Critics Rating 3.5 User Rating 5 (1 vote) Sending

Genres:  Drama Censor: UA Duration: 130 min. Studio / Presenter: Shantaai Motion Pictures Producers: Swati Sanjay Patil Director:  Milind Lele Writer:  Sanjay Patil Cast:  Mukta Barve, Sharad Ponkshe, Umesh Jagtap, Anand Alkunte, Ananda Karekar, Pankaj Chemburkar, Krutika Gaikwad, Pravin Tarade, Movie Review by: Ulhas Shirke

Films based on true stories have always invited the attention Marathi film lovers. And if such subjects are presented in a realistic manner, by taking the cinematic liberties, they are sure to win awards. Latest released Marathi film ‘Bandishala’ falls in this category. Having won several state awards prior to theatre release, there were big expectations from this film. And the makers of this film have proved that their film certainly deserved all the awards received by them till now.

Written by Sanjay Krishnaji Patil, the film revolves around a young dashing Jail Officer Madhavi Sawant (Mukta Barve) who tries to bring discipline into her jail by personally supervising all the departments and taking tough actions against the dreaded criminals involved in challenging her discipline, because of their political connections. Well aware of the corrupt practices of her superior Sudanrao Jadhav ( Shard Ponkshe) and his connections with politicians and Minister, she gathers all the evidences of their dealings.

One night after returning from a ceremony along her family members, Madhavi’s car is attacked by five dreaded criminals, who kidnap and rape her. Totally shattered by this sudden horrible incidence, Madhavi tries to recover with the morale support from her husband Shekhar ( Vikram Gaikwad), but the kind of trauma she faces, during the court trial of the five accused of her rape, clearly shows how a woman is treated by the defence lawyer ( Ajay Purkar) in an attempt to prove the accused not guilty.

‘Bandishala’ is actually the voice of all such women in our country, who are fighting for respect in this male dominant society. Simply acquiring power in the job on merit is not enough for a woman. She needs motivation from higher authorities and support from sub ordinates to implement her plans. And, this is what the strong character of Madhavi is fighting for, in this film. What she is actually expecting from her colleagues, she finally finds from the efficient S.P. ( Prasanna Ketkar) and his team of honest police officers, who not only nab the criminals but also gather sufficient evidences against them.

Director Milind Lele has created that strong impact of a gripping tale through this film, but at few places, we find more drama in the court, especially the way the Defence lawyer argues and the Judge watching such scenes mutely. The Public prosecutor played by Savita Prabhune has not been given much scope to defend Madhavi. Nevertheless, wonderful performances by the lead artistes, gives more realistic look to this film. Mukta Barve is at her best. Good support comes from Hemangi Kavi in the role of Ruksana, whose all women small workshop is supported by Madhavi. In Madhavi’s sensible and supportive husband’s role Vikram Gaikwad has also impressed. Another best performance comes from Umesh Jagtap , who plays a dreaded criminal Raghu Farkate undergoing jail sentence and having contacts with politicians. There are many other artistes like Sharad Ponkshe, Madhav Abhyankar, Pravin Tarde, Asha Shelar, Ashwini Giri and others, who have offered good support. Superb cinematography by Suresh Deshmane is another highlight of this film. Music by Amitraj is just fine for the three songs in this film.

All in all, ‘Bandishala’ is a well presented realistic film with hard hitting dialogues .