‘Second Inning’ mocks the existing system
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Rating: na
Presenter: Naani Film Production Producers: Mohan Parab, Rasik Salla Director: Mohan Parab Story & Screenplay: Mohan Parab Cast: Madhav Abhyankar, Sunil Godbole, Vidyadhar Joshi, Shashikant Gandhe, Mahesh Udeshi, Dinesh Hingu, Savita Malapekar, Ashok Shinde, Jyoti Joshi, Kamalesh Sawant, Master Jay Parab Movie Review by: Ulhas Shirke |
We are all aware of the worsening law and order situation in our country. More so, our TV news and newspapers have been updating us about the Politician- criminal nexus and helpless attitude of our Police department, when it comes to offering justice to common man. Over and above that our Judicial procedure takes somewhere between 5 to 20 years to decide over a case. Such court battles can even take few more years, if the convict appeals to higher court. In the recent past we witnessed a sensational Bollywood film ‘Wednesday’ throwing light on a similar situation, giving a clear hint as to what may happen if a common man takes the law into his own hands out of frustration.
‘Second Inning’ a marathi film from the makers of ‘Shwaas’ has also tried to show the power of well educated senior citizens, when it comes to taking on the corrupt system. It is a simple theme, but handled very effectively in an action packed thriller. After watching a crime taking place in front of their eyes, a group of well educated senior citizens unite together and lodge a complaint against a criminal turned politician at the Police station. However, experiencing the hand in glove game involving Politician-Police- Criminal nexus, they get into an act to mock the corrupt system. How they implement their plan is all that film maker Mohan Parab has presented through this sensible film. Now, whether it is a mockery of our system, only the intelligent audience can decide.
The film initially begins with a casual approach with opening sequences, introducing few characters and their links with each other during morning walk at a park. But, one sudden happening in the screenplay, gives a complete twist to the script. The director has intelligently used the central character of Mr. Sadashiv Gore, a retired judge (Madhav Abhyankar) to lead this group of protagonists with a mission. He is provided support of the characters like Doctors and other experts in their respective fields. There is no point in revealing the modus operandi, but their courageous act certainly inspires the audience from all age groups to come in the open and fight injustice; be it corruption at public places, threats issued by local goons or terrorist activities taking place in your city.
‘Second Inning’ has been released all over Maharashtra, including Mumbai along with two other films involved in heavy publicity. But, the makers of ‘Second Inning’ strongly believe in their creation and hence are banking on ‘word of mouth’ publicity. During the past month, they had arranged special shows for NGO’s and social workers as part of their promotion campaign to create awareness about the existing reality in the society. In fact, this film is a good lesson to learn for politicians and law makers, to understand the power of common man. Today, the common man has already one tool in the form of Right to Information Act and if this is supported by the methodology adopted by Mr. Sadashiv Gore in this film , it will surely open the eyes of our law makers.
Mohan Parab, who produced a sensible film like ‘Shwaas’, has directed this film very well. Madhav Abhyankar plays the retired judge turned Robinhood, exceptionally well. All others in the cast have supported well, including Dinesh Hingoo, who makes a special appearance. There are many real life characters in the film who speak in Hindi and Gujarathi, though the film is in Marathi. In all, ‘Second Inning’ is an eye opener.
‘Kshanbhar Vishranti ’- A friendly romantic film!
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Rating: na
Presenter: Shree Autographs Films Producers: Sandeep Shinde, Maulik Bhat Story & Director: Sachit Patil Camera: Sanjay Jadhav Lyrics: Guru Thakur Music: Hrishikesh Kamerkar Cast: Bharat Jadhav, Sachit Patil, Siddharth Jadhav, Sonalee, Maanava Naik, Pooja Sawant, Kadambari Kadam… Movie Review by: Sandeep Hattangadi |
Sachit Patil’s ‘Kshanbhar Vishranti’ is a Marathi version of Farhan Akhtar’s classic ‘Dil Chahta Hai’ based on friends, with the setting changed from Goa to Alibag. Ritwik (Sachit Patil) returns from US due to a job loss, in wake of recession in the IT sector. He reunites his old friends Vishnu (Siddharth Jadhav), Avya and Ravya together for a trip to Alibag, where he owns a bungalow which is on the verge of sell.
