Rating: ★★★ Genres: Drama, Romantic Censor: UA Duration: 130 Min. Studio/presenter: Realistic Film Company Producer(s): Rajpremi, Sunil Khandpurkar, Sandip Sharma, Jigar Kadakia Director: T.L.V. Prasad Writer: Abhiram Bhadkamkar Music: Amitraaj Cinematographer (DOP):  Vasudeva Rao Cast: Raqesh Bapat, Pooja Sawant , Vaidehi Parshurami, Ashok Saraf, Mohan Joshi, Mahesh Manjrekar, Bharat Ganeshpure, Aarti Solanki Movie Review by: Ulhas Shirke

Over the years, we have been watching formula type of Commercial films in Bollywood and especially in South Indian film industry, which are combination of action, romance, comedy and emotion all packed together. Now, with the passage of time, we notice more stunts of the film’s hero, backed by special effects. Also, with the advancement of  technology, we find better sound design, excellent art work and  stimulating  music, to offer a complete entertainment package to the audience. Latest released film ‘Vrundavan’ falls in this category.

So, if you are willing to keep the logical thinking aside, ‘Vrundavan’ is just an ideal film for you. The film which begins with a love story of Krish( Raqesh Bapat)  and Pooja( Pooja Sawant) , later turns into an action packed film, with Krish taking up the difficult task  of playing the dummy boyfriend of Pooja’s close friend Bhoomi ( Vaidehi Parshurami), only at the request of  his beloved Pooja. This plot itself is not convincing, as no young girl, who is intensely in love with her boyfriend, would let him go with another  beautiful girl. But, Pooja trusts Krish and that’s how, we see the predictable drama taking place, in the story of this film, which follows.

But, the new Superman of Marathi films, Krish handles this most difficult  situation confidently. He becomes friendly with Bhoomi’s family members, comprising of almost a cricket team, on the style of Shahrukh Khan doing it in films like ‘Pardes’ or ‘Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge .’ He also wins the heart of  tough looking father of Bhoomi( Mahesh Manjrekar) and her uncle (Sharad Ponkshe). All seems to be going well,; but Bhoomi’s father decides to get his daughter married to Krish, when we see the predictable drama, with villain opposing the marriage, except for a twist in the screenplay. Needless to say, that all goes well in the end; but the solution sounds funny, almost going on the lines of a typical south Indian action based love story.

The film has some best action scenes, which would even leave behind the action or fight scenes performed by Sahrukh Khan, Ajay Deogan , Salman Khan & Akshay Kumar in their previous Bollywood films. So, Raqesh Bapat turns the new angry young man and Super hero of Marathi films. The entire film belongs to him, as he has scenes with almost all artistes in the film and he has done well, displaying his quick reflexes, perfect body language  and good dialogue delivery. Good support comes from Pooja Sawant, though she doesn’t find much importance in this film. But, Vaidehi Parshurami steals the show, as she not only looks good, but has also performed well, displaying her dance skills too.

There is a big list supporting artistes in this film, but Ashok Saraf, Mahesh Manjrekar, Sharad Ponskse, Mohan Joshi, Bharat Ganeshpure , Aarti Solanki, Uday Tikekar find suitable roles. The villain played by Kumar Hegde is just namesake and doesn’t find much scope. Music by AmitRaj is the USP of this film. All the songs have been picturised well, with good choreography. Good cinematography by V.Vasudeva Rao  is also the plus point of this film, besides special effects used in action scenes.

Regular Marathi film lovers, who love to watch realistic films, may not like this film; but there are film lovers, who enjoy watching films like ‘Chennai Express’, ‘Lai Bhari’ and similar south films, may enjoy watching this film. By the way, this film is a remake of  2010 telugu film  ‘Brindavanam’and therefore, we very much miss the Marathi touch in this film, except for the Govinda song.