‘Anvatt’ challenges blind faith
 Rating: ★★★ ½
Genres: Drama Censor: U/A Duration: 120 mins Studio/presenter: Pooja Jyoti Producer: Shekhar Jyoti Director: Gajendra Ahire Writer: Gajendra Ahire Lyrics: na Music: Hridaynath Mangeshkar Cinematographer (DOP): Krishna Soren Cast: Adinath kothare, Urmila Kanitkar-Kothare, Makarand Anaspure, Vibhavari Deshpande, Kishore Kadam , Bhargavi Chirmule Movie Review by: Ullhas Shirke |
Now Writer – director Gajndra Ahire is back again. This time, he strikes with a psycho thriller which makes an attempt to remove blind faith among the people, about ghosts and spirits. The film begins with the arrival of a young doctor Vinay ( Adinath kothare) with his nature loving beautiful wife – Madhura ( Urmila Kanitkar-Kothare) to a remote village. They are welcomed by the attendant at the deserted village hospital- Sadanand Kamat ( Makarand Anaspure). Behaving like a typical government servant, Mr. Kamat has that ‘Yes Sir’ attitude. So, when Doctor Vinay expresses his desire to visit the village clinic, on his arrival, Mr. Kamat is taken for surprise.
During that evening hour, while Dr. Vinay goes to inspect his clinic along with Kamat, Madhu, who is made comfortable in an old big house; she interacts with a suspicious looking house maid Bayjama ( Vibhavari Deshpande). Later, she walks out of the old house to inspect the surroundings and clicks photos. Out of curiosity, she also clicks the decors at the haunted tree and also brings home a dried scented leaf lying over there. Trouble begins for her, when she develops the photos in her readymade dark room. Even otherwise, the entire house is in the dark, with the lights going off, every now and then, perhaps due to heavy power cuts in that region. The use of old telephone at home, gives a clear indication of the period, around 70s.
So, with that ideal location, with jungle like surroundings, the director finds an excellent opportunity to present this psycho thriller, with the strange happenings experienced by Madhu. Dr. Vinay however, not believing in such things, dares to go into the origin of the problem, besides doing his regular medical practice. In the meanwhile, Kamat keeps moving around suspiciously, with his entry and exit in different scenes and so is the behaviour of the maid Bayjama. The clever director, with the help of cameraman , sound designer and background music at appropriate places, manages to hold the mystery; which he unfolds in the climax.
To make this film more effective, the artistes in this film namely Adinath Kothare, Urmila kanitkar Kothare, Makarand Anaspure, Vibhavari Deshpande, supported by kishore kadam , Bhargavi Chirmule and others,play an important role. They have all put in a great effort. Urmila in particular, has a big role to play and she has lived up to the expectations of the director. Her clicking the photos in dark places, moving all alone in the forest area, however looks odd. But, she has performed her part very well. Makarand does well with his puzzled and suspicious looks. Adinath looks totally different in his new look, while Vibhavari has done well with her quick changing expressions, according to situation. Pt. Hridaynath Mangeshkar ‘s music has been cleverly used to describe the climatic changes.
‘Anvatt’ is a cleverly executed psycho thriller, which holds your attention; but fails to make a deep impact. The film, however succeeds in passing a social message
‘Bharatiya’ has a strong and timely message for the Government
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Rating: na
Banner: Devisha Films Producer: Abhijit Gholap Director: Girish Mohite Story: Aniruddha Potdar Screenplay: Anirudha Potdar, Sanjay Pawar Music: Ajay – Atul Cast: Subodh Bhave, Makarand Anaspure, Jitendra Joshi, Meeta Savarkar, Kuldeep Pawar, Hrishikesh Joshi, Tejashree Khele Movie Review by: Ulhas Shirke |
At a time, when we understand that our prime Minister is likely to announce free mobile sets to all those living below poverty line in this country; the release of latest Marathi film ‘Bharatiya’ is very timely, for the Government to rethink about their controversial decision. The film is produced by Abhijit Gholap( the maker of ‘Deool’) who won the national award last year. Now, his new film ‘Bharatiya’ sends across a strong message to the Central government, for their apathy to understand the real problems of rural poor, at the grass root level.
