After experiencing good response in Maharashtra, ‘Lochya Jhala Re’ is ready for release in USA, UAE and other foreign countries soon. Presented by Mumbai Movie Studios and produced by Naveen Chandra, Nitin Keni, Paritosh Painter, Shantaram Manve and directed by Paritosh Painter and Ravi Adhikari this film has been shot in London. It is understood that this entertaining Marathi film has received a big demand from the Marathi film lovers in foreign countries.

Director Paritosh Painter  is happy that his film has received good response in Maharashtra and now there is a request from overseas audience to release this film in their country. The film stars popular artistes like Ankush Choudhari, Siddharth Jadhav, vaidehi Parshurami, Sayaji Shinde, Vijay Patkar, Prasad Khandekar,and Resham Tipnis. Cinematography of this film is handled by renowned award winning cinematographer Sanjay Memane.

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Every year, coinciding with the birth anniversary of Dadasaheb Phalke, Maharashtra Government distribute awards to artistes and makers of Marathi films. This year, the award ceremony will be held for the first time in Borivali, Mumbai, on 30th April 2016. The announcement to this effect was made by Maharashtra Cultural Minister Mr. Vinod Tawde.

Along with this important announcement the nominations in different categories of awards were also declared. Total 73 films had submitted their entries and the names of 10 films nominated for the the best film award are, ‘Katyar Kaljat Ghusali‘, ‘Natsamrat‘, ‘Dagadi Chawl‘, ‘The Silence‘, ‘Bioscope‘, ‘Double Seat‘, ‘Halal‘, ‘Ringan‘,’Rangaa Patangaa‘ and ‘Highway‘. Some of the technical awards have already been declared and ‘Katyar Kaljat Ghusali‘ has already scored with maximum awards. In the individual awards also, Katyar leads with nominations, followed by ‘Double Seat‘.

The nominations for best actor’s category are, Sachin Pilgaonkar( Katyar Kaljat Ghusali), Ankush Choudhary( Double Seat) & Shashank Shende (Ringan); while the nominations in Best actress category are, Mukta Barve( Double Seat), Smita Tambe ( Partu) & Mrunmayee Deshpande( Anuraag) .

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In Bollywood and South Indian action films, we have seen many stories of Superman, who fights against the evil doers to give justice to the people, suffering from harassment. Eros International and director Sanjay Jadhav have presented one such Superman, in the form of ‘Guru’, played by Ankush Choudhari. So, in this film, the character of Guru is not a very clean and principled youth; but he is into all wrong illegal business of thefts and targeting all those, who are also into wrong business. But, he is kind hearted and serves food to all those, in need of it.

One day, Guru, becomes witness to a murder, when he hides in an under construction building, to give a slip to police. But, he lands into trouble as the CID officer , who is close to a big builder ( Ravindra Mankani) , who commits this murder; wants to trap Guru in this case. So, Guru leaves the city and takes shelter at his brother’s ( Avinash Narkar) place in his village. But, here, he discovers atrocities on the villagers and his brother, by a local MLA Mansing ( Murli Sharma) , who has made their lives miserable, using his muscle power. At this stage Guru turns a Superman for the villagers, lifting and tossing dozens of Mansing’s fighters in the air and bashing them against the walls. At the same time, he doesn’t forget to carry forward his love story with charming young Ovi ( Urmila kanitkar Kothare), daughter of temple priest, who lives in the same village.

When Mansing plays his dirty game of cheating the villagers, by asking them to surrender their lands, for the development of village, into a mega City, Guru thwarts his plans , with the help of Ovi, by uniting the villagers .Finally, when he stages an agitation, by blocking the road, the media comes into picture, exposing the plan of Mansing, thus showing victory of truth over evil. Sanjay Jadhav as the director of this film, has done a lot of hard work, to keep the tempo of the film, going with some interesting happenings till interval. But, in the post interval session, which is a revenge story, slows down a bit and becomes predictable with the villain striking again and again, even after Guru teaches him a lesson. He even manages the protest sequences of the villagers , very well; but he has stretched the concluding scene, in a typical 60s and 70s style of Hindi films.

