‘Mr.& Mrs. Sadachari’ offer a south recipe of entertainment in Marathi
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Rating: ★★★
Genres: Romantic Action Packed Love Story Censor: U/A Duration: 130 min Studio/presenter: Indian Film Studios Producer(s): Utpal Acharya, Ashish Wagh Director: Ashish Wagh Music: Pankaj Padghan, V. Harikrishna Cinematographer (DOP): Balajee Rangha Cast: Vaibhav Tatwawdi, Prarthana Behere, Mohan Joshi, Uma Sardeshmukh, Sumukhi Pendse, Prasad Javade, Uday Nene, Vijay Andalkar Movie Review by: Ulhas Shirke |
In our Marathi film industry, there are different types of subjects presented through films. Some are, sensible story based realistic films, including biopics, which are welcomed now days. Others are traditional comedy films. But, for the past few years, we are also finding total commercial entertainment based films, which offer a complete package, i.e. romance, action, emotion and music together. Latest released film ‘Mr. & Mrs. Sadachari’ falls in this last category. Being a remake of hit Kannada film ‘Mr. & Mrs. Ramchari’, Producer director Ashish Wagh has found a copy book recipe, for this Marathi version. He has however made few changes, to meet the requirement of Marathi audience.
Now days, there is a wave of ‘Superhero’ films in Marathi, with tall and handsome Ankush Choudhary showing the way, by tossing his opponents in the air, during action sequences, in films like ‘Dagadi Chawl’ and ‘Guru’. Earlier, we had also seen Riteish Deshmukh doing the same stunts in ‘Lai Bhari’ and another angry young man Gashmir Mahajani doing it in ‘Carry On Maratha’. And now, we have one more superhero adding to this list. He is ‘Shiva’ played by upcoming Marathi actor Vaibhav Tatwawdi. Being blessed with good height and perfect physique, he too has proved in ‘Mr. & Mrs. Sadachari’ that he has stronger arms to take on six tough guys at a time.
The story of ‘Mr.& Mrs. Sadachari’ is about this Superhero Shiva( Vaibhav Tatwawdi) who is just an average student in his college but has a big heart, to help all those in trouble, be it, helping them, going out of his way or beating up those harassing the girls. Above all, he gets all his strength from great Maratha warrior Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, whom he adores through his heart. One day, he rescues beautiful Gargi, who is about to be molested by a self styled baddie ( Vijay Andalkar) in the college. Gargi is highly impressed by the guts shown by Shiva and there is love at first sight, for both of them. But, their love doesn’t last for long, due to some mix up and they break- up. At this stage, the story of this film, almost goes on the lines of recently released film ‘Friends’. And, we feel, as if we are watching another ‘Friends’. But, in the post interval stage, we notice the high emotion filled drama, between father( Mohan Joshi) and son Shiva. Taking few twists and turns, in the concluding part of the film, we finally see Shiva and Gargi together, in a typical Bollywood style climax.
The lead pair of Vaibhav and Prathana have a good chemistry between them and therefore they suit well, in all their romantic and dispute scenes. There are some emotion filled scenes of Vaibhav with his screen father Mohan Joshi too and the talented actor has proved his ability in this area also. Watch that scene, when his father forces him to show his dance skills, late in the midnight hours. As an actor, Vaibhav has been given enough scope to show his all round skills, in this film. Good support comes from his co star Prathana Behere and other supporting senior artistes Mohan Joshi and Pradeep Velankar.
Among the youngsters, Prasad Javade , Anuja Sathe Gokhale & Uday Nene look confident in their respective roles. Vijay Andalkar has been wasted as a typical villain of 70s and 80s bollywood films, who keeps on appearing again and again, in spite of being beaten up badly, by the hero, every time. The film has very good music composed by Pankaj Padghan & V.Harikrishna. Even the songs of the film are either shot with good choreography with colourful costumes or at beautiful locations including Mauritius with good photography by Balaji Ranga . Some of the dialogues in the film are well written, to suit the taste of Marathi audience .
There are few illogical sequences and also few predictable happenings seen in this film; but we often notice them in many bollywood successful commercial films. More than required time, has also been wasted in showing smoking and drinking scenes, with statutory warning flashed at the bottom of the screen. But, all in all , ‘Mr.& Mrs. Sadachari’ offer a perfect south recipe of entertainment in Marathi. Those who love such types of action films, combined with romance, emotion and music, may like this film.
‘Poshter Girl’ spreads timely message to today’s youth
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Rating: ★★★ ½
Genres: Comedy, Drama Censor: U Duration: 142 Min. Studio/presenter: Viacom 18 Motion Pictures Pvt Ltd Producer(s): Deepak Director: Sameer Patil Writer: Hemant Dhome Music: Amitraj Cinematographer (DOP): Pushpank Gawade Cast: Sonalee Kulkarni, Jitendra Joshi, Aniket Vishwasrao, Siddharth Menon, Hemant Dhome, Sandeep Pathak, Akshay Tanksale, Hrishikesh Joshi Movie Review by: Ulhas Shirke |
Every sensible film maker has his own way of spreading a social message, through the medium of cinema. Indeed, cinema can change the opinion of people, towards an important social issue. Over the years, many well known film makers have tried their best to deliver social message, with the help of entertainment. But, it is very important to present the subject, through screenplay, in such a way, that the film doesn’t become a documentary.
