Teaser of forthcoming Marathi film ‘Bamboo’ has been released with lead actor Abhinay Berde in a new look. Produced by Tejaswini Pandit and Santosh Kher, this film is directed Vishal Sakharam Devrukhkar and written by Amber Hadap. Along with Abhinay this film stars Shivaji Satam, Atul Kale, Vaishnavi Kalyankar, Parth Bhalerao, Snehal Shidam, Sameer Chougule in lead roles.

The teaser of this film clearly shows Abhinay Berde with different girls, but it is not clear who will win his heart. This will be clear only after the release of this film on 26^th January 2023. According to the director this film is targeted on youth , as they will connect themselves with this film’s story. Producer Santosh Kher feels that the subject of this film is very appealing. Every actor in this film will display something special. He is sure that it will offer 100% entertainment.

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Produced by Yatin jadhav and Swati Khopkar, the film will be presented by Amey Vinod Khopkar Entertainment and Skylink Entertainment. The film will be directed by Mahesh Manjrekar & Sudhesh Manjrekar. From among the star cast of the original film, the main artistes Makarand anaspure, Shivaji satam, Medha Manjrekar & Siddharth jadhav will be seen in this sequel. However, the names of the others in the star cast have not been disclosed.

This sequel movie is scheduled  for release in next year 2019, Looking forward to watch first part’s magic on box office.

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Eight years ago makers of national award winning film ‘Shwas’ had produced their second Marathi film ‘Second Innings’ which was written and directed by Mohan Parab. This film had shown the power of a group of well educated senior citizens, when it comes to taking on the corrupt system. It was a simple theme, but handled very effectively in an action packed thriller. After watching a crime taking place in front of their eyes, a group of well educated senior citizens unite together to take revenge against a criminal turned politician and people involved in shielding him. The latest released Marathi film ‘Me Shivaji Park’ is inspired by the theme of this film.

In ‘Me Shivaji Park’ too, we find the tale of 5 retired friends named Digambar Sawant (Ashok Saraf) , Vikram Rjyadhyaksha( Vikram Gokhale) , Dilip Pradhan( Dilip Prabhavalkar) , Rustum Mistry( Shivaji Satam) , and Satish Joshi( Satish Alekar) . All of them are seen as regular morning walkers at Shivaji Park. They spend the leisure time having humour filled conversations about their families and discussing current affairs. The story of the film unfolds with Satish’s grand daughter( Manjiri Phadnis) dies after falling from the balcony. There are several rumours spread after her accidental death, which prompts Satish and his friends to investigate the matter on their own, by taking the wrong side of the law. And they begin their work to take the revenge. They do succeed in their mission and eliminate a businessman behind the murder of Satish’s grand daughter. But, Dilip Pradhan who is influenced by Ghandhiji’s philosophy disassociates himself from the group, doubting their integrity.

In the meanwhile another mystery behind Digambar’s past life as a honest but suspended Police officer, unfolds through a flashback. And the screenplay of the film takes a turn with the present location of the corrupt politician( Sharad Ponkshe) and his murderer son( Santosh Juvekar) who had trapped Digambar . A Police officer on special duty (Abhijeet Satam) appointed by CM is also on the job and investigates the previous murder case. This time on their mission to take the revenge against the corrupt politician and his son, they face trouble. However, their well wishers comes to their rescue and all is well at the end.

The screenplay of this film and that of previous film ‘Second Innings’ have many similarities. Revenge against a corrupt politician and his associates by a retired judge, a surgeon and their group have striking similarity. Nevertheless, bringing all versatile artistes in Marathi film industry to play the group of senior citizens makes a big difference. And, they have all done their best. Director Mahesh Manjrekar has also done his best to present them in a way to extract the best out of them. There are other artistes like Suhas Joshi, Bharti Achrekar, Madhura Velankar, Uday Tikekar, Dipti Lele and others have also been used well in their limited roles. The only drawback of the film is that it has been overstretched in the second half with same modus operandi used by the group of senior citizens to enter the house of their target and inclusion of a Lavani in the screenplay of the film. Otherwise, it is a well presented film with good cinematography by Karan Rawat.

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We are all aware that Shivaji Park is a renowned landmark of South Central Mumbai. Over the years, this place has witnessed many big memorable events and happenings. For Senior Citizens and especially the morning walkers this place is very much close to their hearts. It is at this place they spend their best time of the day, sharing their thoughts in their group. So, it will be interesting to watch one such happening which we presume a fiction, on Big screen coming Friday.