The film then takes a cue from Shakti Samanta classic ‘Kashmir Ki Kali’ plot, where the caretaker Appa (Bharat Jadhav) has turned this bungalow into a hotel for tourists.
Appa is very apologetic to Ritwik and Ritwik is kind enough to forgive him. However, Appa is disheartened to know that the bungalow is being sold to a businessman rich enough to turn into a swanky joint. There is a sub-plot of romance between the four friends who woo the bungalows inmates, Neha (Maanava Naik-Appa’s niece), a micro-biology student turned singer (Sonalee ), a fashion designer (Pooja Sawant), and an MBBS student (Kadambari Kadam).
Soon, you find them sing tuneful songs on the beautiful beaches and other scenic locations shot beautifully with dazzlingly lit frames by cinematographer Sanjay Jadhav.
There is a lot of comic ad-libbing between the friends and their girlfriends and they finally decide to get hitched. But the bungalow situation is finally solved on Appa’s plea to Ritwik, who decides to run the hotel himself with Vishnu and Appa as his partners and turns down the offer of the buyer.
The film is incredibly beautiful at first look at and all the actors especially the girls woo the camera in style with camera friendly looks. Siddharth Jadhav is the pick of the actors providing the much required laughter. Sachit Patil looks handsome and is as good a director besides being an actor. Among the girls Maanava Naik and Sonalee Kulkarni are good. Bharat Jadhav is reliable as ever. Shubhangi Gokhale, Jayraj Nayar ,lend good support. The debutant actors have tried hard to impress.
Late Amit Pawar deserves a special mention for his snip-snap editing. The lyrics by Guru Thakur have been composed well on the music of Hrishikesh Kamerkar, especially the ‘Holiday’ and ‘Bavraa’ songs. Rajesh Bidve’s choreography also deserves a special mention as he has utilized the natural beauty of Alibag and Revdanda very well.
In all, this ‘Autograph Films’ presentation produced by Sandeep Shinde and Maulik Bhat is certainly worth a dekko!
‘Lalbaug Paral’ – Realistic but Vicious
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Rating: na
Presenter: Dar Motion Pictures Producer: Arun Rangachari Director: Mahesh Manjrekar Screenplay: Jayant Pawar, Mahesh Manjrekar Music: Ajit – Sameer Cast: Satish Kaushik, Siddharth Jadhav, Ankush Choudhary, Veena jamkar, VIneet Kumar, sameer Dharmadhikari, Sachin Khedekar, Kashmera Shah, Ganesh Yadav, Karan Patel, Shashank Shende, Seema Biswas Movie Review by: Ulhas Shirke |
One man’s nightmare is another man’s dream. The closure of Mills in Mumbai was a nightmare to lakhs of workers, but it turned out to be a dream for the owners, who sold their land making crores of rupees out of it in such deals. It was a big game played by Mill owners those days, with the support of government. Not much of attention was paid by the media , which only blamed the adamant Union leader for holding on to his demands.
28 years after this tragic happening in the lives of those lower middle class families, today a film maker dares to describe the inside story and aftermath. ‘Lalbaug Parel (Zhali Mumbai Sonyachi) directed by Mahesh Manjrekar projects various characters, based on the original script of Jayant Pawar, which highlights the consequences of this social issue, totally ignored by the Government. No wonder, after release of this film, the government has started taking steps towards rehabilitation of the mill workers and their families.
The film begins with a scene where a real life script writer (Ankush Chowdhury) showing his old house to his girlfriend from the terrace top of a multi story tower and narrating the tragic story of his family in the flashback. The audience is then taken back to 1982, to show how the shrewd Mill owners with the support of Government played their cruel game to exploit the poor mill workers. Mahesh Manjrekar as a film maker goes into all required details to highlight the after effects of the strike. He has skillfully shown the Politician- Mill worker nexus for the closure of mills; but has failed to define the role of the adamant Union leader, who was equally responsible for this indefinite strike.
