‘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!
Marathi Movie Canvas Review
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Rating: na
Presenter: Swadeshi Entertainment Producers: Sameer Gaikwad, Director: Shivdarshan – Amit Story, Screenplay: Shivdarshan – Amit Cast: Sameer Dharmadhikari, Madhura Velankar, Abhijit Satam, Vijay Kenkre Movie Review by: Saurabh Karnik |
Amazing crockery, crystal bowls, exclusive dishes… but salty fruit salad… or spicy Puran-Poli! What would be your reaction over this kind of dinner? Exactly same reaction came to my mind after watching Canvas. Excellent music, impressive camera, extra ordinary editing, sound story…. But faulty presentation doesn’t make the movie as impactful as it could be.
The movie is based upon murder mystery. Shrikant Dharmadhikari (Shrirang Deshmukh) – a well educated person is killed brutally by some unknown person. But his murder becames a part of serial killing when 2 other persons also get killed in the same manner. ACP Aditya Kulkarni (Samir Dharmadhikari) – an investing officer finds a canvas near every dead body and he finds a clue in the picture ported on the canvas. The film rolls on to show how Aditya solves the murder mystery and catches the killer.
The movie has decent star cast like Samir Dharmadhikari, Madhura Velankar, Vijay Kenkre and everybody has played their role quite well. Especially, Samir’s role in a Marathi movie after so many days, is welcome. Akshay Pendse’s short role definitely catches audience attention and gets appreciation. Vijay Kenkre’s on screen performance after a long time , is another attraction of the movie.
Marathi movies are getting technically strong day by day and Canvas is no exception to it. Shivdarshan Sable has provided extra ordinary background music to maintain mysterious environment in the movie.
Cinematography, camera and lights are also remarkable and worth studying for newcomers and critics.
But unfortunately overall impression of the movie is not that striking because of slow pace of the movie and casual dialogues, that really failed to make the movie remarkable. Shivdarshan-Amit, who have handled story, screenplay and direction have done a decent job in their first attempt. But unfortunately, the viewers are not bothered about it. They look for a simple good movie and Canvas has failed to fulfill their expectations. Dialogues are used very casually and do not suit to the situation. Many a times serious dialogues during a particular situation make the audiences laugh. Director has taken too much of time to establish the murders and reveal the suspense, which is unnecessary and distracting. Movie continues for almost next half an hour even after revealing the suspense. The same movie would have been more impressive, if it had been cut short to ¾th time.
It is a welcome change that Shivdarshan-Amit are daring to make movies over different topics. It is a good trend for Marathi film industry. A bit more professional approach would have made a a big difference. Canvas is otherwise an impressive film at their first attempt and need to be appreciated by Marathi film lovers in order to encourage new filmmakers. Then only thing we expect is a better deal for such striking Marathi movies, with a different touch.
‘Swatantryachi Aisi Taishi’ – a lesson to learn
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Rating: 2/5
Presenter: Four aces productions Producers: Dr. Nandkumar Tasgavkar, Mrs. Vandana Nandkumar Taasgaonkar Story, Director: Ramesh More Camera : Aniket Khandagale Cast: Arun Nalawade, Sulabha Deshpande, Amita Khopkar, Uday Sabnis, Jayant Sawarkar, Avinash Narkar, Aishwarya Narkar, Sushant Shelar, Shailesh Datar Movie Review by: Sandeep |
Ramesh More‘s latest Marathi film ‘Swatantryachi Aisi Taishi’ talks about the present generation gap between children and parents. Mr. Jadhav (Arun Nalavde) wants to perform the ‘shradha’ ceremony of his late wife (Amita Khopkar) . But his four well settled children, the first one -a corporator (Avinash Narkar), second – an NRI (Shailesh Datar), third one- a doctor(Sushant Shelar) and the fourth son – a C.A, make a mockery of this ceremony.
The ‘shradha’ to be performed in the village thus turns into a circus, as the children try to project it as a ‘five star event” and make their trip into a picnic. The children are callous enough to return back home, even before their mother’s ‘shradha’.
Mr. Jadhav is agonized . His only support system are his two good friends – Uday Sabnis and Jayant Savarkar, who too are victims of their children’s apathy. Finally, the ‘Shradha’ is complete, after Jadhav pleads for his wife’s soul to free and attain ‘mukti’.
