‘Cycle’ presents a frivolous subject to rediscover yourself
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All of us in this beautiful world are possessive about a particular thing. And suddenly, after disappearance of that thing, we are disheartened. It is at this particular time, we need someone to console us to recover from this stage; so that we rediscover ourselves to live rest of our life happily. Known for systematic presentation of his subject, film maker Prakash Kunte has released his latest Marathi film ‘Cycle‘, which is based on this philosophy.
Actually, ‘Cycle’ presents a frivolous subject, which makes you rediscover yourself, while watching this 100 minute length film. Set on the backdrop of picturesque Konkan during late 50s, the film narrates the story of Keshav( Hrishikesh Joshi) and his possessive attitude towards his bicycle, which is an antique piece. Keshav has acquired this cycle as a gift from his grandfather, who had received this as a parting gift from a British Officer, after India became Independent from British rule.
Keshav takes very good care of this cycle which is unique in its appearance with its original yellow colour. He is so possessive about this cycle that he does not even allow anyone to ride on it. One day, unexpectedly when the entire family is away at a village temple to watch a mythology based drama performed by local artistes, two thieves Gaja ( Priyadarshan Jadhav) and Mangya ( Bhalchandra Kadam) who enter this village, looking for their next adventure, break open the lock of Keshav’s house and steal the ornaments, precious idols of God and flee on his cycle parked in the compound, after they notice the dogs barking at them.
While dejected Keshav who is a renowned Palmist ,wonders if he would ever find his cycle, the two thieves are on the run, moving from one village to another. On the way, wherever they take halt, they meet people who recognize Keshav’s cycle. But, the thieves who are well versed in this profession, keep posing that they are Keshav’s cousins and are using his cycle for their business purpose. At one stage, they realise the importance of Keshav as a person and his helping nature and decide to leave his cycle at one place from where, they decide to find escape route through a boat. All is well at the end, with Keshav also recovering to understand himself.
Director Prakash Kunte has cleverly narrated this simple story which seems to be inspired by the world cinema and especially the style of Majid Majidi’s Iranian films. But, there are few flaws in the film, which are noticed in the screenplay. Except for the two thieves, he has paid more attention on the costumes of all the other characters, to give a realistic look of 50s era. The only song in ‘Cycle‘ film and that too played in the background and composed by Rohan Rohan is very apt to the situation, but the background score by Aditya Bedekar is more appealing for every situation. Manoj Machemadkar’s sound recording is also good. Locations selected are too good and so is the wonderful photography by Amalendu Chaudhary. Performances by lead artistes is also another plus point of this film. Good support comes from other artistes like Manoj Kolhatkar, Dipti Lele & Maithili Patwardhan as family members of Keshav, while Abhijit Chavan, Vidyadhar Joshi, Sandesh Kulkarni, Pradeep Velankar are also impressive through their limited roles.
‘Cycle‘ will surely invite the attention at various international festivals; but for others it will offer a light entertainment.
‘Nude’ sends across a strong message through artistic presentation
Nude Movie Review
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The nude figure is a traditional Western art. Actually, a ‘nude’ is a work of fine art which has its primary subject as unclothed human body. Using this form of art, film maker Ravi Jadhav has presented his latest released Marathi film ‘Nude‘.
It may be recalled that Marathi film makers who are known for offering unconventional subjects through their films, have never compromised on their story line, if they want to offer something very realistic. And therefore, new Marathi film ‘Nude‘ is the best example. This film presents a touching tale, which shows how a helpless woman Yamuna (Kalyanee Mulay) leaves her village along with her son, to get rid of her abusive husband, who regularly sleeps with another woman.
Yamuna lands in Mumbai at her aunt’s Chandrakka ( Chhaya Kadam) place, who works as a sweeper at J.J. School of Arts for the past 18 years; but actually she also poses as a nude model for senior batch of students, who are required to draw such paintings as part of their syllabus. Chandrakka does this, as her husband loses his job in a mill. Soon Yamuna, who is also in search of a job, comes to know about Chandrakka’s work. Initially she does not approve this kind of work, but when Chandrakka convinces her that it is safe, she too agrees to play Nude model, for the sake of her son, whom she wants to offer best education.