The director has paid more attention on the spread of underworld network with the young children of these jobless Mill workers turning towards crime. He has also focused on the simple lifestyle of these Lower middle class people living in chawls those days. As a director, he has done a commendable job to place before the audience the reality, capturing many emotion filled scenes. However, in the process he has shown too much of bloodshed on the screen. At the end of the film, the character of Speed breaker who turns a sharp shooter moves scot- free (in the present time) after killing his own friend in front of his family members at a public place and then shooting point blank the son-in-law of the mill owner along with his security guards, in his plush office.
Looking at the performances of the artistes, Seema Biswas plays the role of Mother with simplicity, paying more attention on her body language. Shashank Shende as Mill worker –father, is a perfect choice. Both Sachin Khedkar and Vinay Apte as Union leaders do well ; but surprisingly the character of the Chief Union leader –Doctor, does not get much of scope, considering the major role played by him in the controversial strike. Satish kaushik as Mama in the neighborhood, borrows the voice of Mahesh Manjrekar for this Marathi version, while Santosh Juvekar dubs his voice for Karan Patel, who plays Naru -the younger son of this mill worker, who later turns a sharp shooter. Actually, Santosh would have been a perfect choice for this character. Siddharth Jadhav as Speed breaker ( His character name), plays the son of a Union leader in his own style.
Actress Veena Jamkar plays an important character of Manju- the daughter of the Mill worker. She plays her part with total commitment . Kashmira Shah plays Mami – wife of Satish kaushik. Her sex appeal has been used for a different reason in this film to create that cheap humour. Sai Tamhankar has been a waste in that small role of a flower vendor. Kishore Pradhan and Sameer Dharmadhikari look very natural as Mill owners. Music does not have much scope in this film backed with a serious theme. In all, ‘Lalbaug Parel’ is a good, realistic and hard hitting film except for the violence part, which has been stretched too much in few sequences.
‘Mee Mann Ani Dhruv’ – A Well made film
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Rating: 2.5/5
Presenter: My Group Production: Millennium Entertainment Producer: Sarita Mulgund Direction: Aditi Deshpande Story: Mahendra Agashe Camera: Chandrashekhar Ayyer Music: Hrishikesh Kamekar Cast: Mahendra Agashe, Ketaki Thathhe Movie Review by: Chetana Gavkhadkar Panchal |
The foundation of marriage has declined over the decades and today we find the problem of broken marriages is getting precedence.
Divorce rates have increased gradually and as a result of this the children from affluent families of separated parents have to undergo a lot of trauma. Debutant director Aditi Deshpande, handles these issues in her film ‘Mee Mann Ani Dhruv’ and succeeds in getting the message across the audience.
Debutant Mahendra Agashe(Ranjeet)- the writer of the film, who plays a principled journalist, is a complete family man, loves his wife Mann(Ketaki Thatte) and son Dhruv(Dhruv Pendse). Trouble starts in their happily married life, when the wife starts having career aspirations and with the influence of her corporate climber friend (Smita Tambe) takes up a job in far place-Bangalore, away from her husband and child.
The husband is broken hearted but concentrates on his passion of writing and turns a successful writer. His only friend philosopher and guide is a poet Nagrik(Satish Pulekar), whom Ketaki resents as good for nothing. But one particular situation changes her perspective. Does she return to her husband and son? Does she move ahead with her career plans? Will Dhruv’s father be a successful single parent?
Watch this simple and unassuming film to know the answers. There are good performances from debutant Mahendra Agashe and Ketaki Thatte (Galgale Nighale), which makes this film watch able, although you have seen such subjects in films made by Basu Bhattacharya and festival gems like Ingmar Bergman’s ‘Scenes From A Marriage’.
The supporting cast of Satish Pulekar, Smita Tambe and many first time actors support ably. The boy Dhruv Pendse is a complete natural. The dialogues by Amol Shetge are good but tend to be too philosophical at certain occasions.
Hrishikesh Kamerkar’s music is soothing albeit only two songs in the background.The cinematography by Chandrashekhar Ayyer is not very razzle dazzle but focuses on the actor’s expressions, rather than camera movements and the film has been shot guerilla style inside a bungalow, with not many outdoor locations.