Incidentally, ‘Dushera‘ is also coinciding with the release of this film and hence the film promises a Big Dhamaka on this auspicious occasion. With the trailer of this film called ‘Me Shivaji Park‘ now unveiled, it gives some idea of an interesting theme of this film, which revolves around five friends played by Vikram Gokhale, Satish Alekar, Ashok Saraf, Shivaji Satam & Dilip Prabhavalkar who are all versatile actors and there are also other talented artistes like Sharad Ponkshe, Uday Tikekar forming the star cast of this film, which is directed by award winning film maker Mahesh Waman Manjrekar.

Time is just right for this film’s release . So it remains to be seen how the film lovers would respond at multiplexes and Single screen cinema halls all over Maharashtra.

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Film maker Mahesh Manjrekar’s next Marathi film ‘Me Shivaji Park‘ has generated a lot of interest , ever since the trailer of this film was released on social networking sites. The name ‘Shivaji‘ has also proved lucky for the film maker, after making a hit film like ‘Me Shivajiraje Bhosale Boltoy‘.

Though the theme of this film ‘Me Shivaji Park‘ hasn’t been revealed, but the happenings shown in the trailer suggest a lot. With all big names like Vikram Gokhale, Dilip Prabhavalkar, Satish Alekar, Ashok Saraf and Shivaji Satam coming together, the film has already generated curiosity, since the day it was announced.

The shooting and post production of this film is now complete and it is all set to release on 18^th October 2018. And this is certainly a good news for the month of October. With one Lavani already out on social sites, now we also come to know that Mr. Shivaji Satam is playing a Parsi gentleman . Moreover it is about some mystery involving these morning walk group of senior citizens. So, obviously it is the topic of interest.

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‘Shivaji Park Mumbai 28‘ is the biggest landmark of Mumbai, known for the world famous cricket ground which has nurtured World famous cricketers and also the most popular meeting place for politicians to hold their election rally. Many renowned personalities live in and around this landmark in Dadar, Mumbai. So, when you hear that a Marathi film is being made with the title ‘Shivaji Park Mumbai 28‘ obviously, there is a lot of curiosity about this film.

Produced by Gouri Pictures and presented by Mahesh Vaman Manjrekar, the film is directed by Mahesh Vaman Manjrekar. Highlight of this film is that many renowned artistes from Marathi film industry have come together to work in ‘Shivaji Park Mumbai 28‘ film. Recently, muhurat of this film took place in Pune, with beginning of first schedule of shooting. So, get ready to watch Vikram Gokhale, Dilip Prabhavalkar, Ashok Saraf, Satish Alekar & Shivaji Satam together in this film. But, apart from these five big names, the other popular artistes of this film are, Sharad Ponkshe, Uday Tikekar, Savita Malpekar, Suhas Joshi, Bharti Achrekar, Santosh Juvekar, Sushant Shelar, Dipti Lele & Manjiri Phadnis.

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Biography / Profile:

If he had not become an actor, he would have become a cricketer. The entry of Shivaji Satam on the stage during his college days was a co incidence. It so happened that during Ganesh festival, when one of the performer fell sick, Shivaji was asked to perform his role and he did it omitting some of his dialogues. He got his next opportunity when Vasantrao Deshpande offered him a role in his ‘Sangit Vardaan’ on stage; but here again during one of his entries he omitted almost a page-full of dialogues. At that moment, Shivaji felt that his acting career had ended. But, Vasantrao did offer him another opportunity and that’s how Shivaji Satam as an actor was born. There after , there was no looking back for him.

Shivaji came into limelight with his role of Hambirao, in Goa Hindu Association’s popular stage play ‘Raigadala Jenvha Jaag Yete‘ . Thereafter he performed in various Inter –Bank competitions, as he joined Central Bank of India. Those days, he performed in some of the experimental plays and some popular plays like ‘Swapna Eka Valyache‘ and ‘Mansala Dankh Maticha‘. He made his debut in films through Kamlakar Torne’s ‘Kaiwari‘ and then also did few films; but he was more comfortable with stage and TV serials. His most popular TV serial ‘Ek Shoonya Shoonya‘ directed by his friend B.P Singh almost made him reach the popularity heights. His role as a CID Inspector made people believe that he was a real life Police Officer. People used be scared at his glimpse while traveling in Bus or Train. Bus conductors refused to take money from him. So much was the impact of his role. Otherwise, in real life he still continues to remain very modest and courteous person.