Time comes, when Chandrakka’s son attains teenage, and he too shows his skills in drawing. So, Yamuna sends him to Aurangabad for studies, as she doesn’t want him to join the college, where she plays nude model. To meet the rising expenses of her son’s education, Yamuna starts taking up private assignments for renowned painters. A student from the college who later turns a lecturer( Om Bhutkar) accompanies her for such assignments, at her request. One such renowned painter is played by Naseeruddin Shah, whose character resembles a former celebrity painter , who was banned from entering India due to controversy over drawing nude paintings .
The film reaches at an interesting stage, when Yamuna expects her son to understand the sacrifice of his mother in offering him good education. But, does that really happen? The director has kept the audience guessing. He unveils the answer in the climax, which regular film goers may not like. But, art film lovers will surely appreciate this conclusion, for its realistic touch. Performances in ‘Nude‘ film by lead artistes are simply top class. Both Kalyanee Mulay and Chhaya Kadam have impressed through their characters. They have received good support from Shrikant Yadav, Om Bhutkar, Madan Deodhar & others. Kishore Kadam and Neha Joshi are namesake in this film, with nothing much to do. What is highly impressive is the superb cinematography by Amalendu Choudhary, who has brought liveliness in every frame shot by him skillfully. A fine support also comes from music and sound design.
As suggested through the title, there is nothing vulgar in this film. In fact, this film sends across a strong message through artistic presentation.
‘Mantr’ challenges exploitation of people in the name of God
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Movie: Mantr
Rating: ★★★ Genres: Drama Censor: U Duration: 120 min. Studio / Presenter: Vedarth Creations, Dreambook Productions Producer: Sanjay Katkar DOP: Pran Shirurkar Director: Harshwardhan Cast: Saurabh Gogate, Deepti Devi, Manoj Joshi, Pushkraj Churputkar, Siddheshwar Zadbuke, Shubhankar Ekbote Movie Review by: Ulhas Shirke |
Marathi film makers challenging the exploitation of people in the name of God through their film’s subject, is not new to Marathi film lovers . Film ‘Deool‘ was the best example. Actually, it all depends on how effectively this subject is handled, to present the package of entertainment, which is so necessary to invite the audience to cinema halls. Latest released Marathi film ‘Mantr‘ also deals with one such subject. In this film, the leading female character of the film Antara played by Deepti Devi who is an atheist, voices against the blind faith of the people in the priests and so called Godmen.
Holding a cigarette in one hand and sometimes a glass of drink, she brainwashes her new boyfriend friend Niranjan( Saurabh Gogate) who is three years younger to her and whom she likes. But, Antara is not aware that her new boyfriend is the son of a renowned Hindu priest Sridharpant ( Manoj Joshi) , who lives in their neighbourhood in Pune. However, when she comes to know about it, she slaps him for hiding the facts from her. Niranjan, who is also cheated by one of his close friend David in an incident, drinks heavily that night and dares to question his father about the transparency in his profession. Disturbed by this all of a sudden happening, forces his father to proceed to his native place for peace.
Actually, Niranjan is himself is in a dilemma, whether to take up a priest job in Germany for a short period, as suggested by his father. But, he decides to go only because his friend promises him a Business Dev Manager’s job of his web development company over there. Antara is also going on an assignment to Germany. In the meanwhile , an unexpected incident in the climax of the film, brings the lead pair together, with Antara also realising the importance of Niranjan and his point of view.
Debutant Director Harshavardhan has tried to create humour in the screenplay of this film, through some interesting happenings taking place among the three friends, between Antara and Niranjan & between Niranjan and his brother kashinath( Pushkaraj Chirputkar). Through the character of most respectable Sridharpant, Manoj Joshi has tried to put forward the side of all those sincere priests, who are preserving the traditional culture of showing faith in God.
Wonderful Performances by all the leading artistes is the plus point of this film. In the role of Sridharpant Manoj Joshi is at his best. Deepti Devi finds good scope in this film and she finds good support from debutant Saurabh Gogate, who has performed well. Pushkaraj Chirputkar and Shubhankar Ekbote generate the required humour to entertain the audience. Music by Avinash Vishwajeet is fine .Pran Shirurkar’s camera work is impressive . Writer –director Harshavardhan does pass a timely social message through this film. ‘Mantr‘ does have some content to voice the opinion of a section of young generation, but it remains to be seen, how this subject would be accepted by the regular film lovers?