The editing by Amit Pawar is engaging though the film is sluggish in pace and the audience might lose the patience to see a long drawn film. Overall, director Aditi succeeds in portraying today’s nuclear families, where a working woman can be ambitious and career minded and can even sacrifice her family to achieve her dreams.
Only a woman director could have handled this subject with rare sensitivity and Aditi does that.
Fantasy filled ‘Huppa Huiyya!’
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Rating: na
Presenter: Akshara Films Division, DreamView Productions Pvt. Ltd Producers: Samit Kakkad, Amar Kakkad, Pushpa Kakkad Director: Anil Surve Camera: A.K. Bir Story & Screenplay: Hemant Edlabadkar Music: Ajit Parab Cast: Mohan Joshi, Siddharth Jadhav, Girija Oak, Mangesh Desai, Vabhav Mangle, Ganesh Yadav Movie Review by: Ulhas Shirke |
Come Hanuman Jayanti and you have a timely offering coming from Marathi film industry in the form of ‘Huppa Huiya!’ to Lord Hanuman. Produced by Amar and Pushpa Kakkad and directed by Anil Surve this author backed fantasy is based on the script of Hemant Edlabadkar.
Hanmya (Siddharth Jadhav)a poor boy from the village is brought up by the Sarpanch of the village ( Mohan Joshi) and his caring wife ( Mansi Magikar). Being a helpful youngster, Hanmya has two friends – a clown in the village who performs shows ( Mangesh Desai) and his beloved (Girija Oak). His daily routine is to help people from the village and to bring to book those involved in illegal activities. He is more into social work and helps the old lady ( Usha Nadkarni) living in the outskirts of the village, by collecting herbs for her medicines from the jungles .
One day, while collecting herbs, Hanmya interacts with a group of monkeys and eats a fruit thrown at him by one of the monkeys. When he returns to Old lady’s house, he finds extra energy within him. Not surprised by this superpower, the old lady realizes this gift coming from God, especially to those who would make use of it only for the right purpose. The script of the film then takes you on fantasy filled journey. Soon, you are taken for the darshan of 11 Hanuman temples created by Swami Samarth Ramdas in the 17th century, through that 8 minute song sequence.
Now, when there are good things happening, the evil power is sure to block the way. So, in comes the villain Rangrao ( Ganesh Yadav). He first gets Hanmya’s clown friend killed and also succeeds in giving an electric shock to Hanmya’s beloved. In the climax of the film, the old lady comes to remind Hanmya about the secret about the superpower that he possesses. Hanmya opts for the ‘three-in-one’ prayer to first get the water for the village. With that valid message, director Anil Surve concludes his film with happy ending.
‘Huppa Huiya!’ is a total entertaining film with a social message. In that two hour length film, the director has however wasted first thirty minutes to describe all the characters and their attitude. But, once it takes off with that fantasy filled plot, it runs smoothly, holding the audience to their seats. Cinematography by national award winning cameraman A.K. Bir is the biggest asset of the film. He has captured all those outdoor scenes very effectively. Siddharth Jadhav has proved that a tailor made role can make him a solo hero, shouldering the responsibility of film’s success. Girija Oak as his co-star is the right choice. She has played her part very well. One wonders as to why an actress of her calibre hasn’t been offered better roles. Mohan Joshi, Mansi Magikar, Mangesh Desai support well as character artistes. Usha Nadkarni is impressive playing the old woman, but it is Ganesh Yadav in his negative role invites the attention. He has performed small roles in many Bollywood films, but now gets his chance to prove his acting skills, through this film. Kashmira Shah makes her brief appearance in one item number. Music by Ajit Parab is okay. The film has not paid much attention on its ad campaign. Looking at the fantasy filled script, they could have used other methods of publicity.
In all, ‘Huppa Huiya!’ is an entertaining film.
‘Zale Mokale Aakash’ – responsibility unlimited !