Through latest released Marathi film ‘Poshter Girl’, writer Hemant Dhome and director Sameer Patil have tried their best to deliver a social message, to draw the attention of audience towards two important issues, i.e. female feticide and land grab of poor farmers, in the name of development. And, they have succeeded in their mission.
The film has been set on the rural backdrop, showing one such village Tekavade, which has banned the birth of a girl child, for the past 15 years. Even if any girl is born, the mother along with the girl child, are asked to leave the village. So, these women have no option, but to leave the village and shift to their parent’s place in other village. One day, a mod girl Rupali (Sopnalee Kulkarni) based in Pune and preparing for her MPSC exams, comes to this village to her Uncle’s ( Hrishikesh Joshi) place, to attend a religious ceremony of her departed father. And, her arrival, changes the outlook of all eligible bachelors in the village. All of them, want her to be their would be wife.
Realizing the situation in the village, Rupali plays a clever game, with the help of her friend from the village ( Hemant Dhome), whose father owns a hair cutting saloon and who is also preparing for his MPSC exams. The shortlisted candidates by Rupali, are played by Jitendra Joshi, son of a Village Sarpanch ( Madhav Abhyankar), Aniket Vishwasrao son of a trader Anand Ingale, Siddharth Menon, son of a Beer Shoppe owner Vaibhav Mangle & the twins Ramesh-Suresh , sons of a trader in building materials, respectively. But, when Rupali insists that the boy should be working hard and be a farmer, all of them take up the challenge to do collective farming, to grow Bell pepper. What transpires through this process, has been cleverly presented by the director in humorous way.
Some of the scenes in the film, especially in post interval session, have been over stretched. Moreover, the conclusion part of the film is predictable; but, the intention of the film maker being good, this drawback of the film, can be ignored. You can’t compare this film, with the director’s previous hit film ‘Poshter Boyz’, as the situation in his previous film, was totally different. ‘Poshter Girl’ has much more to offer, to the people living in rural areas. But, we only hope that the film reaches to them.
Wonderful performances by a big team of popular artistes, add vigor into this humor filled film. While Sonalee Kulkarni, has shown lot of improvisation in her acting, especially the style of her dialogue delivery; Hrishikesh Joshi entertains through his comedy punches and spontaneous body language. Hemant Dhome, being a writer of this film, has opted for a non-comedy role and he has played it convincingly. Aniket Vishwasrao has also presented something different, through his introvert character of Bajarang. Siddharth Menon suits well as a 20 year old happy go lucky youngster . Sadeep Patrhak and Akshay Tanksale provide good entertainment as fun loving twin brothers.
Good support is provided by other artistes in the film, comprising of Madhav Abhyankar, Neha Shitole, Anand Ingale, Vaibhav Mangale, Jaywant Wadkar & others.
Music is not very impressive, except for one DJ song, which is expected to popularize, at rural festivals and one traditional Lavani, which has been picturised on debutant Rasika. All in all ‘Poshter Girl’ is not an ‘out of the box’ kind of film, but an entertaining commercial masala film, with a timely social message, for the entire family.
‘Mumbai Time’ rewinds to present Mumbai Gangwar of 80s
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Rating: ★★★
Genres: Action, Love Story, Revenge, Drama Censor: A Duration: 140 min. Studio/presenter: Udaydada Lad Producer: Somnath Chitra Director: Sushrut Bhagwat Writer: Udaydada Lad Screenplay: Aashish Pathre Music: Ashok Patki, Yogita Chitale Cinematographer (DOP): Ajith V. Reddy Cast: Umesh Kamat, Mahesh Manjrekar, Mrunal Dusanis, Rahul Mehendale, Ramesh Bhatkar, Deepak Shirke, Sanjay Mone, Kishor Chougule Movie Review by: Ulhas Shirke |
There have been many films made, on Gangsters in Mumbai. Three years ago, there was a film ‘Shootout at Wadala’, which was based on middle class graduate turned gangster of Mumbai Manohar alias Manya Surve. John Abraham had played his character in this film. The film presented detailed story of this gangster, showing his final encounter with Mumbai police.
Now, producer Udaydada Lad and director Sushrut Bhagwat have made a film ‘Mumbai Time-A revenge Story’ which is based on another qualified youngster turned gangster, Amar Bhargav Surve. The film has declared in the beginning of the film that no character in this film resembles any person dead or alive. Also, the director of the film has denied that the character of Amar has any relationship with late Manya Surve. But, the crime records available on internet, show that Manya Surve had a step brother , Bhargav dada, who was also a gangster.
In the film, there is a character of Bhargav dada( Played by Sanjay Mone) , who is shown as the father of lead character Amar ( Umesh Kamat). He is shown returning from jail, to begin his business, as a bar owner. In the film, Amar’s mother( Ashwini Ekbote) encourages her son to take up a good job, after completing his education. And, Amar does try for the same, being an intelligent youngster. But, his father’s name and his past comes in the way of his getting good job. One day, Amar goes out with his friend( Advait Dadarkar) and when his friend is being attacked by local goon Ravdya ( Kishore Chougule) belonging to notorious gangster Anna( Deepak Shirke), he intervenes and injures Ravdya. Later, Amar surrenders before the police. But, ravdya takes revenge, by killing Amar’s parents.
