Rating: na Production: Cogito Entertainment (I) Production Producers: Shishir Kulkarni, Shireesh Raut, Harini Kalmur, Pushpank Gawde Story, Screenplay, Dialogues, Director: Nitin Nandan Camera: Amlendu Chaudhary Editing: Raj Surve Lyrics: Shreerang Godbole Music: Rahul Ranade Cast: Bharat Jadhav, Dilip Prabhavalkar, Madhavi Juvekar, Sanjay Mone, Chinmay Kambli, Arti More Movie Review by: Sandeep Hattangadi

Many films have been made on the pathetic state of farmers in Maharashtra, but Nitin Nandan’s ‘Jhing Chik Jhing’ is a fine piece of cinema that throws light on the burning issue. The film not only highlights the reasons behind farmer’s suicides but also offers a solution to the problem.

Mouli Bhoir(Bharat Jadhav) is a small Vidharba farmer, who has two acres of not so fertile land but tries hard to get out of the debt trap by growing cotton which is not of good quality and which he has to sell to the co-operative sector for a far lesser price, which hardly suffices the daily square meal for him and his family- wife(Madhavi Juvekar) , daughter (Arti More) and son Shyam (Chinmay Kambli).

Shyam is a bright boy, but circumstances and poverty make him a rebel. His teacher (Sanjay Mone) has high hopes from him and encourages him to think positive in life and achieve his ambition to become a big man like a doctor. But his father’s debts land them in dire straits and the creditors make things difficult for them to survive. The mortgage on his house and land forces Mouli to take the drastic step of committing suicide by poisoning the entire family.

But, the children overhear the plan of their parents and like the ‘Children of Heaven (Majid Majidi) style try to gather the Rs.10,000 needed to square the debts off. Shyam enters into the sack race competition at school sports, which promises him a prizes worth Rs.10,000(which is actually Rs.1000 for the event) but Shyam unaware of this, tries hard and wins the race.

His sister too tries to borrow money from a boy who loves her, but fails. Shyam at the prize distribution ceremony refuses to accept his prize of Rs.1000 and demands Rs.10,000 in front of the entire school and the local leader.
The leader kindly lends an ear to Shyam’s parents suicide pact and with the help of the philanthropist (Dilip Prabhavalkar) in the village admonishes Shyam’s parents and promises them to lend money and government support for organic farming, which is the only answer for a good crop.
The film ends on a happy note but making the viewers shed tears at the sad state of the farmer, who is a victim of the vicious circle of the lender and the due interest.
It is a pity that in our country, the farmer, who provides food to the needy people remains hungry himself and is at the mercy of banks, money lenders, marketing co-operatives, and false claims of insecticide providers.

The performances in the film and the direction has been lauded universally, especially the young Chinamay Kambli who is a natural and exceptionally brilliant and Bharat Jadhav, who was earlier known only for his comic antics. His serious portrayal in the film is an eye opener and he rightly deserved the State Best Actor Award. Madhavi Juvekar as his wife Manda is amazing.Aarti More as the daughter gives a good account of herself. Dilip Prabhavalkar as the ‘kavi cum organic farmer’ is effective. Sanjay Mone’s cameo is clap worthy. Uday Sabis is menacing. The other parts in the film fit the bill. Amalendu Chowdhary’s cinematography is rightly subdued without any brightly lit frames or colors or any razzle dazzle angles. The camera follows the protagonists Shyam and Mouli.

The music by Rahul Ranade is in tune with the mood of the film and the lyrics by Shrirang Godbole are in good verse. The editor Raj Surve deserves a mention for the smooth transitions. In all, ‘Jhing Chik Jhing’ is a good film.