For the past three days there has been a feast of selected Marathi films at Ravindra Natya Mandir, Prabhadevi. The occasion is Film Festival organised by ‘Sanskriti kala Darpan’ to shortlist the nominees for the best film and other individual awards for the year 2013. The Organisers had invited entries from the film makers, who released their films during the year 2012 in theatres or at the International Film festivals.

There are films like ‘Tukaram’, ‘Touring Talkies’, ‘Aayna Ka Bayna’, ‘Mokala Shwas’, ‘Balak Palak’, ‘Investment’, ’35 Minutes’, ‘Masala’ ‘Ajintha’ and ‘Dhag'( Blaze) which are being screened . But, the topic of discussion on Saturday evening was Usha Jadhav, the dusky complexioned girl, who invited all the attention after the screening of her film ‘Dhag( Blaze)’ made by Jayashree Motion Pictures and directed by Shivaji Loten Patil. Though the film revolves around a small boy played by Hansraj Jagtap; it is Usha Jadhav who has displayed her potential as an actress in that most difficult emotion filled role of his mother. The film also has Upendra Limaye playing her husband; but it is Yashoda played by Usha, who shoulders all the responsibility to carry the film forward in post interval session; till the end.
It would not be proper to disclose much about this film; as it is yet to be released. But, the film has received critical acclaim at Pune and Goa international film festivals. The best appreciation comes from ‘Kohinoor Ma Ta Sanman’, as the film has received 7 nominations in different categories, such as Best film, best direction, best actress, best supporting actor, best child actor, best screenplay and best editing. And, Usha finds herself eligible among the three actresses for the prestigious honour.

The girl originally from Kolhapur is not new to this entertainment field; as she began her career as a stage artist, while she was doing her job in Pune. Being passionate about films since her childhood; Usha shifted to Mumbai with a new job at Mahalaxmi and kept trying her luck giving auditions at UTV and other production houses.. She had already bagged prominent ad films like ‘Tata Docomo, Fevicol Muchwali, Head N Shoulders with Prieta Zinta, ICICI Bank with Sujit Sarkar, Idea with Abhishek Bachchan and so on. On the recommendation of a friend, she gave her audition for Madhur Bhandarkar’s film ‘Traffic Signal’ and bagged an important role of a young girl selling goods at the traffic signal. It was a good opening for her; as by that time, she had also bagged an ad with Amitabh Bachchan for the promotion of KBC.

Usha Jadhav, Actress
Usha has also worked under Deepti Naval’s direction for the film ‘Do Paise ki Dhoop char Aane ki Baarish’, with Chandan Arora in ‘Striker’ and her forthcoming Hindi film is ‘Cinema Ki Aankh’ where she plays lead opposite Prashant Narayanan (Murder- 2 fame) . But, at present, all eyes on the official release of her Marathi film ‘Dhag’, where her performance will appreciated by one and all. Usha has already received appreciation from people like Saie Paranjape, Shabana Azmi and Academy awards winner Resul Pookutty, who have seen her film during Goa and Pune festivals. Some have compared her with Smita Patil.

When we asked Usha about this comparison, she just smiled and said that she was a great admirer of late Smita Patil. She appreciated her performances in films like ‘Mirch Masala’ and ‘Arth’ but refused to admit that she had emulated Smita in ‘Dhag’. “I have just tried to be natural in my own way and would love to play such characters. I am just passionate about acting in films,” she concluded. Marathi Movie World wished this talented actress all the best and hoped that she walks away with ‘best actress award’ in forthcoming award functions.