At this stage of this film, we see the beginning of the revenge story, with Amar joining the Khan ( Ramesh Bhatkar) gang, pleasing Khan, by eliminating the members of Anna gang, one by one, using his skills. His father’s right hand( Rahul Mehendale) also joins Amar, in this revenge drama. But, the right hand of Khan – Dattu Fighter( Rahul Gore) , is unable to bear the closeness of the film’s hero with Khan and he keeps on playing his dirty tricks.
There is a special Police officer Mr. Inamdar ( Mahesh Manjrekar) called from Nagpur to stop the Gangwar, but instead of solving the case, he wastes his time playing chess and drinking tea with Amar. No freehand is given to his character. Similarly, Mrunal Dusanis, who plays Amar’s girlfriend, keeps on supporting Amar, even in his shoot out revenge story. Towards the end of the film, we find Dattu Fighter swearing for revenge; though all members of Anna gang including his chief are eliminated. In the climax, we clearly find a clue being given, that the sequel of this film will be made, by the makers of this film to go with the present trend.
‘Mumbai Time’ has lot of resemblance to many past Bollywood films on gangsters, including recently released film ‘Dagadi Chawl’, especially the concluding part. There is lot of violence in the film, with firing of bullets in most of the scenes. Umesh Kamat has played his role convincingly. Good support comes from Ramesh Bhatkar, Sanjay Mone, Deepak Shirke, Ashwini Ekbote, Mrunal Dusanis,Kishore Chougule and others. The character of Police officer played by Mahesh Manjrekar is not well defined in the film, which goes on to show that police have been given less importance in this gangster dominated film. Even the character of a school master, is just for name sake in the film.
Technically, the film is well made, with good editing work by Rajesh Rao and well captured photography by Ajith Reddy. Ashok Patki & Yogita Chitale have provided well suited music, to few songs in this film. All in all, the filmmaker has been able to create an atmosphere of Gang Wars in Mumbai, during 80s, with some of the dialogues in Hindi, especially, those uttered by the character of Ramesh Bhatkar and few others. Only those, who love to watch action films, on such subjects, may like this film. The film could have been more gripping and entertaining.
‘प्रेम कहानी’ मराठी कि हिंदी … हीच लपलेली गोष्ट
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रेटिंग: ★★ ½
स्टुडीओ: एस. एन मुव्हीज निर्माता: लालचंद शर्मा दिग्दर्शक: सतीश रणदिवे कथा: सतीश रणदिवे छायांकन: विजय देशमुख संकलन: विजय खोचीकर संगीतकार: प्रविण कुवर गीते: योगेश, राजेश बामुगडे, प्रवीण कुवर संवाद: राज काजी, अभिजीत पेंढारकर कलाकार: काजल शर्मा, फैजल खान, उदय टिकेकर, किशोरी शहाणे-वीज, मिलिंद गुणाजी, निशिगंधा वाड, समीरा गुजर, डॉ. विलास उजवणे समीक्षा: उल्हास शिर्के |
सध्या मराठी चित्रपटांची ओळख उत्तम दर्जेदार चित्रपट म्हणून जगभर होत आहे. विविध आंतरराष्ट्रीय चित्रपट महोत्सवांमध्ये, मराठी चित्रपटांकडे सकारात्मक दृष्टीने पहिले जाते. त्यामुळे, हल्ली मराठी चित्रपटांच्या निर्मिती मध्ये बरेच नवीन निर्माते पुढे येत आहेत. मग त्यांना मराठी भाषा समजत असो वा नसो. कारण, सिनेमाला कोणतीही भाषा नसते. आणि याच कारणामुळे, काही अमराठी कलाकार देखील मराठी चित्रपटांकडे ओढले जाउ लागले आहेत. त्यापैकी काही जण मराठी भाषा शिकतात, तर काहीजणांना असे रोल दिले जातात,की त्यांनी तोडके- मोडके मराठी किंवा हिंदी किंवा इंग्रजी भाषेत बोलले, तरी चालते. कारण मराठी चित्रपट रसिकांचे मन खूप मोठे आहे. त्यांचा, फक्त चांगल्या कथेशी संबंध असतो.
तसेही, मराठी मध्ये प्रेम आणि त्याच्याशी निगडीत पुनर्जन्माशी निगडीत कथा, फारच कमी. त्यामुळे, लालचंद शर्मा नामक निर्माते अनुभवी सतीश रणदिवे या दिग्दर्शकांना सोबत घेऊन, अश्या विषयावरील ‘प्रेम कहानी.. एक लपलेली गोष्ट’ हा मराठी चित्रपट घेऊन आले आहेत. म्हणायला, हा मराठी चित्रपट म्हणून प्रदर्शित होत असला तरी, या चित्रपटाचा उत्तरार्ध जवळ जवळ ९०% हिंदी भाषेत आहे. त्यामुळे, हा चित्रपट, द्विभाषिक असणे, हीच ‘प्रेम कहानी’ ची लपलेली गोष्ट असल्याचे जाणवते.