As we all know, some of the villages in India, do not have water, electricity and other amenities essential for living. How can earnings of Rs. 32 a day by a person, be treated as above poverty line? Can a PM himself live in a village and manage his day within this amount? There are no toilets for these people, but, there are mobiles. Why the villages on the borders of two states receive ill treatment ? Are they treated as Indians? What if they revolt against the system ? All such relevant issues are raised by this sensible film.
Directed by Girish Mohite, the film is set on the backdrop of a small village located on the border of Maharashtra and Karnataka. It talks about the neglect by two state Governments towards this village called Adnida. When time comes to prove the property rights of a family, it is observed that the village is neither under the jurisdiction of Maharashtra nor Karnataka. The issue is flared up, as a foreign returned youngster, who is in search of his ancestral rights over a property, raises his voice against the attitude of both the state Governments and central Government towards the village.
A Gypsy who is a fortune teller( Makarand Anaspure) , who wanders along with his Bull from village to village, is familiar with the miserable condition of this village. He predicts that a young man around 30, would come to this village and there will be a change with revolution. Soon, we find Abhay Sarpotdar ( Subodh Bhave) a protagonist in this film, coming to this village to trace the existence of his ancestral house in the village.
He finds that the Village head, Mr. Sarpotdar( Dr. Mohan Agashe) with his family and young daughter Sugandha( Meeta Savarkar) have occupied the big house claiming that it belongs to his ancestors. He claims the rights of the property, since living there for several years. On the suggestion of his daughter, he however allows the young man to stay in their house, till he proves his legal right over the property. Abhay moves from pillar to post with the help of village talathi to acquire the 7/12 ownership document. But, he finds that the village is neither in the jurisdiction of Maharashtra nor Karnataka. Even the respective states politicians refuse to offer any help, realizing that the village does not come under their constituency.
Taking the Head of the village and aspiring opposition politician Lote Patil ( Kuldeep Pawar) into confidence; Abhay plans a move to invite the attention of the Central Government. In the meanwhile, he traces a hidden treasure in the basement of the house, which is under lock and key for ages. Looking at the attitude of Government to give recognition to their village, Abhay goes on to declare Adnida as a separate country and appoints Sr. Sarpotdar as the Caretaker President, till the constitution is drafted. The issue flares up with the Central Government sending para military forces and seals the borders of the village. Media arrives and it becomes an international news, to invite the attention of the UN. Abhay plays his cards well, to bow down the prime Minister’s office for talks with them at their village. How he succeeds in his mission, the film’s climax is an answer.
Director Girish Mohite has handled this sensible script and screenplay of Aniruddha Potdar very well, with the help of humour filled dialogues of Sanjay Pawar, to make this film entertaining besides passing a strong timely message to the Government. In the role of a wandering fortune teller, Makarand Anaspure plays the Narrator. He very well suits in that role. As a protagonist, Subodh Bhave the lead hero has given a remarkable performance. He is simply superb in the climax scene. Meeta Savarkar( playing the Village head’s daughter) has limited scope, but her pairing with the hero goes well. Playing two rival opponents, both Dr. Mohan Agashe and Kuldeep Pawar are very impressive. Jitendra Joshi playing the role of Shripati(Kuldeep Pawar’s son) has timed very well with his comedy scenes with his father and others. Tejashree Khele, playing the daughter of the only Grocery shop owner in the village, plays the typical village girl with ease, displaying her skills well.
The other artistes comprising of Ujwala Jog (as Lote Patil’s wife), Shubhangi Latkar ( as hero’s mother), Sushant Shelar as Politician, Hrishikesh Joshi as Village Talathi, Pradeep Velankar as CM of Maharashtra, Manoj Joshi as Prime Minister , Suhas Shirsat and the producer Abhijit Gholap playing (as PMO’s representative in the last scene) have supported well, displaying good team work. In the post interval session, the film goes almost on a mockery of the existing system and therefore, the incidences like Cell phone jamming, the hero declaring aid from a neighboring country etc. could be taken in a lighter sense. Ajay Atul’s music is good, with one song by Kunal Ganjawala, in post interval session, inviting special attention. Lyrics by Guru Thakur and Sandeep Khare are well written to suit the screenplay. The film is a good attempt to offer wholesome entertainment with a strong timely message.