However, the film scores on account of good performances by stylish Ankush Choudhari, lively Urmila Kanitkar Kothare, witty but cruel Murli Sharma, principled Avinash Narkar, caring Sneha Raikar , dangerous Ravindra Mankani and few others. Moreover, instead of presenting a passtime story for such a masala film with action and entertainment , director Sanjay Jadhav has taken up a timely issue, faced by many villages in Maharashtra; very skilfully through this film, which is also to be appreciated. Good music by Amitraj & Pankaj Padgham , excellent choreography of Umesh Jadhav , suitable costume designs by Harshada Khanvilkar, artistic art design by Satish Chipkar, Ashwini Kocharekar and appropriate use of visual effects by Prasad Sutar are also the plus points of this so called masala film.

‘Guru‘ may appeal to all those, who enjoyed watching the films like, ‘Lai Bhari’, ‘Singham’ and ‘Dabangg’. In short, it has offered a complete recipe of entertainment, in a South Indian and Bollywood film style. Last but not the least, Ankush Choudhari will be called the new superman of Marathi films, after release of this film.

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The issue of Female feticide has been discussed in few Marathi films in the recent past. The most recent was through the film ‘Mokala Shwaas’. But, now late Rajiv Patil has presented the same issue in his own way, to send across a strong message to the society. It is very unfortunate that the talented film maker, who gave some sensible films like ‘Sanai Choughade’, ‘Jogwa’ and ‘Pangira'; passed away little before the release of this last offering in the form of ‘Vanshavel’.

The film revolves around a powerful person from a village Mr. Dadasaheb Deshmukh ( Kishore kadam) who is very dominant . His word is always final. Dadasaheb runs his own hospital, besides involving himself with other social activities. His elder son Nilesh ( Sushant Shelar) who is a doctor, manages the hospital and is married to Priyanka-a housewife( Manisha kelkar).His second son Anil ( Shantanu Gangane) who is into farming business, is newly married to a Gynaecologist Sayali ( Namrata Gaikwad). Dadasaheb, being male dominant, expects to have a grandson in the family, as early as possible .

The problem begins when his first daughter in law- Priyanka, refuses to abort her child; when she comes to know that she is going to deliver girl child. The second daughter in law – Sayali also joins the family hospital to take up some responsibilities; but, that only brings trouble for Dadasaheb and his elder son Dr.Nilesh, who is into unlawful activity. The family faces more problems, after Priyanka leaves the house, leaving Nilesh to repent on some of his past acts. With the arrival of new Police Inspector ( Ankush Chaudhary) in his area, invites more trouble for Dadasaheb.
In spite of all these problems, Dadadsaheb tries to manage everything. But, time comes, when his entire family desert him , including his wife Savitri ( Vidya karanjikar),leaving him in the company of his most trusted attendant- Maauli. The director gives few twists to the screenplay, only to teach a lesson to Dadasaheb, who finally reunites with his family, with a changed heart.

As a director, late Rajiv Patil has shown his strength in presenting the subject very effectively, using the hospital as backdrop of the script. Using the two doctors as important characters from the same family, he has clearly shown the reason with difference of opinion. Very cleverly he has shown, how a dominant head of the family becomes helpless, when all the three women from his own family dare to oppose his ideology.

In the role of Dadasaheb, Kishore kadam stands tall among all the characters. He plays a prominent role in this film, where he has plenty of scope to display his acting skills. And, he has done a wonderful job. The director has exploited his full potential, looking at his ability. In the role of Dr.Nilesh, Sushant Shelar plays his part very well, clearly displaying his diplomacy while following the footsteps of his father. He has also been able to show the quick change through his emotions, after his wife leaves him. In the role of Anil, Shantanu Gangne, a stage and TV actor, finds a better scope in this film. And, he does make his presence felt.