एकंदरीत, हा चित्रपट तांत्रिक दृष्ट्या उत्तम जमला आहे आणि त्यात राजस्थानात व इतर लोकेशन्स वर चित्रित केलेली विजय देशमुख यांची सुंदर फोटोग्राफी, प्रवीण कुंवर याचे चित्रपटाच्या कथेला साजेसे संगीत, या चित्रपटाच्या जमेच्या बाजू म्हणाव्या लागतील.
हा चित्रपट पुनर्जन्माशी संबंधित असल्यामुळे, चित्रपटाची कथा सांगणे योग्य ठरणार नाही. पण, एका श्रीमंत घरात लाडाने वाढलेली एक कॉंलेज तरुणी सोनल ( काजल शर्मा) , राजस्थानशी निगडीत कुठल्याही चित्राकडे किंवा हस्तकलेकडे पाहून, हरवून जाते. आणि तिचे आई वडील (उदय टिकेकर व किशोरी शहाणे विज) यांना काळजी वाटते. म्हणून ते त्यांच्या खास ओळखीच्या डॉक्टरांना( डॉ.विलास उजवणे) तिची तपासणी करण्यास सांगतात. जरी स्कॅन मध्ये काही आढळले नसले, तरी डॉक्टर आपल्या मुलाच्या (कौस्तुभ दिवाण) मदतीने, सोनल ला इतर मित्र मंडळीं सोबत राजस्थान येथे सहलीला जाण्यास सांगतात .
तेथे गेल्यावार राजस्थान येथील पर्यटनाचा आनंद घेत असता, सोनल ला जैसलमेर येथे एके ठिकाणी, आपल्या पूर्वीच्या जन्मातील सर्व घटना आठवतात. आणि रहस्याचा उलगडा होतो. चित्रपटातील बऱ्याच घटना अपेक्षित वाटतात. त्यामुळे हा चित्रपट हिंदीमधील अश्या विषयावरील ‘कर्ज’, कुदरत’ यांच्यासारखा चांगला सूडपट किंवा उत्कंठावर्धक चित्रपट वाटत नाही.
या चित्रपटातील मुख्य जोडी काजल शर्मा आणि फैसल खान अशी आहे. काजल ने जरी मराठी बोलण्याचा चांगला प्रयत्न केला असला, तरी तिने उच्चारलेले काही शब्द, ती अमराठी असल्याची जाणीव करून देतात. पण, तिने आपला अभिनय उत्तम साकारला आहे. चित्रपटाच्या उत्तरार्धात चित्रपट जवळ जवळ हिंदीत असल्यामुळे, फैसल खान याची एन्ट्री तेंव्हाच आहे. पण त्याने प्रियकराचे आपले काम उत्तमरीत्या केले आहे. उदय टिकेकर, किशोरी शहाणे विज, डॉ.विलास उजवणे, कौस्तुभ दिवाण आणि काजल च्या काही मित्र मंडळींच्या व्यक्तिरेखा सोडल्या, तर फैसल खान, काजल शर्मा( पूर्व जन्मीच्या रुपात) , मिलिंद गुणाजी, निशिगंधा वाड, समीरा गुजर, वैष्णवी रणदिवे पूर्णपणे हिंदी भाषेतच आपले संवाद बोलतात.
ज्यांना पुनर्जन्मावर आधारित प्रेम कथा आवडतात, त्यांनी जास्त अपेक्षा न ठेवता, हा चित्रपट पाहण्यास हरकत नाही. पण मराठी भाषा प्रेमी चित्रपट रसिकांना, हा चित्रपट कितपत आवडेल, हे सांगणे कठीण आहे.
‘Guru’ projects Ankush Choudhari as the new Superman of Marathi films
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Rating: ★★★ ½
Genres: Action, Romantic Censor: U Duration: 142 Min. Studio/presenter: Eros International, Bagpiper Soda, Dreaming 24×7 Entertainment Producer(s): Deepak Pandurang Rane Director: Sanjay Jadhav Writer: Aashish Pathre Music: Amitraj, Pankaj Padghan, Praful Karlekar Cinematographer (DOP): Vijay Soni Cast: Ankush Chaudhary, Urmila Kanitkar Kothare, Murli Sharma, Avinash Narkar, Sneha Raikar, Ravindra Mankani Movie Review by: Ulhas Shirke |
In Bollywood and South Indian action films, we have seen many stories of Superman, who fights against the evil doers to give justice to the people, suffering from harassment. Eros International and director Sanjay Jadhav have presented one such Superman, in the form of ‘Guru’, played by Ankush Choudhari. So, in this film, the character of Guru is not a very clean and principled youth; but he is into all wrong illegal business of thefts and targeting all those, who are also into wrong business. But, he is kind hearted and serves food to all those, in need of it.
One day, Guru, becomes witness to a murder, when he hides in an under construction building, to give a slip to police. But, he lands into trouble as the CID officer , who is close to a big builder ( Ravindra Mankani) , who commits this murder; wants to trap Guru in this case. So, Guru leaves the city and takes shelter at his brother’s ( Avinash Narkar) place in his village. But, here, he discovers atrocities on the villagers and his brother, by a local MLA Mansing ( Murli Sharma) , who has made their lives miserable, using his muscle power. At this stage Guru turns a Superman for the villagers, lifting and tossing dozens of Mansing’s fighters in the air and bashing them against the walls. At the same time, he doesn’t forget to carry forward his love story with charming young Ovi ( Urmila kanitkar Kothare), daughter of temple priest, who lives in the same village.