‘Teen Baika Fajiti Aika’ – a masala stuffed comedy
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Rating: na
Banner: Sai Shankar Films Producer: Shankar Mitkari Director: Raju Parsekar Story: Rajan Agrawal Screenplay: Arvind Jagtap, Dilip Yadaw Cinematographer: Abdul Wahab Cast: Makarand Anaspure , Kranti Redkar , Nisha Purulekar , Tejshree Khele , Surkha Kutchi , Vijay Chavan, Kuldip Pawar , Singers: Anand Sinde , Reshma Sonvane, tyagaraj Khadilkar, Eknath Mali Movie Review by: Ulhas Shirke |
At a time when Marathi films are winning the national awards for their realistic sensible presentation, the wave of comedy films hasn’t stopped. Now, coinciding with the new Maharashtian year, we find one Masala stuffed comedy film, made by veteran director Raju Parsekar. Being well versed with the art of film making at the commercial level, the director has picked up this time a subject based on marital relations, where the husband belonging to a traditionally rich family from a village, is required to marry another woman with the kind permission of his first wife.
Makarand Anaspure who plays the 32 year old son- Vishwasrao of a deceased landlord of a village, is already married to Madhavi ( Nisha Parulekar), but the couple has no issue after 5 years of marriage. So the mother-in-law does not leave any opportunity to taunt her daughter in law. One day, when the family attend a wedding of a close family friend’s daughter- Prajakta ( Kranti Redkar) , they find the Bridegroom deserting his would be wife, over dowry issue. As per the village tradition, this is considered inauspicious for the girl. So, Vishwasrao’s mother, who is present there, suggests her son to marry the girl, to fulfill her wish of getting a heir to her family. When Madhavi also agrees for the same, Prajakta arrives at home. Both the girls get along well with each other; but they don’t find time for Vishwasrao. So, to teach them a lesson, Vishwasrao hires a girl, to pose as his girlfriend.
But, his live in show off relationship with the new girl – Pari ( Tejashree Khele), invites a new problem for him. The Police officer( Kuldeep Pawar) , who is under Vishwasrao’s obligation, keeps on coming and going to create the required humour in the screenplay. Finally, the film ends with a climax, in a typical Priyadarshan style comedy. Director Raju Parsekar realizing the potential of Makarand Anaspure to play such a character, has used his timing very well, whether it was with Kranti, Nisha or Tejashree. But, his interaction on three occasions with Kuldeep Pawar, creates the required humour in this fast paced film.
Most of the sequences in the film are picturised on Chiranjivi style Telugu films. But, the base being Maharashtra, the director has not deviated from the typical semi urban culture in the state. Some of the local idioms and phrases have been timed well in the screenplay by Arwind Jagtap. Therefore, if the audience decide to forget their logical thinking process, the film is good enough to entertain them for little more than two hours. The focus of the film maker seems to be on getting good collections from single screen theatres at district places like Pune, Nashik, Kolapur, Satara, Nagpur and other places in Western Maharashtra.
The leading man of the film Makarand Anaspure has played the flamboyant Vishwasrao in his typical style. Suited to his rich family character background, he is also shown wearing some designer tops. Surekha Kudchi perfectly fits into the character of his mother with authority. Vijay Chavan makes his special appearances through the photo frame to remind his wife about his last wish. His son Varad Chavan has a small negative role. All the three leading ladies have equal share to their credit and have done a good job. Kranti in particular has timed her mimicry well besides usage of broken English . The new girl Tejashree makes her surprise entry at the stroke of interval. She too has done her job well in the company of all known artistes. Perhaps, her exposure to south films has come to her advantage. Among the other artistes, Digamber Naik and the girl playing the maid servant-Madhuri have done their jobs well.
Music and Camera are the plus points of this film. Photography by Wahab is good . All the five songs are well timed. The already popular Rikshawala song has been cleverly picturised on Manasi Naik, who is now experienced enough to perform such item numbers. But, if the audience is keen on watching this item number, they should not miss the beginning of the film, as the song forms part of first ten minutes of the film. As a director, Raju Parsekar has done a fairly good job to offer entertainment with U/A crertification, compared to what he offered in the films like ‘Durga Mhantyat Mala’ and ‘Tata Birla Ani Laila’ in the recent past.