Namrata Gaikwad does get few opportunities to react spontaneously at few emotion filled situations. She too has played her part well, as a responsible gynecologist. Manish Kelkar plays an important character in this film; but she too has limited scope for acting. She, however, finds a song to her share. Vidya karanjikar finds one good scene to counter her dominant husband; but in the role of Police Inspector Ankush Choudhary is impressive, as he does everything in his own style.

The film has two songs, which have been used at right places. Amit Raj’s music is just fine; but, the background music and sound effects have been used very well at right places, to create the desired impact. Amalendu Chaudhary has ample scope to experiment with his camera; be it outdoor song sequence or indoor horror filled scenes, using minimum lights. Produced by Sunil Mankar and directed by Rajiv Patil, ‘Vanshavel’ is certainly a sensible film, delivering a timely social message.

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The most valuable gift you can possess is a honest friend. Many a times, some people come into our lives and quickly go; but, some stay for a while and leave footprints on our hearts. Ace Cinematographer turned director Sanjay Jadhav’s latest film ‘Duniyadari’ presents a plot based on such theme, which is inspired from best seller ‘Duniyadari’ by eminent writer Late Shri Suhas Shirwalkar Though primarily set on the backdrop of 1970’s, the happenings in this romantic emotion filled love story, still relates to the youth of today, as screenplay writer Chinmay Mandlekar has made few changes to suit the cinematic form.

So, we find Shreyas Talwalkar (Swapnil Joshi) a young boy in his 20s from Mumbai, caught up in a bad father and mother (Uday Tikekar- Varsha Usgaonkar) relationship. After scoring poor passing marks in graduation, he is sent by his mother to Pune’s S. P. College for his post graduation. He finds his accommodation in college hostel and encounters notorious Digya alias DSP (Ankush Choudhary) and his Katta Gang comprising of Ashkya, Nitys, Sorry, Sunil and Umya, a bunch of hooligans. Digya is in relationship with his long time neighbourhood friend Surekha (Richa Pariyali), who is also part of the gang.

The katta gang members add vibrant colours to the otherwise disturbed life of Shreyas ,who is from a rich family , but deprived of love and friendship. The gang come across a brother and sister duo of Pritam and Shirin (Sushant Shelar and Sai Tamhankar), who are children of a renowned MLA. Pritam who is also student of Post graduate studies, becomes friendly with Shreyas and his other friends, while Shirin who is a medical student, is a frequent visitor to their college. It is actually love at first sight for Shireen, when she first meets Shreyas. The friendship grows. But, in between Digya and his friends suggest Shreyas to become friendly with Police Inspector’s daughter Meenakshi alias Meenu ( Urmila kanitkar Kothare) taking it as a challenge to teach a lesson to her adamant father.

The assembly of these characters is enough for the film to progress with its screenplay with sequence of scenes between Meenu and Shreyas, Shireen and Shreyas, Digya and Sainath alias Sai( Jitendra Joshi) – from a rival gang and local politician’s son. Jealous about the growing friendship between Digya and Shreyas, Akshya breaks away from the group and joins Sai’s group. We also find Sai playing his clever game, proposing Shirin through his political connections. Watching Shreyas coming closer to Meenu, Shirin accepts Sai’s proposal. But, she still tries to be a good friend of Shreyas. Also, with the help of her brother, she brings Meenu closer to Shreyas. Now, in a dilemma, Shreyas declares his love for Meenu , in presence of Shireen; but is not happy. Even Digya finds his beloved getting married to a stranger, at the behest of her parents, who don’t approve Digya.

Many events unfold thereafter, through frequent flashbacks; as the entire story is shown in a series of flashbacks, which is a new style adopted by the director. You also find its link to the story of Shreyas’ mother, who reveals the truth to Shreyas , after his father’s untimely death. It is after that you find a sudden change in attitude of Shreyas, who moves ahead with his changed plan, to take you through a filmy climax .