‘Asehi Ekada Vhave’ presents a simple Unconventional urban love story
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Movie: Asehi Ekada Vhave
Rating: ★★★ Genres: Drama Censor: U Duration: 120 min. Studio / Presenter: Zelu Entertainment Producer: Madhukar Rahane DOP: Salil Sahasrabudhe Director: Sushrut Bhagwat Cast: Umesh Kamat, Tejashri Pradhan, Sharvani Pillai, Nikhil Rajeshirke, Chirag Patil, Narayan Jadhav, Ajit Bhure, Kavita Lad Medhekar Movie Review by: Ulhas Shirke |
At a time when rural based love stories have become popular on Marathi small and big screens, Director Sushrut Bhagwat has dared to present unconventional urban love story through his latest Marathi film ‘Asehi Ekada Vhave‘. It is the story of Siddharth Vaidya( Umesh Kamat) and Kiran Paranjape( Tejashri Pradhan) both from well to do families. Siddharth who is visually impaired runs the big family business of a popular brand of spices along with his elder sister Revati ( Shravani Pillai) who is CEO &MD of the company, while Kiran who is the only daughter of rich parents ( Ajit Bhure & Kavita Lad) works as a Radio Jockey with a popular radio channel.
Siddharth who is a regular listener of Kiran’s programme, falls in love with her mesmerizing voice and spontaneous smile. He offers a business proposal to her radio channel to market his brand, provided Kiran does the publicity , being the most popular RJ. During their first business meeting, Kiran is highly impressed by Siddharth’s behavior and is not aware that he is visually impaired, as the meeting takes place in presence of Siddharth’s marketing manager. During her second meeting with him at her radio channel, she comes to know about the reality . But, during their interaction, Siddharth misunderstands her. So, he tries to keep himself away from her. However, Kiran in spite of being humiliated by Siddharth becomes his sympathizer. Her broad minded parents too, support her decision to marry him . Finally, all goes well at the end in this unusual love story.
Director Sushrut Bhagwat has tried his best to give justice to this two hour long film, with emotion filled sequences lined up one after the other, in the limited content available to him. Writer Shravani Pillai has grabbed a big role of Revati for herself in this film, which she has played convincingly. But, as a writer, she fails to generate much interest in the post interval session. The lead pair of the film come opposite each other after 40 minutes from start of the film. The story of the film drags in the screenplay with lots of discussion among different characters in the style of a drama in this session.
Lead pair played by Umesh Kamat and Tejashri Pradhan have however impressed through their wonderful performances throughout the film. They find good support from Ajit Bhure, Kavita Lad, Narayan Jadhav & few others. Music of ‘Asehi Ekada Vhave‘ film is impressive with both Avadhoot Gupte and Advait Patwardhan attempting suitable melodies for this emotion filled subject. Salil Sahasrabuddhe’s cinematography and Namita Gogate’s costume designing are two more plus points of this film. Don’t expect entertainment and humour from this film, as it deals with a love story with a serious subject. Technically, it a well made film.
‘Gavthi’ shows the success formula for rural development
Movie: GavthiDirector: Anand (Anddy)
Writer: Nayan Rathod, Rohit Sawant
Cinematographer (DOP): Ajeeth
Editor: Sanjay S Ingle
Rating: ***1/2
Review By: Ulhas Shirke
If you think what one person can do to bring that required change in his village, the key for the same is the conviction and vision of that person. A farmer’s son need not be a farmer, but at the same time, he should not shift to the city, just to do odd jobs, to avoid the family tradition. Latest released Marathi film produced by Siva Kumar R and directed by Anddy Anand shows the success formula for village development through an interesting story, which should inspire every youth of the present generation.‘Gavthi’ is actually the story of Gajanan( Shrikant Patil) , son of a hard-working farmer Shankar ( Kishore Kadam) who wants to educate his son, so that like him he need not be dependent on seasonal rains and loan from the Government or moneylender to save his land. As per his father’s wish Gajanan who is studious completes his education and also acquires a diploma in Computer engineering with merit. At the same time, he also falls in love with his classmate Gauri , who happens to be the only daughter of Babanrao ( Nagesh Bhosale) the rich moneylender from the village. When Babanrao comes to know about the love affair of his daughter with Shankar’s son, he plays a game to send Gajanan to Mumbai for a job, assignment, much against his wish.