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Rating: na
Presenter: Rajendra Anant Producer: Suvarna Rajendra Ex. Producer: Dyanesh Dhoke Director: Rajendra Anant, Yogesh Mahajan, Story: Rajesh Anant Music: Nirmal Kumar Camera: Mangesh Sawant Cast: Subodh Bhave, Pallavi Vaidya Movie Review by: Ulhas Shirke |
Marathi films are moving in the right direction. The script of the film is finding more importance in the present day films. The latest released film ‘Zale Mokale Aakash’ falls under this category, being realistic about what could happen in the life of a couple, when they adopt a three month old girl child. Samir (Subodh Bhave) and Neha (Pallavi Vaidya) play a married couple who adopt a girl child, as Neha insists upon the same. Initially reluctant to such an idea, Samir later agrees for the same. But, when the couple come to know that their child is a special child, both are disturbed. Neha accepts the reality but Samir hates the child for her abnormal behaviour. He even takes a drastic step, but realizes his mistake soon.
When both husband and wife shower upon love on their 7 year old daughter- Bahuli, a sudden twist comes into the story. The real mother of the child comes on the scene. She claims the right over the child and then begins a court battle. Finally, the girl’s custody is given to Samir and Neha. ‘Zale Mokale Aakash’ tries to explain several things through the screenplay. Cinema, is as it is a medium to educate people, and this film not only encourages girl child adoption but also gives hope to those parents who are having children with such a syndrome. It cautions those who first adopt a child and later after having their own child may neglect the adopted one. It also warns people, especially the would be father and mother to desist from excessive use of drugs, smoking and alcohol; as the same could lead to formation of physical or mental disability in the child to be born.
A simple tale very effectively communicated, the film does not go off track, as it sticks to its theme from start till end. The emotions of every character have been highlighted well , wherever the situation demands. The sequence where Samir faces his wife back home, after feeling the guilt; has been picturised well. In another sequence, where Bahuli wins the heart of Samir and Neha watching the same, has been captured well. There is less of drama and more of pragmatic approach to every important scene in the film.
Produced by Suvarna Rajendra and directed by Rajendra Anant and Yogesh Mahajan, ‘Zale Mokale Aakash’ is an effort to create awareness in the society about child adoption and the possible aftereffects. And that is the plus point of the film. Good photography by Mangest Sawant and perfect editing makes the film more realistic. One fails to understand as to why some of the Marathi films use heavy make up for artistes in close up shots. In at least two scenes the heavy make up used on Pallavi Vaidya is clearly visible and that too for the home scenes during night time. This exposes the lack of attention by the production team. Otherwise, the film is a good effort to present such a realistic subject in a cinematic form.
Both Subodh Bhave and Pallavi Vaidya make a good pair and have given their best through their respective performances. The girl child is okay in that difficult role. It was a pleasure to watch two big stars Sharad Ponkshe and Ramesh Bhatkar playing the roles of film producer and an advocate respectively. Music of the film is average. There are only two songs and one background song in the film, out of which one of them is fine but the picturisation of the duet looks outdated, reminding us about the style of 60s and 70s era.
‘Zale Mokale Aakash’ in spite of few lapses and with some predictable sequences, still holds good as a sensible film for the manner in which the subject of the film has been dealt.
Ringa Ringa – An Exciting Psychological Thriller !
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Rating: na
Presenter: Nishad Audio Visuals Pvt. Ltd. Producers: Kanchan Satpute, Shiva Baba Naik & Suresh Pai Camera, Director: Sanjay Jadhav Story: Amol Shetge Lyrics: Guru Thakur Music: Ajay Atul Cast: Sonali Kulkarni, Ajinkya Deo, Bharat Jadhav, Ankush Chowdhary, Santosh Juwekar, Aditi Gowitrikar Movie Review by: Sandeep Hattangadi |
Looking at the way he handles the film technically, Sanjay Jadhav is today the most perfect cinematographer- director in the Marathi film industry. Through his first film ‘Checkmate’, as a director he showed promise and now with his second film ‘Ringa Ringa’ , he has proved that he is a master of films with suspense genre. Producer Kanchan Satpute’s ‘Ringa Ringa’ can thus be called an excellent edge -of- the seat thriller.