Shivaji has a long list of Hindi and Marathi films to his credit, but he is still comfortable playing ACP- Pradyuman’s role in B.P. Singh’s extremely popular serial CID, which has created a record on Sony Entertainment TV for being the longest running serial based on crime investigation. Shivaji has been honored with The Maharashtra State Best Actor Award, for his performance in the Marathi film ‘Ek Hoti Vadi‘, which almost makes you shed tears and also for his excellent performance in a stage play ‘Dhyaani Mani‘. He has also won other awards in various categories from the State as well as the Zee- Alpha and the Sahitya Sangh. He was nominated twice, for films like Ghulam-e-Mustafa and Nidaan. Today, his son Abhijeet has launched a production house called Alpha-Lyra which is now producing Marathi TV serials.

Filmography:

Movie(s)
Marathi Movies
Haapus (2010)
Maan Sanman (2009)
De Dhakka (2008)
Guilty (2008)
Uttarayan (2005)
Aai (1995)
Premankur (1993)
Jivalaga (1992)
Ek Hoti Vadi

Hindi Movies
Deha (2008)
Taxi No. 9 2 11 (2006)
Uttarayan (2005)
Viruddh (2005)
Kahin Aag Na Lag Jaaye (2008)
Kaanch – The Broken Glass (2008)
Zamaanat (2008)
Viruddh (2005)
Kisna (2005)
Yehi Hai Zindagi (2005)
Kis Kiski Kismat (2004)
Ak 47 (2004)
Rakht (2004)
Garv (2004)
Bardaasht (2004)
Sssshhh? (2003)
Calcutta Mail (2003)
2nd October (2003)
Khwahish (2003)
Pran Jaye Par Shaan Na Jaye (2003)
Tere Pyaar Ki Kasam (2003)
Pyaar Kiya Nahin Jaata (2003)
Hathyar (2002)
Filhaal (2002)
Pitaah (2002)
Ehsaas – A Feeling (2001)
Tera Mera Saath Rahen (2001)
Nayak (2001)
Censor (2001)
Kurukshetra (2000)
Jis Desh Mein Ganga Rehta Hai (2000)
Fiza (2000)
Deewane (2000)
Nidaan (2000)
Baaghi (2000)
Pukar (2000)
Split Wide Open (2000)
Vaastav: The Reality (1999)
Sooryavansham (1999)
Daag-The Fire (1999)
Hu Tu Tu (1999)
Wajood (1998)
China Gate (1998)
Yugpurush : A Man Who Comes Just Once In A Way (1998)
Vinashak – Destroyer (1998)
Ghulam-E-Mustafa (1997)
Yeshwant (1997)
100 Days / Hundred Days (1991)
Bhediyon Ke Samooh (1991)

Serial(s)
Ek Shoonya Shoonya
CID (Sony)

Play(s)
Raigadala Jenvha Jaag Yete
Swapna Eka Valyache
Mansala Dankh Maticha
Dhyaani Mani
Rishte-Naate (1980)

Award(s):

Maharashtra State Film Awards – Best Actor – for the film Ek Hoti Vadi
Maharashtra State Film Awards – Best Actor – for the play Dhyaani Mani

Interview(s):

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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.

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Producer Sanjay Chhabria seems to have mastered the Marathi film making and distribution process. Through his previous two films ‘Mi Shivajiraje Bhosale Boltoy’ and ‘Shikshanachya Aaichha Gho’ he made it a point to touch the hearts of Marathi audience. It was either by way of presenting a strong protagonist defending himself against insults or making a middle class father raise his voice against the age old and corrupt education system; so that the audience could co relate themselves with these characters. As a perfect businessman he not only paid his attention on script and direction, but also focused on marketing and promotion, which was lacking in Marathi film industry. Recently, in a TV interview, Mr. Sanjay made it very clear that the script and director are the real heroes of a successful Marathi film. “ Unlike Hindi films, which become hit because of a hero, the success of Marathi film is more dependent on a good script and fine direction”.

After being associated with Mahesh Manjrekar, he now joins hands with Abhijeet Satam, who is making debut as a director through their jointly produced film ‘Haapus’. Abhijeet was previously associated with ad films.With this film, he also turns a co-producer. ‘Haapus’ made with a budget of 1.5 Crore, with almost an equal amount kept in reserve for the film’s promotion, both of them seem to be confident about their film’s success. As a producer, Sanjay did not only handle the finance and promotion side, but also kept himself creatively involved in every aspect of production, including presentation of the script. “Emotion is the key to be used very cleverly in the script of Marathi films,” says Sanjay. And, when we look at the script of ‘Haapus’, it reminds us about the difference of opinion between father and son, when it comes to making business of Mangoes.