On reaching Mumbai, Gajanan realizes that he has been cheated. But, a kind-hearted fast food vendor Mutthuswamy ( Kushal Badrike) comes to his rescue by not only providing him shelter but also a job of an Office Boy in an IT company, through one of his regular customers. And, this changes his life. How he rises to the executive post and convinces his Boss to adopt his own village for rural development, to get tax exemption for his company, is an interesting story. All is well in the concluding part.
The first part of the film presents a typical love story taking place in a village which comes to an end with the separation of Gajanan and Gauri. Even the post-interval happenings indicate the same old story of a village boy coming in search of a job in the dream city of Mumbai and getting cheated. But, soon we find the film taking a new turn to show how one person can change his own village, with the help of his proper planning. In short, the concluding part of this film is more inspiring with a timely message for every educated youth, especially coming from the rural background. The film has also shown through one important scene, how our Marathi people holding high position don’t help their own people coming from rural Maharashtra to find jobs, only because they are not fluent in English.
Director Anddy has cleverly shown the strong bonding between Gajanan and his parents and at the same time he has presented the love story of Gajanan and Gauri. He has also added humor to this film with the inclusion of few characters like Kushal Badrike, Kishore Chougule and others. But, it is Kushal Badrike in the character of Mutthuswamy invites all the attention in the post interval session. One can compare his performance with Bollywood legends like Late comedian Mehmood and also Jhony Lever. So much has been the capacity of this actor , when it comes to presenting good comedy. Another actor Kishore kadam has performed extremely well. He finds good support from Vandana Waknis, who has played his wife in this film & Nagesh Bhosale who has played a negative character.
Talking about the young lead pair, both Shrikant and Yogita have done well on their debut, but Yogita is more impressive, because of her expressive face and perfect dialogue delivery. Music of this film is good, but cinematographer Ajeeth captures all attention through his good work. Technically, it is a good film. Only drawback of this film is its length which is two and half hours. A long time has been spent on classroom and school campus happenings, which we have seen in many Marathi films based on teenage love in the past. Even the two friends of Gajanan shown schoolboys are not very convincing, though they have given good performances. However, looking at the sincerity of the filmmaker to send across a strong message with the help of good humor, makes this film a worth watch.
‘Jaga Vegali Antayatra’ may inspire unemployed youth
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Movie: Jaga Vegali Antayatra
Rating: ★★★ Genres: Drama Censor: UA Duration: 115 min. Studio / Presenter: Ultimate Film Makers Pvt.Ltd Producer: Dr. Nitin Shyam Toshniwal DOP: Swapnil Mohan Loke Director: Amol Ashok Lahande Cast: Bhau Kadam, Madhav Abhyankar, Rajan Bhise, Suhas Paranjape, Suprit Kadam, Omkar Purohit, Vinamra Bhabal, Dr. Vishal Gore, Shivani Bhosale Movie Review by: Gajanan Wagh |
Unemployment has always remained the biggest issue in our country. The four lead young characters in the latest released Marathi film ‘Jaga Vegali Antyatra‘ have shown their way to overcome this problem faced by them. And therefore, this film may inspire them to take up business. The film has tried to throw light on these two issues i.e. Unemployment and the generation gap existing between parents and their children today.
‘Jaga Vegali Antyatra‘ film begins introducing the four leading character Aditya (Suprit Kadam), Vishal (Vishal Gore), Omkar (Omkar Purohit) and Vinay (Vinamra Bhabal). After graduation, they move to Mumbai to achieve their dream jobs. They come across kind hearted Nandu Kaka (Bhau Kadam) & his wife (Suhas Paranjpe) who run a canteen and support the strugglers like these youngsters. However, in the dream city of Mumbai they face lots of challenges to get a well-paid job. Finally, they decide to go back to their respective hometowns. But, at this moment their only well wisher Nandu Kaka offers them some work funeral management and this inspires them to start a new business. After completing this assignment they launch their own website antyantra.com , which helps them to expand their business of funeral package and their service turns into a full-fledged business .