When Mansing plays his dirty game of cheating the villagers, by asking them to surrender their lands, for the development of village, into a mega City, Guru thwarts his plans , with the help of Ovi, by uniting the villagers .Finally, when he stages an agitation, by blocking the road, the media comes into picture, exposing the plan of Mansing, thus showing victory of truth over evil. Sanjay Jadhav as the director of this film, has done a lot of hard work, to keep the tempo of the film, going with some interesting happenings till interval. But, in the post interval session, which is a revenge story, slows down a bit and becomes predictable with the villain striking again and again, even after Guru teaches him a lesson. He even manages the protest sequences of the villagers , very well; but he has stretched the concluding scene, in a typical 60s and 70s style of Hindi films.
However, the film scores on account of good performances by stylish Ankush Choudhari, lively Urmila Kanitkar Kothare, witty but cruel Murli Sharma, principled Avinash Narkar, caring Sneha Raikar , dangerous Ravindra Mankani and few others. Moreover, instead of presenting a passtime story for such a masala film with action and entertainment , director Sanjay Jadhav has taken up a timely issue, faced by many villages in Maharashtra; very skilfully through this film, which is also to be appreciated. Good music by Amitraj & Pankaj Padgham , excellent choreography of Umesh Jadhav , suitable costume designs by Harshada Khanvilkar, artistic art design by Satish Chipkar, Ashwini Kocharekar and appropriate use of visual effects by Prasad Sutar are also the plus points of this so called masala film.
‘Guru‘ may appeal to all those, who enjoyed watching the films like, ‘Lai Bhari’, ‘Singham’ and ‘Dabangg’. In short, it has offered a complete recipe of entertainment, in a South Indian and Bollywood film style. Last but not the least, Ankush Choudhari will be called the new superman of Marathi films, after release of this film.
‘702 Dixits’ – A realistic mystery filled suspense thriller
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Rating: ★★★
Studio/presenter: A Shankh Rajyadhyaksha Motion Picture Producers: Rohit Jail, Prashant Umbrani Director: Shankh Rajyadhyaksha Writer: Rohit Jail Screenplay: Ruturaj Dhalgade Cinematographer (DOP): Suresh Beesaveni Genres: Suspense, Thriller Censor: U Duration: 130 Min. Cast: Gauri Nigudkar, Pallavi Patil, Vijay Aandalkar, Shrirang Deshmukh, Ruchi Jail, Jaywant Wadkar, Vikram Gokhale Movie Review by: Ulhas Shirke |
Man by nature is sensible. But, his life is variable. Therefore, he is required to live his life with irrational certainty . He never knows, whatever is happening around with others, could happen with him too . We have been hearing about the cases of accidents and crimes happening in the neighbourhood. But, what if, the same case happens in your house with the person hired by you ? Produced by Rohit Jail & Prashant Umbarani and directed by Shankh Rajadhyaksha, new Marathi film ‘702 Dixits’ presents one such story, based on a real incidence, which took place in Pune, few years ago. Though, this film is not a ditto version of this real story, they have developed it, so as take the cinematic liberties.
In the beginning of the film, we notice an unfortunate death of a house maid, working in the house of Dixits, living on the 7th floor of a housing society in Pune. Actually, this maid has fallen from the 7th floor of the balcony and dies on the spot. Not suspecting an accidental death, the witty Police officer (Jaywant Wadkar) , who comes to investigate the case, with a packet of biscuits in his hand, takes along with him Mr. Yash Dixit (Vijay Andalkar)for investigation, suspecting him as a murderer and keeps him in the police lock up. When Yash’s wife Kavya (Gauri Nigudkar) rushes home from office, she doesn’t know, how to react to this situation. So she seeks help from Yash’s friend Riya Pandit( Pallavi Patil) and both together try their level best to get bail for Yash. As there is no lawyer coming forward to take this case, Riya herself, being a lawyer, decides to fight the case.
Riya plays the dual role of defence lawyer and also an investigation officer, as she does not get help from Senior Police officer investigating the case. And, we notice, unfolding of mystery, after suspecting even Yash, Riya and few other suspects.
Actually, the plot of this film is good. But, director Shankh Rajadhyaksha could have developed it further, to make it more interesting than what he has presented. There is no doubt that he has used his editing skills, to use some twists in the screenplay with the help of interesting flashbacks; but few of the happenings are not very convincing, like the Police officer asking the same question repeatedly to Yash, to admit that he has committed a crime and the large number of witnesses produced in the court, to endorse the credibility of Yash.
Nevertheless , the performances of the main three characters played by Gauri Nigudkar, Pallavi Patil and Vijay Andalkar are very convincing. Especially, Pallavi, who has performed in her second film, after Classmates, looks very confident. The selection of supporting cast is perfect, as we notice some good looking youngsters, resembling IT people. Vikram Gokhale is just namesake in this film, playing the boss at Yash’s IT company; but Jaywant Wadkar is impressive in the role of senior police officer.
The film scores on account of excellent camera work and apt background music , most suited for this mystery filled suspense thriller. Moreover, the selection of locations has given a realistic look, to this technically well presented film. Shankh Rajadhyaksha has made a good attempt on his debut, as a director; as, it is not an easy job to present a mystery filled film. But, he has managed well, to hold the suspense, till the climax. Last, but not the least, the film also delivers an important message, of verifying all the details of house maid, employed by people in their houses. You never know, what has been shown in the film, could happen with you.
