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Girlz Movie Poster

Genres: Drama, Comedy Censor: A Duration: 137 min. Studio / Presenter: Everest Entertainment &  Kyra kumar Kreations Producer(s): Naren Kumar Director:  Vishal Devrukhkar Writer:  Hrishikesh Koli Cast: Ankita Lande, Ketaki Narayan, Anvita Phaltankar, Parth Bhalerao, Devika Dafatrdar, Atul Kale, Swanand Kirkire DOP: Siddhartha Jatla Movie Review by: Ulhas Shirke

With the change in lifestyle, today’s youngsters are expecting more freedom and space. Some of them get it very easily, while others who are brought up in a traditional family atmosphere, are denied the kind of extra freedom they expect from their parents. This happens especially with young college going girls, some of whom rebel against the traditional system to find their space. Latest released Marathi film ‘Girlz’ revolves around one such college going girl Mati Desai from a middle class family, whose father is a forest officer and mother an over protective housewife.

When her father is transferred to Kolhapur, Mati( Ankita Lande) along with her parents also lands in Kolhapur and takes admission in a Degree college. It is at this place, she decides to fulfill her dream of travelling all alone and selects her destination as Goa. With the help of her new friend Sakha Dhole Patil- SKD( Parth Bhalerao) she somehow manages to seek permission from her father , who allows her to go on this trip, but her mother puts a condition that every hour she should report herself on video call. In Goa, Mati meets two young girls from different culture . While Rumi ( Anvita Phaltankar) who is emotional, wants to get back her boyfriend after a break up, while Maggie ( Ketki Narayan) is a flirt who needs a new male partner daily to sleep with.

Inspired by Maggie’s lifestyle and her freedom, Mati initially tries to bring in change in her, but when her photos in swim suite become viral on social media her father calls her back. Her mother slaps her. Not satisfied with the pressure, Mati flees her home on the eve of her birthday to join her friends in Goa. But, this time she learns a lesson from the experience she gets, after meeting the family members of her friends. In short, the writer Hrishikesh Koli and director Vishal Deorukhkar have taken the liberty to highlight the new lifestyle of girls, where they go off the track only to prove themselves by adopting all those wrong habits like excessive smoking, drinking, disco and sex. Through the character of Maggie they have tried to show how she inspires and encourages others to follow her footsteps, while trying to prove how she is right in doing so.

The actual theme of the film begins after interval, when Mati gets the real experience of this so called freedom . How she faces this situation and what she finally decides, is what the writer- director have tried to present through this film. At the same time they have tried to show how important are family values , when it comes to proper upbringing of the children by their parents. Dialogues are rough and bold for Marathi a film. It seems the writer- director duo have taken this liberty to show the new lifestyle of youngsters , which was also seen in their previous films. Music does not appeal much, as there are predictable dance sequences inserted into the screenplay. But, the cinematography is good, giving better scope for the cameraman to capture the beauty of picturesque Goa.

Performances from all the characters are good. Especially, Ankita Lande in the role of Mati is more impressive. Devika Daftardar in the role of Mati’s mother also gives a notable performance. Parth Bhalerao and Anvita Phaltankar provide good humour through their respective roles. Good support comes from Sulbha Arya and Atul Kale through their character roles, while lyricist Swanand Kirkire surprises in the role of a Police officer . All in all, ‘Girlz’ shows the mirror of changing lifestyle of today’s youngsters. But, it does have the influence of some Hindi films with bold subjects. Now, it remains to be seen how the audience from different age group would respond to this subject?