The parents of these youngsters who are initially unhappy with their work of Funeral management get convinced later when they realize that their business is well accepted by the people. In the film, there are four songs composed by Rohan-Rohan. The lyrics of title song is very touchy and meaning full. ‘Halawa Halawa‘ is one more well presented romantic track which is rendered by Siddharth Mahadevan and Mahalaxmi Iyer.
The part of introducing Appaji (Madhav Abhyankar) as a villain seems bit incomplete. Bhau Kadam’s few dialogues generate laughter. We can’t say it is an extraordinary film but definitely, the plot is different which may inspire today’s youth. The story is written by director Amol Lahande himself. All the lead artistes have performed very well. Veteran artistes Suhas Paranjpe, Madhav Abhyankar, Rajan Bhise have limited scope.
Overall, there is comedy, drama & action we notice in Tollywood style films, which combined together makes this an average entertaining film.
‘What’s Up Lagna’ is all about post marriage sweet and sour relationship
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Movie: What’s Up Lagna
Rating: ★★★ Genres: Drama Censor: UA Duration: 148 min. Studio / Presenter: Video Palace, Fincraft Media & Entertainment Producer: Jaee Joshi DOP: Sethu Sriram Director: Vishwas Joshi Cast: Vaibhav Tatwawdi, Prarthana Behere, Veena Jagtap, Vandana Gupte, Ila Bhate, Sneha Raikar, Vidyadhar Joshi Movie Review by: Ulhas Shirke |
Somebody has rightly said, ‘Marriages are made in heaven‘ . So, you never know, how and when two persons not knowing each other before, will meet by chance only to convert that meeting into lifetime relationship, called marriage. Latest released Marathi film ‘What’s Up Lagna‘, presents the story of most eligible young and smart IT engineer Aakash Pradhan( Vaibhav Tatwawaadi) & beautiful Ananya Mantri( Prarthana Behere) who wants to make a career in acting. While Aakash who hails from Pune, holds a respectable position of Associate V.P. in his company in Mumbai, Ananya the only daughter of well to do parents from Nashik is a stage actress and is trying hard to achieve name and fame in Mumbai. One day, Aakash who is on a business trip to Nashik meets Ananya, who also happens to hire the same vehicle.
During the journey, though their way of thinking is poles apart, circumstances bring them together again and again , which finally turns into friendship followed by their marriage, which is approved by Aakash’s mother ( Ila Bhate) and Ananya’s broad minded parents(Vidyadhar Joshi & Sneha Raikar) . However, both Aakash and Ananya instead of distributing cards in traditional way, send marriage party invitations to their friends, by appearing in a video which is shared on whatsapp. Instead of going through the actual marriage rituals, they invite the registrar of marriages at this party, to make it all official.
All looks well till the couple proceed for their honeymoon . The real trouble begins, during their honeymoon, when they are required to return half way. On their return to Mumbai, both of them become so busy that they hardly find time for communication and sex. This results in misunderstandings, as Aakash believes in keeping the house neat and clean, while Ananya is lazy doing household things, as she is not used to it. Their marriage is on the verge of break up, when in comes Daji Kaka ( Vikram Gokhale) , who shows them the way to live happily. All is well at the end, when both find time for each other.
This is the debut of producer turned director Vishwas Joshi, who has presented the film very well in the first half, with interesting happenings & selection of good locations. He has cleverly marketed some of the brands through this film. However, in the post interval, the screenplay fails to impress, with the length of the film stretched to 2 hours 28 minutes. It would have been better, if the film was restricted to 2 hours duration.
Both Vaibhav and Prarthana have given their best through their sincere performances in all those intimate scenes and expressing their emotions well . Good support comes from supporting artistes like Vikram Gokhale, Vandana Gupte, Vidyadhar Joshi, Sneha Raikar& Ila Bhate, who look very natural in their respective roles. Sunil Barve and TV actress Veena Jagtap have been wasted in this film, with hardly any scope. They are just namesake in this film.
Technically this is a well made film, with wonderful cinematography by Setu Shreeram. He has captured the beauty of Nashik very well. Even some of the close up scenes have been captured by him skillfully. Music by Nilesh Moharir and Troy Arif is just fine . Shailesh Mahadik’s art direction and Sonal Kharade’s costume designs are the other plus points of this film, which may appeal youngsters. All in all ‘What’s Up Lagna‘ has turned out to be a little above average film.