Makarand Anaspure Film Festival on Zee Talkies
Zee Talkies will present Maharashtra’s favourite Comedian- Makarand Anaspure’s films in the form of week long film festival from 20th till 25 June @ 6.30 pm on Zee Talkies.
Incidentally, Makarand’s birthday (Wednesday,22 June) also coincides with this festival. On his birthday, Zee Talkies will celebrate the entire day with his hit songs and popular film scenes besides the film.
‘Guldasta’ has light shades of humour
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Rating: na
Presenter: Zee Talkies, Shivleela Films Producer: Nilima Lonari, Sanjay Thube Ex Producer: Nikhil Sane, Amit Phalke, Omkar Ranade Direction: Hemant Devdhar Story, Dialogues: Arvind Jagtap Photography: Suresh Suvarna Music: Shailendra Barve, Tyagraj Khadilkar Cast: Makarand Anaspure, Jeetendra Joshi, Tejaswini Lonari, Uday Tikekar, Sagar Talashikar, Mangesh Satpute, Pari Telang, Vishakha Subhedar, Sayaji Shinde Movie Review by: Ulhas Shirke |
Zee Talkies’ latest Marathi film ‘Guldasta’ has hit the screens all over Maharashtra, on the auspicious Maker Sankranti day. With comedy king Makarand Anaspure in the lead, the film had raised some hopes, since the last three films of Zee Talkies with Makarand had achieved good success. The theme of ‘Guldasta’ revolves around a model Jahnavi Deshmukh (Tejaswini Lonari), the only daughter from a well to do family. Besides being an aspiring model, she is also very keen on making it to Bollywood with a big banner. Her friend from an ad agency Aman Pradhan (Sagar Talashikar) tries to help her out.
In the meanwhile, she comes across two young men, who are childhood friends of each other. A simple living Rajwardhan Chougule alias Raja (Makarand Anaspure) is the owner of a winery, while Jeetu Desai (Jitendra Joshi) is the news reporter of a TV News channel which believes in sensational news. Both of them fall in love with Jahnavi, but try to hide the same from each other. Jeetu develops misunderstanding about his friend Raja, who he thinks has moved very close to Jahnavi. One day, Jahnavi insults Raja and also slaps Jeetu for his misbehavior.
After facing such humiliation, both Raja and Jeetu decide to teach a lesson to Jahnavi, who also has a helper- Madhuri ( Pari Telang) at home, treated like her own sister. Jeetu, seeks help from his colleagues to conduct sting operations to expose Jahnavi. In the meanwhile, Raja plays another game by throwing away money at Aman Pradhan, asking him to make Jahnavi a brand ambassador for his farmhouse. He even manages to come closer to Jahnavi, by gifting her costly items. This is followed by the Media game of Breaking News, which helps Jahnavi to find a role in Bollywood.
Finally, the film concludes at a reality talk show held by the TV channel in an
Amphitheatre. In that last scene, Raja tries to send across a message to the society and the film ends with a happy note. ‘Guldasta’ does not have anything very special like non-stop entertainment, but it certainly offers light shades of humour especially shot on Makarand Anaspure and Jitendra Joshi together, to explore their chemistry. But, how long these Marathi movies are going to depend upon comedy subject, still remains the question? In the role of Jahnavi, Tejaswini Lonari displays a satisfactory performance. There isn’t much scope for music, but Tyagraj Khadilkar’s music isn’t bad. Cinematography by Suresh Suvarna is good, capturing those beautiful locations around the farm house.
Among the supporting cast, Uday Tikekar, Sagar Talashikar, Mangesh Satpute, Pari Telang are fine. Sayaji Shinde, is just namesake in special appearance for one scene. There are few new faces also in the supporting cast. Director Hemant Deodhar has done a good job as a director. But, the two hour long film drags on till interval, with just routine passtime material, which ultimately gains momentum during the entire second half. Some of the dialogues are tailor made to suit the duo comprising of Makarand and Jitendra. ‘Guldasta’ is a display of light humour combined with mockery of our news channels. It has a different style of presentation supported by good performances. There is a doubt, whether the film would receive good response in a city like Mumbai, but, it has chances of pulling the crowds at small towns, especially with single screens, because of the village and city connect through the characters.