Director Sanjay Jadhav seems to have paid more attention on presentation of every character from his film, with lot of perfection on their costumes and styles suited to the period of 70s. Watch the bell bottoms of boys, long side locks of Ajinkya, long hair style of Jitendra and costumes of all characters. They are all perfectly styled. What looks unrealistic is the climax, which goes on the lines of Bollywood films of 70s and 80s. Smoking cigarettes by the characters including Shireen-a medical student, has been shown more than required. Her regular visits to S. P. College and that too once in their library looks unnatural. Not much attention has been paid on the make up of the artistes in the older look, except for their grey hair. Even the names of the katta members engraved on the katta, are noticed during the reunion after almost 40-50 years, which is something strange.

But, the fine performances by all the artistes in the film make you overlook these minor errors. ‘Duniyadari’ is a film that mainly revolves around two main characters, Shreyas and Shireen, which is in narrative form from Shireen’s point of view. In the character of Shireen, Sai Tamhankar has found an important role to display her real acting skills. Till now, she was being used more as a glamour girl. Swapnil, was expected to deliver his best and he has played his role with total commitment to his character. His total involvement in the character, can be clearly noticed in this film.

In the role of Digya, Ankush Chaudhary is a perfect choice. He impresses with his tall angry young man looks and actions. Jitendra Joshi presents a rowdy young villain in style, paying more attention on his attire and dialogue delivery. Though Urmila kanitkar kothare finds a limited role, she plays an important character in the film, displaying her emotions clearly. Even Richa Pariyali in her limited role, finds an opportunity in one particular scene, to display her emotions. Sushant Shelar’s Pritam is convincing and so is Ajainkya Joshi’s Ashkya.

In this film, Sandeep Kulkarni surprises with his special appearance. He hardly has 2- 3 scenes; but he creates an impact through them. In the supporting cast, Varsha Usgaonkar, Uday Tikekar and others offer good backing. Music by Sameer Satoskar, Pankaj and Amit Raj is good for a change. Director Sanjay Jadhav has paid complete attention on direction, as he has handed over the responsibility of cinematography to Prasad Bhende in this film, who has done a good job. No wonder, there is sincere effort put in by entire team in presenting this strong script backed film.

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Situation based comedy is back again into Marathi films. Zee Talkies, who presented their last film ‘Mast Chalalay Aamcha’ in this fashion, are back again with another production in the name of ‘Zhakaas’ directed by Ankush Choudhary, who besides acting has also penned the dialogues of this film along with Nitin Dixit. In the beginning of the film, the director does not hide anything from the viewers and gives a clear hint that the three different characters Subhanya, Sandy and Suhas are played by one person ( Ankush Choudhary) in different get ups. You may call him an imposter or Bluff master; but, he flirts with three different girls Manjula ( Amruta Khanvilkar) , Neha (Saie Tamhankar) and Ashwini( Pooja Sawant) at different times.

That reminds us of Prashant Damle plays or TV serials on a similar subjects, but in this film Ankush Choudhary’s character is not married playing double parts but a bachelor 3 in 1 , as indicated through the script. Whenever the hero is in trouble and about to be caught, he seeks help from his loyal friend ( Jitendra Joshi) . All the three girls have their well wishers ( Pushakar Shrotri, Sanjay Khapre and Vikas Samudre) around them, who are deeply in love with them and do not approve their love for Subhnya alias Sandy alias Suhas. They play all their gimmicks to keep the girls away from this Bluff master. But, our hero plays his trick to fool all the three men at a time, posing himself as CBI officer, on a mission.

Till interval, viewers having left their brains at home to watch such a situation based comedy are happy with the plot. But, in the post interval session they find the film moving in Priyadarshan style, without much of hold . Some of the scenes have been well captured; but for that one should thank Cinematographer Sanjay Jadhav and the team involved in expert editing and special effects. Finally, you find the film concluding the way the actor- director felt right. There is no explanation, as to why the hero of the film played this act. We can just assume it that it was just for fun.

Whether the plot convinces the viewers or it taxes them, ‘Zhakaas’ has succeeded in inviting a sizable crowd to multiplexes with half filled halls on this weekend.