The film is set in Goa with a political backdrop projecting Rangrao (Ajinkya Dev), who is all set to become the Goa CM in spite of his nexus with terrorists. But, his security chief played by Bharat Jadhav (in a total macho makeover) spills the beans of Rangrao to the Party chief (Uday Sabnis) . He is assigned the task of getting the evidence against Rangrao. In the meantime, a small time goon Anthony is bumped off by Rangrao’s hit-man (Santosh Juvekar).
The files, tapes and the photos of Rangrao, which are with an inspector (Kamlesh Sawant) turns dirty on Rangrao’s ‘odd job man’(Ankush Chowdhary’s ) offer of money. A deal is made and Rangrao hands over the money to the inspector but then Rangrao’s hit-man kills the inspector too. Now, the files and the tapes are with Bharat, who runs away from the crime scene and calls his beautiful wife (Sonali Kulkarni) to the bus stand but is chased by the hit-man. So, he hides the evidence at a safe place. In the process he is killed and dies in his wife’s arms but reveals to her about the evidence and the whole story of crime.
Then begins the cat and mouse game between Sonali and Rangrao and his henchmen, which ends with Sonali landing up in a mental asylum along with her aged father (Jayant Savarakar). But, before that there is a twist in the tale and it would be unfair to reveal the same. The film is a racy thriller and the director seems to be influenced by Hitchcock’s ‘Gaslight’, Quentin Tarantino’s ‘Pulp Fiction’, Sergio Leone’s ‘All his Sphagetti westerns’ (especially the liberal use of nursery rhymes) other classic thrillers like ‘To Chase a Crooked Shadow’ and ‘No Way Out’.
But the final product is a worth watch with slick frames and excellent music by Ajay-Atul, with a good beat like the ‘Bai Ga Bai Ga’(Kunal Ganjawala) song which has been choreographed well in a carnival like atmosphere. The screenplay and dialogues by Amol Shetge deserve praise. The editor Amit Pawar has done a good job, with quick inter-cutting of frames, especially the sepia toned sequences.
The performances are exemplary by the entire cast. Sonali Kulkarni, delivers her career best performance and is likely to win all major awards this year. Bharat Jadhav has a ‘never-seen-before’ kind of role and does well. Santosh Juvekar and Ankush Chowdhary are good but their characterization could have been better. Ajinkya Dev in a negative role sets the screen on fire. Sanjay Mone’s cameo as Dr.Shanbhag leaves a mark. Uday Sabnis, Jayant Savarkar lend good support. Aditi Govitrikar lends oomph to the film.
Watch this film for some exciting thrills and wonderful performances!
‘Harischandrachi Factory’ is simply amazing !
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Rating: na
Presenter: UTV Motion Pictures, Mayasabha Director: Paresh Mokashi Camera: Amalendu Chaudhary Art: Nitin Chandrakant Desai Music: Anand Modak Cast: Nandu Madhav, Vibhawari Deshpande, Mohit Gokhale, Atharve Karve, Dilip Joglekar, Ketan Karande, Dhiresh Joshi, Sandip Pathak, Vaibhav Mangle, Ganesh Mayekar, Ambarish Deshpande, Pravin Tarde, Mayur Khandge, Gary Richardson, Gary Tanton Movie Review by: Ulhas Shirke |
After the announcement of its entry from India for Oscars and having won the hearts of audience abroad recently during various film festivals across the globe, ‘Harishchandrachi Factory’ has indeed created a lot of anxiety among Indians about its recognition at Oscars. Watching this film during the recent Third Eye Film festival in Mumbai was a real pleasure. For every scene that was filled with humour, the elite audience comprising of foreign delegates seated in the balcony of Plaza Cinema, responded spontaneously.
‘Harischandrachi Factory’ is not only a beautifully crafted cinematic presentation about the making of India’s first feature film, but also depicts in a simple way as to how perseverance, hard work and a splash of humour, could make a realistic film. At a time when people in India were scared to watch the moving images shown at tent theatres, an enthusiastic photographer cum Magician from a middle class family dared to make first feature film in India. The film maker Paresh Mokashi has gone into details of the family life of Dadasaheb Phalke and the support he received from his family members and close friends during the making of ‘Raja Harischandra’ the first feature film of India.