‘Sumbaraan’ does remind you about the golden memories
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Rating: 2
Presenter: Shree Ganesh Marketing and Films, Gypsy and Janki Production Production: A4 Creation, Anil Phadtare Story, Screenplay, Dialogues & Direction: Gajendra Ahire Cinematographer: Surya Mishra Music: Rahul Ranade Cast: Makarand Anaspure, Ravindra Mankani, Ravi Kale, Jitendra Joshi, Mukta Barve, Saie Tamhankar, Vrunda Gajendra, Shushrut Mankani, Shilpa Anaspure Movie Review by: Ulhas Shirke |
Known for his in depth knowledge about the village culture and presenting its contrast with new city lifestyle, Gajendra Ahire has in the past offered some sensible films. This time through his new film ‘Sumbaraan- Soneri divsaachya Soneri Athvani’ he shows very effectively the connect between the two places. ‘Sumbaraan’ is a tale of two generations and the changes noticed in their behaviour, with the passage of time. You may call it a touching tale of a village and the people living there.
Veeru (Jitendra Joshi) a struggling Music director is returning along with his elder brother Vasanta (Makarand Anaspure) to his village after a long time to spend their Diwali at their old ancestral house. They are accompanied by Vastanta’s wife (Vrunda Gajendra), Viru’s Friend Sushu (Shushrut Mankani) and his friend Mukta (Saie Tamhankar). On reaching there, though Viru takes it very lightly the arising situations and moreover in his own world, enjoying with his friends. Vasanta decides to sell the property and invites his old friend (Siddharth Jadhav) who is an estate agent.
Vasanta, is not happy in his life, remembering his past in the village and his inability to marry his girl friend – Shaku (Swarali Patil) who is the daughter of Biroba belonging to Dhangar community. Vasanta’s father Deshmukh Patil ( Ravindra Mankani) who is having a relationship with a lady from lower caste ( Ashwini Kalsekar) has no voice in the house, as the Mother (Seema Deshmukh) dominates. Vasanta’s younger brother Viru, during his childhood days, however maintains good relationship with Shaku’s younger sister – Kalli (Aditi Bhagwat).
The director has tried to show how attitude of individual matters. The elder brother is not happy in his life, for having ditched his beloved at a crucial stage in his life, while the younger brother is able to understand the situation better; with his own thinking process. In the case of Kalli, who is educated in city in the later part of her life, returns to her village as Dy. Collector. “Education is the key to progress of the society,’ is all that the director has tried to communicate through her character. Very efficiently he has handled the past memories through flash back from time to time.
Throughout the screenplay, the film sticks to its subject, not deviating from the main track. This results in total commitment to the script, which is based on the human relationship with the change of time. Take the character of Ashwini Kalsekar, who plays the keep of Deshmukh Patil, living in his own house. She is also being addressed as Mother, for obvious reasons, by both the children. When Viru returns to his village after a long time, she inquires about the relationship between two of his friends. And, when he tells her that they are in Live-in-relationship; she tries to find the difference between her relationship with his father and the young duo. Ashwini has played her role very efficiently. When kalli meets Viru after a long time, the director has very cleverly shown her maturity with education. Mukta Barve has played that small but sensible role with perfection in the company of Jitendra Joshi. Makarand is at ease in the role of Vasanta and so does Jitendra Joshi.
Shushrut Mankani and Saie Tamhankar are just show pieces in the film, playing Viru’s friends, with nothing much to do except playing Guitar, dancing or diving into the pond for swimming. Ravindra Mankani and Ravi kale are impressive in their respective roles. Seema Deshmukh and Vrunda Gajendra support well. All other artistes including Siddharth Jadhav perfectly fit into their characters, which are so lively.
Special mention about Dushyant Wagh, who displays his talent in that teenager Vasanta’s role. Rahul Ranade’s music is good . Technically, Sumbaraan is a well presented film, reminding one and all about the golden memories of the village life.