It has also succeeded in creating that laughter among the audience through many scenes; but it has failed to hold the audience to their seats, with non stop laughter; the way ‘Mast Chalalay Aamcha’ managed it. The manner in which the three girls have been presented in different get ups is to be appreciated. While the character of Neha played by Saie Tamhankar is shown as an independent girl doing photography, Pooja Sawant plays an ad agency owner wearing Indian style of dresses with matured looks. However, it is Amruta kahnvilkar in that typical village type but glamorous looks, invites all the attention. Her perfect accent suited to that character of Manjula has brought liveliness in every scene that she appears.
Ankush Choudhary, the tall and handsome hero of Marathi films, suits in that character but he has not used any extra ordinary skills in presenting three different roles, except for changing his get ups. But, all the four men in supporting roles namely Pushkar Shrotri, Sanjay Khapre, Vikas Samudre and Jitendra Joshi have played their respective roles with total sincerity and they matched well with their perfect timing to create those humour filled scenes . Even Atul Parchure is good in that small but effective role of an inspector. The characters of a Liftman and the Policeman blowing whistle, have been used well. The film does not have much scope for music and hence the work of Abhijeet Kavthalkar could not be noticed much in the film, except for the title music. The way the film has concluded, it gives an impression that this bluff master is going to return soon. Looking at the strengths and few weaknesses of this film, it has turned out to be a fun filled average family entertainer, mainly because of the fine performances by the artistes.

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Ferrari, Lexis, Chopper, lavish sets, and stunning outdoor locations… hey, I am not talking about any big budget Hindi film. These are some of the specific characteristics of latest Marathi movie – ‘Gaiir’. But still these are not the most attractive features, which would make the audiences appreciate this movie. There is a tight script, mind-boggling dialog, dazzling acting, excellent camera and technical work that makes the movie presentable . In short, it’s a perfect movie not just because of its big budget but also because of dedication and efforts put in by cast and crew of the movie.

As indicated in the promos it is a suspense thriller movie. Sameer Shroff (Sandeep Kulkarni) is a corporate giant. Smart, young, good looking and dashing personality. He marries an NRI’s daughter – Neha (Amrtuta Khanwilkar). Just like other newly married couples, they have a dream of pleasant future ahead. Suddenly, Neha and some other friends and colleagues of Samir realise that Samir’s duplicate exists in the same city. Samir’s duplicate targets Neha and tries to disturb his personal as well as professional life. Inspector Avinash Sardesai (Ankush Chaudhari) helps Sameer to solve the issue. Finally, movie ends with shocking end, certainly worth watching on the big screen.
The movie has good star cast including Sandeep Kulkarni, Amruta Khanwilkar, Ankush Chaudhari, Ila Bhate, Uday Tikekar and everybody has given superb performance. But still there is only one award for man of the match and it is none other than Sandeep Kulkarni. We had seen him in Shwaas, Dombiwli Fast, Made in China – all movies were based upon some social issues. But the way he has changed his body language, facial expressions, looks to present a legendary businessman, is simply amazing. Ankush’s performance was great as usual but Marathi film industry has got another talented actress in the form of Amruta and she is proving it with her every film. Uday Tikekar, Ila Bhate and Tejaswini Pandit’s performances were pleasant and increased the flavor of the movie. Vandana Gupte and Chinmay Mandlekar’s short but sweet appearances were also pleasing.

What makes a movie great from good is perfect combination of on screen and off screen (technical) performance and Gair is an ideal example of it. Parag Kulkarni has written a fantastic story, Satish Rajvade has given golden touch with good screenplay and Satish and Parag have made it even better with hard hitting dialogs. We have seen Satish’s talent in his previous movie – Ek daav Dhobipachad.. Background music has played major role in enrichment of the movie and due credit has to be given. The movie catches the attraction even with the effective use of background score. Even post production method is beautifully handled. Extra cuts, misbalancing effects are used beautifully. Atul Shidhaye has given useful contribution in styling of the movie. But movie loses it’s hold over audiences for last 5-7 minutes, also the idea of using romantic ‘Hindi’ song in Marathi movie is not acceptable.

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