‘Lord of Shingnapur’ – Just another film based on mythology
 Rating: ★★ ½
Studio/presenter: Rathod Films Producer:Raj Rathod Director: Raj Rathod Writer: Raj Rathod Music: Farhan Shaikh Editor: Ajit Devle Cinematographer (DOP): Prashant Jadhav Genres: Devotional Censor: U Duration: 130 Min. Cast: Milind Gunaji, Sudhir Dalvi, Ashutosh Kullkarni, Vaibhavi, Manoj Joshi, Varsha Usgaonkar, Rahul Mahajan, Yashodhan Rana, Aniket Kelkar, Pankaj Vishnu Movie Review by: Ulhas Shirke |
Films based on mythology are very common in Hindi. In Marathi too, such films are released periodically. About 20 years ago, there was a film on Lord Shanidev, titled ‘Suryaputra Shanidev’ produced by Gulshan Kumar. Now, Raj Rathod has offered a film in Marathi ‘Lord of Shingnapur’, which is a tribute to Lord Shanidev and his power .
‘Lord of Shingnapur’ is not much different from ‘Suryaputra Shanidev’, as in this film too, the director has presented a story of young lovers Rohit ( Ashutosh Kulkarni) and Neha (Vaibhavi Shandilya) . But, in this film the young couple get married, against the wish of Rohit’s father ( Manoj Joshi). When his father refuses to take the couple in his house, Rohit and Neha leave the house to an unknown destination and meet with a serious car accident. While Rohit gets drowned into a river, Neha lies unconscious in an injured state.
Rohit later finds himself in an ashram, but loses his memory; while Neha wandering in jungles, comes across Lord Shanidev in the guise of a saint, who suggests her to visit Shani Shingnapur. At the Ashram, another Saint, who heads the ashram, also suggests Rohit to proceed to Shani Shingnapur, after narrating him various tales of Lord Shanidev. Rohit’s parents, who are also in a disturbed state, move to Shani Shingnapur, where the film concludes with happy ending, with the reunion of Rohit, Neha and Rohit’s parents.
Film’s screenplay begins with not so interesting happenings, except for a song picturised on Rohit and Neha, to show their romance. The character of Rahul Mahajan is just to represent Rohit’s good friend, in few scenes. Even Manoj Joshi as Rohit’s father, has been used only to oppose Rohit’s marriage, in those few scenes, except for the last climax scene. However, Varsha Usgaonkar tries to impress through her small role of Rohit’s sympathetic mother. The film’s screenplay presents some interesting stories to show the power and strength of Lord Shanidev , when he in the form of Saturn, enters the zodiac sign of individuals, including Lord Shankara & Lord Bramhadev. Narration of these stories by a saint, shown in the film’s cinematic form, are the only interesting happenings in the film, as not many people are aware of the stories of Lord Shanidev.
However, in the process of giving importance to these stories, the main story of Rohit and Neha takes a back seat and remains just a predictable version .
Through this film, Ashutosh Kulkarni has finally found his entry into Marathi films as a lead actor. This is Vaibhavi’s second film after ‘Janiva’ and she shows promise, through her performance. Milind Gunaji, who plays Lord Shanidev in this film, taking different forms, is good and so is Sudhir Dalvi, through his small but favourite role of Sai Baba of Shirdi. The film could have been more appealing, if it had more special effects and a gripping love story, to show their struggle for reunion. All in all, ‘Lord of Shinganapur’ has turned out to be just another mythology based film , which is a tribute to Lord Shanidev. Therefore, it may appeal to regular viewers of such films. And, if it does so, ‘Shingnapur’ will turn another famous religious place, inviting more and more devotees. Others may prefer to watch this film on television, in due course of time.
‘Natasamrat’ brings the best out of Nana Patekar
 Rating: ★★★ ½
Studio/presenter: Zee Studios, Great Maratha Entertainment Producer: Vishwas Joshi, Nana Patekar Director: Mahesh Vaman Manjrekar Original Playwright: V. V. Shirwadkar Writer: Kiran Yadnyopavit, Abhijeet Deshpande Lyrics: Kusumagraj, Guru Thakur Music: Ajit Parab Cinematographer (DOP): Ajith Reddy Genres: Drama Censor: U Duration: 130 Min. Cast: Nana Patekar, Vikram Gokhale, Jitendra Joshi, Sandeep Pathak, Mrunmayee Deshpande, Sunil Barve, Medha Manjrekar, Ajit Parab, Neha Pendse, Jayant WadkarMovie Review by: Ulhas Shirke |
V. V. Shirwadkar alias Kusumagraj was a well known Marathi Poet and writer, who was influenced by Shakespeare, Othello, Hamlet, Macbeth, Tolstoy in his writings. So, when he wrote his Marathi play ‘Natsamrat’‘, it was based on Shakespeare’s tragedy ‘King Lear’. ‘Natasamraat’ was staged for many years with record number of shows and well known actors like Dr. Shreeram Lagoo, Yashwant Dutt, Datta Bhat and others, have performed the central character of Ganpatrao Belvalkar successfully. But, the one performed by Dr. Shreeram Lagoo, is still fresh in the memory of those, who saw his great performance.