‘Firkee’ takes you down memory lane recalling childhood rivalry
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Movie: Firkee
Rating: ★★★ Genres: Drama Censor: U Duration: 128 min. Studio / Presenter: Spotlight Productions, Adamant Pictures, Triple A Entertainment Producer: Maulik Desai DOP: Dhaval Ganbote Director: Suniket Gandhi Cast: Parth Bhalerao, Pushkar Lonarkar, Atharva Upasani, Hrishikesh Joshi, Ashwini Giri, Abhishek Bharate, Jyoti Subhash, Kishore Choughule, Atharva Shaligram Movie Review by: Ulhas Shirke |
The first lesson of rivalry is learned during childhood when the competition is noticed in school. However , it is not only the competition in studies, but competition in sports and leisure games also invites rivalry among children. Latest released film ‘Firkee‘ which is set on the backdrop of a village in Pune district, presents one such character of a schoolboy Govind alias Gondya( Parth Bhalerao), from a lower middle class family, who is the only child of his parents ( Hrishikesh Joshi & Ashwini Giri).
Being an average student in the class, one day Raghav a notorious student from Govind’s class turns his enemy, after Govind stands witness to his cheating during exams. Raghav keeps challenging Govind and his two close friends by opening fights over small issues, but Govind and his two friends Bandya and Tichkya keep themselves cool . However, both encourage Govind to prepare and defeat Raghav the two times winner in Kite Flying competition in their village, during Sankranti festival. How the trio struggle to achieve their goal, is what we notice in the second half of the film, which is made interesting through some humor and action filled happenings.
The film ‘Firkee‘ however fails to impress in the first half, as there are very commonly noticed happenings in the screenplay . The concluding part of the film is well presented, especially during the Kite flying competition. Plus points of this film are good performances by Parth Bhalerao and Pushkar Lonarkar. Both receive good support from Hrishikesh Joshi and Ashwini Giri. Few dialogues in the concluding part are good, especially those uttered by Govind’s father played by Hrishikesh Joshi , who persuades his son to face the world, accepting challenges. In fact, this scene involving Govind and his father will surely inspire young children.
‘Firkee‘ is a good film for children and at the same time it sends a good message to parents of schoolchildren. In fact, it shows how such children are to be convinced, when they really need emotional support from parents. Background music of this film is good. Children living in small towns and villages, will surely enjoy this film. In short, ‘Firkee‘ presents a neat and clean simple story but has limited content. It certainly takes you down memory lane recalling the childhood rivalry.
‘Bhay’ presents psychological thriller in conventional style
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Movie: Bhay
Rating: ★★★ Genres: Drama Censor: UA Duration: 128 min. Studio / Presenter: 5G International Producer: Sachin Katarnawre DOP: Rajesh Rathore Director: Rahul Bhatankar Cast: Abhijeet Khandkekar, Smita Gondkar, Satish Rajwade, Vineet Sharma, Sanskruti Balgude, Siddharth Bodke, Uday Tikekar Movie Review by: Ulhas Shirke |
Psychological thrillers are favourite subjects of many film lovers. But, they need a gripping screenplay to capture the attention of audience. Till now, in Marathi we have seen conventional psycho thrillers, which were influenced by some of our old bollywood films on these subjects, though very few have offered out of the box themes. Latest released Marathi film ‘Bhay‘ falls in the category of conventional style subjects, where we see Gokul Joshi ( Abhijit Khandkekar) the hero of this film suffering from Schizophrenia.
Having phobia of so many things like boarding an elevator , vehicles running on the street etc. He keeps on changing his residence to suit his convenience. Instead of driving his own car, he travels by public transport bus. But, that does not stop his disturbance. One day, after noticing a shoot out incidence on the road, he rushes back home and even Knocks down his wife Meera ( Smita Gondkar) , who is in the initial stage of pregnancy. Gokul is not the only eye witness to the murder of a Builder, who has been attacked by a sharp shooter Bharat ( Vinit Sharma) and his men, on the instructions of a minister –Jagtap( Uday Tikekar) . The other eye witnesses are Praful ( Siddharth Kulkarni), his girlfriend Taniya ( Sanskruti Balgude) and few others, including a senior citizen.
