreciation from the audience for Marathi films, except for few films like ‘Mitwa’, ‘Classmates’, ‘Deool Band’, ‘Coffee Aani Barach Kaahi’, ‘Lokmanya’ & ‘Double Seat’.
There were films like national award winning film ‘Court’, ‘Killa’, ‘Time Pass2′ which claimed to have done good business with simultaneous rele
ase at maximum cinema halls; but the audience didn’t like them. This was clearly noticed through the reactions posted by film lovers on social networking sites and their overall reaction at public places, while taking about these films. There were some films like ‘Kakan’, ‘Welcome Zindagi’, ‘Nilkanth Master’, ‘Bioscope’ ,’Dhinchak Enterprise’ and recently released ‘Highway’, which had good concept, but, the audience did not respond much, as expected. Other films like ‘Slambook’ & ‘Shortcut’, ‘Baji’, ‘Murder Mestri’, ‘Sata Lota Pan Sagala Khota’, ‘Janiva’, ‘Online Binline’, ‘Tujhya Vina Mar Javaan’ failed to appeal the audience. Many of these films, had created a lot of hype, through their promotion; but that did not benefit the film in any way.
Today, Marathi film audience is becoming smarter day by day. Now, they look for both quality and entertainment in a film, besides good story. Will the forthcoming Marathi big banner films, be able to fulfill their requirement? The result of films like ‘Mumbai Pune Mumbai-2′, ‘Tu Hi Re’ & ‘Katyar Kaljaat Ghusali’ will tell the truth.