‘Paaradh’ highlights the socio – political issue
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Rating: na
Presenter: Amogh Cinetones Producer: Anuradha Talati Director: Gajendra Ahire Story: Gajendra Ahire Camera: Chandrashekar Iyer Music: Rahul Ranade Cast: Siddharth Jadhav, Makarand Anaspure, Hemangi Kavi Dhumal, Ravi Kale, Vrinda Gajendra, Vinay Apte, Amogh Talathi, Vitthal Umap, Milind Shinde Movie Review by: Ulhas Shirke |
Marathi films are back on the traditional track with tales of exploitation of rural poor. Only difference that we find now is the change of characters. The place of shrewd Zamindar or Village Sarpanch has been taken by selfish politicians, who are in search of youngsters to dance on their tunes to meet their personal goals. Gajendra Ahire’s latest film ‘Paaradh’ is no different from all those traditional Marathi films, but it sends out a strong message to today’s directionless youth; who are blindly following their leaders. Through this film, the maverick film maker makes a clear point of exploitation of rural youth by a power hungry politician, who uses them for his political gains and later sidelines them only to be killed by his opponents.
Ambadas (Makarand Anaspure) and his right hand Bappa( Milind Shinde) are involved in all such unethical practices at District level to prove their strength. They don’t miss a single opportunity to blackmail their own party seniors and one such victim is Prataprao(Vinay Apte). They first capture the dairy co-operative business with the help of young jobless youths from the village. Ambadas does not stop here, as his political ambitions are much higher. He dares to challenge even his party chief- Appa (identity not revealed) by exposing him with his wrong deeds with the help of his most trusted party worker Yashwant ( Siddharth Jadhav), whom he calls ‘Wagh (Tiger)’.
Yashwant-a small time party worker, who blindly follows the orders of his boss, suddenly comes into limelight. It is at this time Ambadas ditches him. His right hand Bappa, knowing the weaknesses of his boss, plays all dirty games in his name and even lures Yashwant’s younger sister Indu (Hemangi Kavi Dhumal) . Yashwant who belongs to a Warkari family, is the most notorious character in the family, who neither obeys his old father( Vitthal Omap) nor elder brother(Ravi Kale), who is a farmer.
Yashwant’s younger brother Anand (Amogh Talathi) , who is the mute witness to all the events the family faces, is actually the narrator in the film. The entire film is based on the political gimmicks of Ambadas and his link with Yashwant and his family. Finally, it is not only Yashwant who suffers, but his family members too. In the end of the film, Anand as a narrator tells that Siddharth who is undergoing sentence for the murder of Amabadas and Bappa, has one more year left for release and that his elder brother who had gone in search for justice is still missing. His sister-in-law(Vrinda Gajendra) works in the field and his ambitious sister Indu heads the women’s wing of the district. Finally, he concludes saying that he himself is well settled in a district place with his job and his son studying in a good Public school.
‘Paaradh’ begins well with realistic approach but drags in the second half with too many chase scenes, where Yashwant runs for his life, having been ditched by Ambadas. The characters of Ambadas, Yashwant, his elder brother ,his sister-in-law and sister Indu look realistic. The person who invites the attention is Milind Shinde in the role of Bappa. With his perfect visual expressions and body language, he has been able to present a real villain of Marathi films. Vinay Apte has been wasted in that role of Politician. There is no strength in his role, though he plays it with ease. Can’t find the reason for hiding the identity of Party chief. But, looking at the performances from Siddharth Jadhav, Makarand Anaspure, Hemangi Kavi Dhumal, Ravi Kale and Vrinda Gajendra, you tend to forget those few flaws in the film. Camera work by Chandrashekhar Iyer, Background music by Rahul Ranade and editing work by Rahul Bhatankar is pleasing.
Monsoon ‘Haapus’ tastes Sweet and Sour
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Rating: na
Presenter: Eros Entertainment, Everest Entertainment Producers: Sanjay Chhabria, Abheejit Satam Director: Abhijeet Satam Camera: Rahul Jadhav Story & Screenplay: Saurabh bhave & Subodh Khanolkar Lyrics: Sandeep Khare Music: Dr. Salili Kulkarni Cast: Shivaji Satam, Madhura Velankar, Makarand Anaspure, Subodh Bhave, Pushkar Shotri Movie Review by: Ulhas Shirke |
Finally, Sanjay Chhabria and Abhijit Satam’s much awaited ‘Haapus’ has arrived in Maharashtra on the day with wet spell of monsoon spread all over the state. But, the aggressive monsoon decided to take rest, at least in the city of Mumbai; so that people could come out and welcome the king of Konkan, in whose honour the film has been made.