What is more appreciating point about the film is that the film maker has almost recreated Mumbai 1911 with clever picturisation of scenes. Thanks to Art director Nitin Desai for his studio creations. Besides this unique theme which pays tributes to the Icon of Indian film industry, the film has best cinematic presentation with technical areas well managed. With required lobbying in US, the film stands all chances to win Oscars. UTV Motion Pictures who are marketing this film have scheduled the release of this much talked about film on January 22, 2010 all over India. Watch it with your family. It’s a biggest tribute to the grand old man of Indian cinema.
‘Harishchandrachi Factory’ which is co-produced by Paprika Media and Mayasabha Production is Paresh Mokashi’s directorial debut and stars many talented actors like Nandu Madhav, Vibhawari Deshpande, Mohit Gokhale, Atharve Karve, Dilip Joglekar, Ketan Karande, Dhiresh Joshi, Sandip Pathak, Vaibhav Mangle, Ganesh Mayekar, Ambarish Deshpande, Pravin Tarde, Mayur Khandge, Gary Richardson and Gary Tanton.
‘Shikshanachya Aaichha Gho’ takes on the taxing educational system
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Rating: na
Presenter: Eros International, Satya Ashwami Films, Everest Entertainments Producer: Sanjay Chhabria, Ashwami Manjrekar, Satya Manjrekar Director: Mahesh Manjrekar Story: Mahesh Manjrekar Screenplay: Ravi Jadhav Lyrics:Guru Thakur,Shrirang Godbole, Nalesh Patil Music: Ajit, Atul, Samir Cast: Sachin Khedekar, Bharat Jadhav, Saksham Kulkarni, Gauri Vaidya, Siddharth Jadhav, Kranti Redkar, Vidyadhar Joshi, Vaibhav Mangle, Kamlakar Satpute, Kishore Pradhan, Sandeep Pathak Movie Review by: Ulhas Shirke |
Till now, our experts in education department and the Government representatives have ignored the most sensitive issue of rising suicides among children. No one has really bothered to find the exact cause and a solution. But, as they say, media has lot to do. Film making is a very creative filed and if a particular issue is presented properly, it can certainly invite the attention of one and all. A change in our educational system is a long time demand and director Mahesh Manjrekar decided to take on this issue seriously through his latest film ‘Shikshanachya Aaichha Gho’( SAG) .
He did face the opposition before release of his film, for using a konkani slang in the title; but managed the opposition diplomatically. Finally, ‘SAG’ saw the opening day at theatres all over Maharashtra with houseful shows even in multiplexes. A simple story of a teenager from a middle class family ( Saksham Kulkarni) , who is good at cricket but is an average student in his studies. The father ( Bharat Jadhav) who is working in Municipality office, wants his son to do well in his studies too. He does not approve his progress in cricket, as he feels that the game will only come in the way of his studies. One day, he scolds his son for non performance in exams and breaks his bat. He beats up his son and in a scuffle, pushes him away, when the child hits his head against the bed and bleeds turning nconscious. He is rushed to hospital and is operated upon, but does not recover as he moves into coma.
The father repents, but his friends and well wishers in the neighborhood including his daughter(Gauri Vaidya) extend both financial and moral support during this period of crisis. He brings his son back home under the advice of hospital doctor and offers all treatment at home. Finally, one of his friends who is working in a hospital, arranges an operation of his son by a US returned doctor(Mahesh Manjrekar) . The son recovers and the father wins his battle against the education system, with the chief minister giving him assurance to look into this issue. Now, to present this issue, director Mahesh Manjrekar has displayed a good cinematic presentation through touching scenes and hard hitting dialogues to make the audience think seriously about the change
required and instigating the parents to oppose such a system. At the same time, he has tried to convince the parents not to expect too much from their children and encourage them more in the areas of their interest. Very cleverly he has used certain locations to create the desired impact through his 1hour 48 mins long film.