Now, director Mahesh Manjrekar has presented the cinematic version of this popular play, in his own way, with Nana Patekar playing the central character of Ganpatrao alias Appasaheb Belvalkar . And, in addition to his family members comprising of wife kaveri (Medha Manjrekar), Son (Ajit Parab), daughter in law (Neha Pendse), grand daughter ( Pranjal Parab), daughter ( Mrunmayee Deshpande), son in law ( Sunil Barve), he has introduced a new character of Rambhau, played by versatile actor Vikram Gokhale, as his close friend. In the process, he has extended his screenplay, with some witty conversations, taking place between the two friends, whenever they meet, over the session of drinks.
In this film, the director has paid more attention on the home affairs of Ganpatrao, after his retirement, on receiving the highest honour of ‘NatSamrat’. In the process, the film has turned more into a family melodrama rather than a monologue, reminding you of some happenings from bollywood films like ‘Baghban’, ‘jaisi karni Vaisi Bharni’, ‘Avtaar’ and few others. In ‘Natasamrat’, Ganpatrao played by Nana Patekar faces insults, first from his daughter in law, which forces him to leave his own house, along with his wife Kaveri. But, before that Ganpatrao has committed a biggest mistake in his life, i.e. by transferring all his assets in the name of his son and daughter. Ganpatrao being close to his daughter, is offered shelter by her and his son in law, in their house.
But, when the daughter alleges her own father for stealing her money, Ganpatrao and his wife quietly leave their house during the midnight hours of heavy rains, for onward journey to their native place. But, on the way, during a halt, Kaveri , who is already suffering from fever, passes away during her sleep. This brings Ganpatrao literally on the roads, as the person, who steals his bag, later offers him shelter under the bridge along with his small family. Though he is traced by his son and daughter, in an old drama theatre which is gutted in fire; Ganpatrao refuses to go with them and performs one last scene from his play , to conclude this film with its tragic end.
This film entirely belongs to actor Nana Patekar , who has played his role with total conviction. This is a lifetime role for a complete actor in him. In short, ‘Natasamraat’ has brought out the best out of Nana Patekar . But, this would not have been possible for him , without the support of Medha Manjrekar, who has given a wonderful performance as his co star Kaveri in this film. Medha has performed a role, which is more than her age; but, with her expressive face and good make up by Vikram Gaikwad, she was able to give her best. Another good performance, comes from young Mrunmayee Deshpande, who has done those two big emotion filled scenes, opposite senior experienced actor like Nana Patekar, exceptionally well. There was no doubt about the ability of Vikram Gokhale, as he perfectly fitted into the witty character of Rambhau. The director has rightly taken close up scenes on him, to exploit his spontaneous facial expressions. Among others in the supporting cast, good performances also come from Sunil Barve, Ajit Parab, Neha Pendse, Nilesh Divekar, Sarang Sathe , Jaywant Wadkar, little Pranjal Parab and others. But, Savita Malpekar and Vidyatai Patwardhan are just namesake in this film. On location sound used by by Srikant kamble, art direction by Eknath kadam, cinematography by Ajith Reddy and background score by Ajit Parab are the other plus points of this film.
This film, which presents the story of 70s era, does not actually relate to the changing lifestyle of today’s nuclear family system. So, it remains to be seen, how it appeals to today’s new generation. Moreover, today’s senior citizens have many other options after retirement. But, the central character of this film, being an actor, certainly sends a strong message to all those , for not committing the mistake done by Ganpatrao in this film. The film is technically very well presented and hence stands a chance of inviting the attention of maximum film lovers. A worth watch, for the entire family together.
‘Carry On Deshpande’ follows the traditional formula of Comedy
 Rating: ★★ ½
Studio/presenter: Atharv 4 U Producer: Ganesh Ramdas Hajare Director: Vijay Patkar Writer: Hemant Edalabadkar Lyrics: Mangesh Kangane Music: Chinar – Mahesh, Nikhil Thakkar Cinematographer (DOP): Shabbir Naik Genres: Comedy Censor: A Duration: 130 Min. Cast: Pushkar Shrotri, Hemlata Bane, Sagar Karande, Sanjay Khapre, Manasi Naik, Seema kadam, Snehal Gore, Jaywant Wadkar, Savita Malpekar, Vijay Kadam, Jayraj Nair Movie Review by: Ulhas Shirke |
At a time when our Marathi cinema is presenting ‘out of the box’ themes and inviting the attention of the audience all over the world, some Marathi film makers still believe in offering the traditional comedy formula, with the sole intention of entertaining the audience. If you look at Chiranjeevi’s Telugu comedy films, Prashant Damle‘s popular Marathi play ‘Gela Madhav Kunikade‘, Makarand Anaspure‘s film ‘Teen Baika Fajiti Aika’ or recently released Kapil Sharma’s film ‘Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon’, there was one thing very common. The comedy of errors, arising out of a situation, where a man having two wives and misunderstandings created through the screenplay, with the progress of the story. So, what’s new director Vijay Patkar , writer Hemant Edlabadkar and producer Ganesh Hazare have offered through their latest Marathi film ‘Carry On Deshpande’?
