Rating: ★★★ Studio/presenter: Cozy Homes, Akshar Films Pvt. ltd. Producer: Meghmala Pathare Director: Gajendra Ahire Music: Ajay Atul Director of Photography:  Krishna Soren Editor: Ballu Saluja Genres: Drama Censor: U/A Duration: 120 Min. Cast:   Omkar Govardhan, Pooja Sawant, Adinath Kothare, Neha Mahajan, VIkram Gokhale, Kishore Kadam, Rahul Solapurkar, Mangesh Desai, Pradeep Velankar

Films based on Pre independence struggle, have become a common sight nowadays, in Marathi cinema. In the recent past, we saw it, in films like ‘Viti Dandu’ and ‘Sandook’. Now, Gajendra Ahire’s latest film ‘Nilkanth Master’ is also set on the backdrop of pre independence movement, during 40s coinciding with Quit India Movement. So, obviously, there are few similarities observed about the oppression by the British Raj, in this film too. Moreover, this film also has village backdrop in its story.

Vishvanath ( Omkar Govardhan) the protagonist in this film, is a young man from a village, who cannot find time for his beautiful childhood friend Indu (Pooja Sawant), as he is more committed to India’s freedom movement. So, Indu’s efforts in pleasing her beloved, by singing and dancing in the fields with picturesque locations , goes in vain. Viswanath joins the camp of young freedom fighter Vyankatesh( Adinath Kothare) . During one risky operation and encounter with Police, Vyankatesh dies and the responsibility of giving the sad news to his wife Yashoda( Neha Mahajan), falls on Vishwanath.

So, Vishwanath who is also on the target of Police, moves to Yashoda’s village and takes shelter at a senior freedom fighter Inamdar’s ( Vikram Gokhale) house. He is given the task of teaching little children and called as Nilkanth Master. But, at this place, Vishwanath comes across Indu, who is now married to a lunatic person. She can’t resist the temptation of coming closer to Vishwanath to fulfill her sexual desire. But, Vishwanath avoids her and instead, moves along with Yashoda, from one place to other, keeping her in dark, about her husband’s death. Besides, escaping from Police chase, he also wants to move Yashoda to a safer place, as he knows that the Police would torture her.

The entire second half of the film is about the Police hunt for two of them and both of them dodging the police, by changing places. Though, there are many interesting happenings in this half , the film moves with its limited content towards climax. The director has tried to mix the love story of Vishwanath and Indu, during Vishwanath’s mission for country’s freedom. However, in the process, he has offered beautiful songs & picturesque locations to offer audio visual delight, through the film.

Pooja Sawant looks beautiful as a village girl, while she sings and dances in the rains, on her own choreography. She has also looked stunning, in rich costumes, after her marriage to a rich but lunatic person. Her performance is noteworthy, in this film. Omkar Govardhan is a young talented actor and he has portrayed the committed freedom fighter, with total commitment. Neha Mahajan shows promise, once again, in her third film, through her challenging role. She expresses very well, through her eyes. Vikram Gokhale, Kishore Kadam, Rahul Solapurkar, Mangesh Desai, Pradeep Velankar and others, have limited scope in this film. But, Ajay Atul’s music is impressive. Looking at the perfect sound design and good cinematography, ‘Nilkanth Master’ appears, technically well presented film.