In comes a special investigating police officer Inspector Vishwas Zurunge (Satish Rajwade) who not only investigates the murder and people behind it, but also finishes off the gangsters. Director Atul Bhatankar, who is an editing expert, having made his debut as a director through ‘Time Bara Vait‘ in 2015, has incorporated some interesting happenings in the screenplay of the film; but that gives a conventional look to this film. There is nothing extra ordinary happening in the first part of the film. Instead, he could have made this part more gripping with the help of other characters played by Sanskruti Balgude and others. In the film, Sanskruti has been used just like a character artiste, except for a dream song picturisation in Dubai , in which she looks stunning with designer costumes.
Abhijit Khandkekar does justice to his character of Gokul with good performance, while Smita Gondkar has very little to offer in the first part of the film. The character of sharp shooter played by Vinit Sharma, has been given more than required importance, only to show that people like them are used and exploited by the politicians for their selfish gains. Uday Tikekar has very little to do as a selfish politician, but he has played his part well. Rajesh Rathore’s camera work, background score by Sameer Phaterpekar, costumes by Swapnil Kamble and editing work by the director himself are worth appreciating.
Those who love to watch psychological thrillers, this film will not disappoint them, as it is a conventional style psychological action thriller.
‘Aamhi Doghi’ takes Marathi Cinema to greater heights
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Movie: Aamhi Doghi
Rating: ★★★1/2 Genres: Drama Censor: U Duration: 138 min. Studio / Presenter: Everest Entertainment, White Swan Producer: Puja Chhabria DOP: Milind Jog Director: Pratima Joshi Cast: Priya Bapat, Mukta Barve, Bhushan Pradhan, Aarti Wadagbalkar, Kiran Karmarkar Movie Review by: Ulhas Shirke |
This week five Marathi films have been released simultaneously, which is a new record. But, the best pick by us has been ‘Aamhi Doghi‘, for the only reason that two most talented actresses of Marathi cinema were working together in this film. And, both of them did not disappoint us, as far as the acting part was concerned. However, the versatile actor like Kiran Karmarkar also invited all the attention, with his superb performance through his most important lead character of Advocate Jagadish Sardesai.
‘Aamhi Doghi‘ stands out because of its strong script, which is based on the story of Late Gauri Deshpande, which focuses on the relationship of two women of totally different culture, coming together due to peculiar circumstances. Making her debut as director Pratima Joshi with the help of Bhagyashree Jadhav has tried her best to give a perfect cinematic look to the story, using her creativity through many scenes. The film flows so well till the interval that the audience gets totally involved with the happenings which are filled with humour. However, in the concluding part, few scenes involving Saavi and Ammi are stretched more than required, which is the only weakness of this film.
So, we find the father Advocate Jagadish( Kiran Karmarkar) and daughter Saavi( Priya Bapat) generation gap widening, as the daughter goes through three important stages of her life in absence of her mother. Right from her childhood, teenage to post graduation stage the film presents the changes noticed in her behaviour. Saavi finally decides to leave her father’s house on attaining maturity, to pursue her independent career, instead of carrying forward her father’s well set profession. But, before that a new woman in the form of Ammi ( Mukta Barve) walks into their life. Initially, feeling uncomfortable with her presence, scholar & ambitious Saavi focuses her attention on her studies before moving out of the house, to face the world independently.
The screenplay of ‘Aamhi Doghi‘ film does appeal with some realistic happenings and some of the outdoor locations have been shot very well by cinematographer Milind Jog. Music and background music of Mangesh Dhakde is apt for this narrative tale of young Saavi. Art director Sumeet Patil and costume designer Manasi Atarde make their presence felt through their brilliant work. What impresses the audience most are the performances of lead artistes Kiran Karmarkar, Mukta Barve and above all Priya Bapat, who finds plenty of scope to display her acting skills very realistically. Their emotions are clearly noticed through their prompt expressions in every scene. They receive good support from other important artistes Bhushan Pradhan, Aarti Wadgabalkar & Prasad Barve, who have performed very naturally. All in all, it’s neat and clean film which keeps the audience involved into the story. Don’t miss it.