The film discusses in detail the lack of emotions and cultural values in today’s generation, due to the effect of globalization and recession. And above all, highlights the most important money factor, which has turned today’s children into money making machines, not finding time for their
parents. Parents also rue the fact for having given too much of freedom to their children and having failed to instill discipline in them
The film is a worth watch only because of the performances of Mr. Nalawde, Mr. Sabnis and Mr. Savarkar. Jyoti Subhash and Sulabha Deshpande lend good support. Avinash Narkar is impressive. Aishwarya Narkar is good in a guest appearance. The music by Ashok Patki is tuneful. The cinematography by Aniket Khandagle is lighted up well, by using different filters to show the village and city landscapes. The editor Vasant Kubal should have trimmed off the drinking session scenes, that has taken a long time. In all, the film can be watched only for it’s bearing on the subject presentation and deft direction .
‘Gaiir’ is a well presented movie
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Rating: 3/5
Presenter: Sanjay Ghodawat Groups Production: Kruti Films Director: Satish Rajwade Story- Screenplay: Parag Kulkarni, Shirish Rajwade Cast: Sandeep Kulkarni, Ankush Chaudhary, Amruta Khanvilkar, Tejaswini Pandit, Uday Tikekar, Vidyadhar Joshi, Ila Bhate, Amita Khopkar, Sandeep Pathak, Mahesh Joshi Movie Review by: Saurabh Karnik |
Ferrari, Lexis, Chopper, lavish sets, and stunning outdoor locations… hey, I am not talking about any big budget Hindi film. These are some of the specific characteristics of latest Marathi movie – ‘Gaiir’. But still these are not the most attractive features, which would make the audiences appreciate this movie. There is a tight script, mind-boggling dialog, dazzling acting, excellent camera and technical work that makes the movie presentable . In short, it’s a perfect movie not just because of its big budget but also because of dedication and efforts put in by cast and crew of the movie.
As indicated in the promos it is a suspense thriller movie. Sameer Shroff (Sandeep Kulkarni) is a corporate giant. Smart, young, good looking and dashing personality. He marries an NRI’s daughter – Neha (Amrtuta Khanwilkar). Just like other newly married couples, they have a dream of pleasant future ahead. Suddenly, Neha and some other friends and colleagues of Samir realise that Samir’s duplicate exists in the same city. Samir’s duplicate targets Neha and tries to disturb his personal as well as professional life. Inspector Avinash Sardesai (Ankush Chaudhari) helps Sameer to solve the issue. Finally, movie ends with shocking end, certainly worth watching on the big screen.
The movie has good star cast including Sandeep Kulkarni, Amruta Khanwilkar, Ankush Chaudhari, Ila Bhate, Uday Tikekar and everybody has given superb performance. But still there is only one award for man of the match and it is none other than Sandeep Kulkarni. We had seen him in Shwaas, Dombiwli Fast, Made in China – all movies were based upon some social issues. But the way he has changed his body language, facial expressions, looks to present a legendary businessman, is simply amazing. Ankush’s performance was great as usual but Marathi film industry has got another talented actress in the form of Amruta and she is proving it with her every film. Uday Tikekar, Ila Bhate and Tejaswini Pandit’s performances were pleasant and increased the flavor of the movie. Vandana Gupte and Chinmay Mandlekar’s short but sweet appearances were also pleasing.
What makes a movie great from good is perfect combination of on screen and off screen (technical) performance and Gair is an ideal example of it. Parag Kulkarni has written a fantastic story, Satish Rajvade has given golden touch with good screenplay and Satish and Parag have made it even better with hard hitting dialogs. We have seen Satish’s talent in his previous movie – Ek daav Dhobipachad.. Background music has played major role in enrichment of the movie and due credit has to be given. The movie catches the attraction even with the effective use of background score. Even post production method is beautifully handled. Extra cuts, misbalancing effects are used beautifully. Atul Shidhaye has given useful contribution in styling of the movie. But movie loses it’s hold over audiences for last 5-7 minutes, also the idea of using romantic ‘Hindi’ song in Marathi movie is not acceptable.