In this film, you will find Bharat Jadhav in a different role. Though there are few scenes to bring in humour, especially in the company of a shop keeper cum money lender Ibrahim( Siddharth Jadhav) and his kind hearted neighborhood friends comprising of Kishore Pradhan and others. The character of Nalini (Kranti Redkar) having soft corner to this family, has been cleverly used to complete the requirement of female lead; as the hero is shown as a widower. And, she has played her part well.
Both the children Saksham and Gauri are proper choice in the film doing their respective roles. The director’s favourite -Sachin Khedekar makes his appearance as the chief minister in that climax scene. Overall presentation of the film is good, with not much scope for music, but clever editing work keeps the audience engaged with the screenplay. The sincere effort of the film maker is to be lauded for taking on this taxing educational system through this film.
The imporatnt changes in our education system at school level the film suggests are:
1) Allowing students with their choice of subjects.
2) Vocational guidance a must at seondary level. &
3) To do away with rank system.
‘Natarang’- A Classic Tale !
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Rating: 4/5
Presenter: Zee Talkies Production: Zee Talkies, Athaansh Communications Director: Ravi Jadhav Story: Dr. Anand Yadav Screenplay: Ravi Jadhav Dialogues, Lyrics: Guru Thakur Music: Ajay – Atul Cast: Atul Kulkarni, Sonali Kulkarni, Kishor Kadam, Vibhavari Deshpande, Kishor Choughule… Movie Review by: Sandeep Hatangadi |
Debutant ad-filmmaker Ravi Jadhav’s ‘Natarang’ is a film that has raised the bar for quality Marathi films. The film adapted for screen from Dr. Anand Yadav’s classic novel, is a bench mark in Marathi films made on rural backdrop.
The story of ‘Nararang’ is about Guna Kagalkar (Atul Kulkarni) a village wrestler with bulging muscles who is a farm worker by profession and lives happily with his wife(Vibhavari Deshpande) and children along with his old father (Yakoob Sayeed).
It’s difficult for Guna to make two ends meet, especially because of his passion for ‘Tamasha’ a Maharashtrian dance form with ‘Lavnis’ (seductive songs).
Guna’s ultimate dream is to play a king’s role in ‘Tamasha’and so he gathers a team of unemployed friends in the village and starts his own ‘Tamasha’ troupe and a veteran ‘Tamasha’ artiste (Kishor Kadam) helps them find the ‘dancer’(Sonalee) for their troupe. But, soon Guna is in a soup to find a ‘Nachya’ or the so called clown, who brings on the laughter in the ‘Tamasha’.
Finally, the manly muscular Guna has to play ‘Nachya’ himself, much to his chagrin; but he does so for the sake of his troupe and gets a complete makeover by becoming thin and shaving his moustache off. Guna’s troupe becomes the talk of the town but he has to lose his wife and children for his ‘Tamasha’. Interspersed in this narrative is local politics besides the competition between various ‘Tamasha’ troupes, gay artistes, etc.
But the film grabs your attention right from start to end because of Atul Kulkarni’s powerful performance, especially the scenes where he has to pose girlie in a wrestler’s body. The rest of the cast is also impressive , especially Vibhavari Deshpande, Kishor Kadam, Sandesh Jadhav, Milind Shinde, Priya Berde, etc . Sonalee looks good and dances well. Amruta Khanvilkar’s cameo is also impressive.
The music by Ajay-Atul is already a hit with the masses especially the ‘Apsara’ song and other folk numbers with good lyrics by Guru Thakur. The dialogues by Guru Thakur are well-written. The cinematography by Mahesh Limaye is slick with lots of night scenes and back lighting with soft focus lens capturing the village landscapes beautifully.
Zee Talkies deserve kudos to back a project like ‘Natarang’ and actor Atul Kulkarni who in true Robert De Niro style, had to build a strong physique by extensive workout and diet and then losing it all for the role. The film is a must-see for Atul’s performance and Ravi Jadhav’s good debut (his flashback style is very impressive).
‘Natarang’ is a film that comes once in a while. See it ASAP!