The story of ‘Carry on Deshpande’ revolves around Mr. Deshpande (Pushkar Shrotri) a wealthy man living in a huge bungalow, with his two wives, Prathama (Seema Kadam) and Dwitiya (Hemlata Bane) . Surprisingly, these two wives have no issues between them; but they are suspicious about their husband flirting with other girls. So, we see the arrival of a detective (Sagar Karande) , who tries to help Mr. Deshpande as well as his two wives. So, after the arrival of another young woman (Manasi Naik) in the bungalow, we see all such happenings, we noticed in many films of the past, on this subject. If this is not enough, the story of this film, also find place for two more characters, Sunny, the brother in law of Deshpande, who lives with him and his niece , who are already in love with each other.
The film’s length is about one hour forty five minutes; but due to lack of proper presentation of screenplay, even this is felt too long. Only good things about the film are the performances of Pushkar Shrotri and Sanjay Khapre, who have tried their best to entertain the audience, with their spontaneity , at different situations. The females namely Seema Kadam, Hemlata bane & Sneha Gore don’t have to do much with the acting, except for looking glamorous; but Manasi Naik certainly invites all the attention, displaying her acting skills, in all those comedy sequences to her share. She almost poses the leading lady of this film.
Talking about the other areas, music of the film is not at all impressive; but, Shabir Naik’s cinematography is good. Though there are very few locations, besides the bungalow, used for shooting, he has tried to capture the expressions of the artistes very well. The film was shown to the media people, without censor certification; but now it is understood that it has been allotted ‘A’ certificate.
Anyway, ‘Carry On Deshpande’ is just a traditional formula type of comedy film, which can be enjoyed by those, who love to watch such subjects especially, ‘How a man handles his two wives and a girlfriend’. Isn’t that an outdated subject now ? There is nothing wrong in presenting a traditional comedy for a change, as one can understand the hard work put in by the makers, in making of such films; but, the screenplay and dialogues should appeal to all, besides good performances.
‘Partu’ binds Maharashtra and Rajasthan in an emotive cord
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Rating: ★★★ ½
Studio/presenter:East West Films Producers:Nitin Adsul, Sachin Adsul , Rupesh Mahajan, Darrel Cox, Clark McMillian Director: Nitin Adsul Writer: Nitin Adsul, Clark McMillian, Darrel Cox Dialogues: Mayur Deval Music: Shashank Powar, Greg Sims Cinematographer (DOP): Sanjay Khanjode Genres: Drama Censor: U/A Duration: 130 Min. Cast:Kishor Kadam, Smita Tambe, Saurabh Gokhale, Gayatri Deshmukh, Anshuman Vichare, Navani Parihar, Raja Bundela, Ravi Bhartiya, Yash Pande Movie Review by: Ulhas Shirke |
It is not an easy job to bind the people from different states and culture together, through an emotion filled film’s story. But, US based Marathi filmmaker Nitin Adsul has succeeded in doing so. Through his latest Marathi film ‘Partu’, made under the banner of his US based East West Films, Nitin has presented a true story of his father’s uncle, a farmer, by profession and living in Nagar district of Maharashtra. The period of this story has been set on the backdrop of rural areas of both in Maharashtra and Rajasthan, during the period 1968 to 1985.
Laxman (Kishore Kadam) a farmer just managing to provide enough food to his family, with farming, finds a little boy on the streets of a village in Nagar district. He provides shelter to this boy, along with his two children, much against the wish of his wife ( Smita Tambe) . The boy is actually from a village in Rajasthan ,who is lost at Ahmednagar Railway station missing his uncle in the crowd. But, the name of the village pronounced by the boy, is not properly understood by Laxman and he calls it some other place. Even his name Prithvi, is understood by the farmer as Partu. Laxman tries to locate the village with the help of village postman, but is unable to locate it.
So, Partu becomes a close member of the farmer’s family, having lived with them for 17 long years. Laxman also gets him married to his friend’s daughter ( Gayatri Soham). Later, when it’s time to go on a pilgrimage, the family happens to travel to Rajasthan also. It is here that Lakxman gets a message through a messenger of almighty, to move to a particular village in Rajasthan, to fulfill his wish of returning Partu, to his biological parents. With lots of hurdles, he finally reaches the destination, in the film’s climax. But, it is Partu, who takes his own decision in the end.
The film has been very well presented with proper planning, being a true story. At the end of the film, the director has not forgotten to show the audience, the real life people, on whom the film has been made. And, that is the best part of this film. There are very few flaws noticed in the film’s story; but this being a true story, they can be ignored. There are many emotion filled scenes in the film and the versatile artistes like Kishore Kadam, Smita Tambe, Saurabh Gokhale and Gayatri Soham Deshmukh have given full justice to their respective roles in this film. For Saurbh Gokhale this is a good debut in films. He has done one face to face scene of confrontation with versatile actor Kishore Kadam very well. Anshuman Vichare in the role of a private vehicle driver, has generated some humour, in post interval session, in this otherwise touching emotion filled film.
Music is just apt for the film’s story and two songs have been picturised very well. One of them is picturised on the young couple and the other towards the end, depicting the Rajasthani culture. Good photography, excellent background music and perfect sound design are other plus points of this brilliant film.
The overall film is very appealing and touches the heart of the audience, because of its emotion filled screenplay. It also binds Maharashtra and Rajasthan in an emotive cord .