‘Haapus’ which truly stands to its name, does sincerely speak about the exploitation of the poor mango growers from Konkan over the years by the money minded traders. But, keeping in mind the commercial success of the film, the film adds few sub plots to create that required humour and apprehension in the screenplay. The film is mainly filled with emotions of different characters and their reactions to every situation.
Anna Gurav (Shivaji Satam) the head of the family of one of the mango growers of a village in Konkan, is also a victim of this exploitation. He has no regrets, but tries to hide a past happening from his children. Like many others, happy with the price they get for their crop every year; he too is a contented person. One day Anna’s own son Ajit (Subodh Bhave) , who does his own research to grow a better crop, turns protagonist and decides to sell the product directly into market, without involving a middle man. He tries to persuade other crop growers, but the shrewd trader Chajed (Vidyadhar Joshi) blocks his plans, by playing the divide and rule policy. In the meanwhile, a school master from Marathwada – Digamber Kale( Makarand Anaspure) walks into the village on his new assignment and finds temporary shelter in Gurav’s house. He comes to the rescue of Ajit and the entire family of Gurav, including the auto rickshaw driver Subhya (Pushkar Shroti) who is in love with one of the twin daughters of Anna, support him in his mission against the trader.
Director Abhijit Satam, who makes his debut as a director through this film, has handled the plot with sincerity, trying his best to show how difficult it is to break the traditional middle man business. With ‘United we stand’ policy of the family he shows sensible audience the way of direct marketing. ‘Haapus’ does take the help of humour with the director taking the advantage of the double role of Amruta-Ankita (played by Madhura, his wife) and offering some comedy scenes in ‘Seeta aur Geeta’ style. In fact, he concentrates on the main plot post interval, after entertaining the audience with a social family gathering.
Good thing about ‘Haapus’ is that there is no vulgarity in the screenplay as the film limits every character within a framework, not allowing anyone to overact or over react and offering enough space to one and all. Only unrealistic and predictable part in the film is the hospital scene in the climax, which has been influenced by some recent Bollywood films. In fact, every happening that takes place in the hospital, looks unnatural. Watch, when Pushkar Shroti walks into the hospital to inquire about Grandma’s health. It only creates laughter for no reason, among audience. But, the superb performances by all the artistes and the pace with which the screenplay moves, does help to surpass such scenes. Sunil Barve and Milind Pathak make special appearances at the right places to offer help to Gurav family during their time of crisis.
The picturesque Konkan has been shot well by Rahul Jadhav with his expert camera work. The director has also been more careful for the indoor scenes, to make them more realistic and hence has chosen the real locations in Kudal. The scenes of actual market place in Vashi have been captured well. Music of the film is just fine, with the title song more impressive than other two songs.
Shivaji Satam has given his best performance through this film in that tailor made role of Anna Gurav. Both Subodh Bhave and Makarand Anaspure are perfect choice in their respective roles. Madhura Velankar gets a chance to prove her ability as an actress offering variety. Sulbha Deshpande looks a perfect Grandma and gets due recognition. Mansi Maggikar (Anna Gurav’s wife) and Mrunal Deshpand e (Ajit’s wife) do not have much to their share, but they have done well. Swarsha Jadhav as the youngest member of Gurav family is good; but it is Pushkar Shroti, who outshines other co stars. Except for Shivaji Satam, there isn’t anyone else in the film, who could compete with him for using that typical Konkani dialect throughout the film. Prashant Damle, plays the Narrator with his voice over, to explain the situation at the beginning and end . In all, ‘Haapus’ is a package of straightforward family entertainer.
Marathi Film Personalities Felicitated !
The Dadasaheb Phalke Marathi Chitrapat awards were held in a glittering function at the Ravindra Natya Mandir recently. Many artistes like Ramesh Dev-Seema Dev, Ravindra Mahajani, Vijay Chavan, Ashok Shinde, Swapnil Joshi (in absentia) ,Makarand Anaspure, Mahesh Kothare, Arun Nalavde, Technicians like cinematographer Mangesh Sawant, lightmen/art directors Sharad Pol, M. R. Achrekar, choreographers Subal Sarkar, Narendra Pandit,and music director Avdhoot Gupte were presented with bouquets and citations at the hands of WICA chief cinematographer Ashok Mehta.
Congress leader Dhondiraj Waghmare and state education minister Varsha Gaikwad, Journalists Dilip Thakur (Saamana), Sanjay Ghavre (Lokmat), Vaishnavi Kanvinde (Maharashtra Times), PR persons Sanjay Bane, Ganesh Gargote, still- photographer Mohan Loke were felicitated at the hands of eminent actor Ramesh Bhatkar.
Makers of films with commercial values like ‘Rita’, ‘Hello Gandhe Sir’, social values like ‘Umang’, ‘Pratisaad’, ‘Janm’ and those films with rural backdrop like ‘Gosht Dongraevdhi’, ‘Urus’ were also felicitated along with films like ‘Ajoba Vayat Aale’, ‘Kamapurta Vima’, ‘Baap Manus’, and ‘Konti Bayko Karu’ which received a special mention.
The function gained momentum with song and dance performances by Madhavi Nimkar-Abhijeet Kelkar, Rutuja Deshmukh, Madhura Velankar and Umesh Kamath. Mimicry skits brought the house down with Ashish Pawar, Pradeep Patwardhan, Vijay Kadam and Madhavi Juvekar giving their best. Students from Heramb School sang popular songs.
The show was anchored by Dr.Ganesh Divekar and Prachi Pandit. Present on the occasion were Phalke’s third generation descendants Chandrakant Pusalkar and his wife, who too were felicitated and they made an announcement that in future an award will be given to a female director in the name of Phalke’s wife Savitrabai Phule.
Also present on the occasion were Devendra More of Marathi Trade Guide who sponsored the awards and Maharashtra Congress Committee Secretary Shakeel Ansari.
Three new Marathi films getting ready for release
True-vision Teleflms and producers Sameer Gupte and Mahendra Waghmare production’s ‘Batti Gul Powerful’ is a hilarious comedy with comedy star Makarand Anaspure in the lead. The film deals with the serious problem of ‘load-shedding’ in a lighthearted way. Kisha(Makarand Anaspure) is a failed technical student, who runs an appliance repair shop in his village. One day he chances upon a machine which is very powerful and has the ability to detect if a person is speaking the truth or otherwise.
Kishya uses the machine to hoodwink the innocent villagers into believing that he can solve any humanitarian problems and from thereon he solves the problem of a colossal nature facing the country. The film also stars dancing star Jyoti Joshi, Bhushan Kadu, Prakash Dhotre, Sheetal Shukl, etc. The film is directed by Mahesh Deshpande and the story-screenplay-dialogues are by Dr.Anand Deshpande.
The music is by Rohit Nagbhide on the lyrics of Dr.Yashwant Patil and songs are sung by Vaishali Samant, Anand Shinde and others. The film releases soon, all over Maharashtra.
Another film ‘Ek Shodh’(The Search), which is also due for release in February, all over Maharashtra, is a Suspense Thriller. In fact, Detective suspense thrillers are a rarity in Marathi films. But now debutant director Drona Lendhre and producer Arvind Lendhre’s suspense film ‘Ek Shodh(The Search) are offering this so called thriller.
The film is about a grieving widow of a rich man, who dies mysteriously. This widow, who is also his second wife, hires a detective, to solve the mystery behind her husband’s death. Various characters then loom on the scene, making the mystery more deeper and darker; finally, leading to a shocking revelation in the climax of the film. The film stars Milind Gunaji, Pradeep Patwardhan, Kishore Nandlaskar, Ravi Patwardhan,Deepa Chaphekar, Dr. Vilas Kulkarni, and Anita Chatwal.
The music is by Dr.Vilas Kulkarni and lyrics by Chandrakant Jadhav. The songs are sung by Vaishali Samant, Sudesh Bhosle, and Devaki Pandit.. Krishna Shelar is the executive producer.
Another multi-starer film ‘Ek 7 Free’,which was launched few months ago, has completed its shooting and is at dubbing stage. Produced by Suhas Naik and directed by Sanjay Krishnaji Jadhav, this film is a fantasy and will be released soon. The big star-cast of the film comprises of Sanjay Narvekar,Nirmiti Sawant, Resham Tipnis, Deepali Sayyed, Vijay Chavan, Pushkar Shrotri, Rajashri Landge, Usha jadhav, Kishori Ambiye and Madhavi Juvekar.
Based on the story written by diector himself, the cinematography of the film is done by Girish Udale, while Music is provided by Shashank Powar.