The story of ‘Haapus’ thus revolves around Gurav family with the head of the family – Shivaji Satam selling their crop through a middleman as per traditional practice, but when his son develops a new variety of crop, he decides to sell the same with direct marketing. This is where the conflict begins between father and son. In comes a school teacher, who has moved into their village and the story takes a different turn. In the story, you also find the two twin daughters of Mr. Gurav, who add some hilarious moments into the screenplay for a change, with one of them in love with an auto-rickshaw driver, only to give another twist to the story. “ In all, it is a package of entertainment for one and all,” that’s what the director feels. The film has been shot at some of the natural locations in picturesque Konkan, busy streets of Mumbai and inside the Vashi fruit market, to give a more realistic look.

But, as quoted by them in the film’s campaign, to know what is ‘Haapus’ all about, you need to not only taste it, but also enjoy it. With popular stars like Shivaji Satam, Subodh Bhave, Makarand Anaspure, Madhura Velankar, Pushkar Shroti, Sulabha Deshpande, Mrunal Deshpande, Manasi Magikar, Vidyadhar Joshi, Swarasha Jadhav, Sunil Dev & Dnyaneshwar in the cast and well known singers like Avadhoot Gupte, Vibhawari Apte, Urmila Dhangar, Rahul Saxena, Amruta Subhash, Anjali Kulkarni, Anuradha Marathe, Suvarna Mategaonkar, Pranjali Barve rendering their voices on the music of Dr. Salil Kulkarni, the film has certainly raised the hopes of the viewers. Now, all eyes on 25th June, when the film has its grand release all over Maharashtra.

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Riding high on the success of ‘Saade Maade Teen’, Zee Talkies team is back with their latest movie ‘De Dhakka’. While ‘Saade Maade Teen’ was inspired from classic ‘Chalti Ka Naam Gadi’, ‘De Dhakka’ finds it inspiration from 2006 Oscar contender ‘Little Miss Sunshine’…

While there may be raised eyebrows over the trend of inspired movies, let us stay away from that point. What matters is whether the movie entertains or not? and ‘De Dhakka’ turns out to be a good entertainer. Credit must be given to the Zee Talkies team for successfully ‘Indianising’ the story (those of who have seen the original must know how different it was from typical hollywood movies)

This is the story of Jadhav family. A family with lots of troubles. Subhanrav(Shivaji Satam), his son Makarand (Makrand Anaspure), Makrand’s wife Sumi (Medha), Makarand’s children (Saksham Kulkarni) and Sayali (Gauri Vaidya) and Sumi’s brother Dhanaji (Siddharth Jadhav).

The movie begins with a brief introduction of all the family members and the audience gets to know the characters and their ambitions. Makrand is a motor mechanic who has spent all his money to fund his work which, he hopes, will make him millionaire. Subhanrav is sore with Makrand for this reason and Makrand hates subhanrav for drinking too much. Things don’t go well between two of them. While Makrand’s son aspires to be a wrestler. His daughter dreams of being a dancer. Dhanaji (Makarand’s brother in law), suffers from kleptomania. And Sumi, Makrand’s wife tries hard to keep the family happy.
Things change when sayali is selected for a dance competition and the whole family sets on a journey to Mumbai…on a autorikshaw. The Jadhav family is faced with many problems during the journey and how do they overcome them and also rediscover the family ties during the journey forms the rest of the story.

First half is very engaging, all the main characters are introduced and established. Then the movie moves ahead and audience gets to know of all the problems that the Jadhav family is facing, this part has been effectively handled with the help of some comic moments. The directors have done good job of maintaining the fine balance between comedy and emotional scenes. But the second half seems to drag at someplaces. The final dance competition is ok. Makrand’s speech towards the end seems to deviate from the main theme but nonetheless it should go well with the audience as it directly appeals to your heart.

The movie has a good storyline (Well, the credit goes to the original ) but the screenplay fails to take the full advantage of the story. The way police officer is portrayed is childish. Even Dhanaji’s multiple personality disorder doesn’t fit in properly. The confrontations between Makrand and Subhanrav seem repeating in the second half. And try as hard as you can, it’s bit hard to imagine audience booing away a lavani performance in dance competition at mumbai. The writers and director should have worked on these loose ends.

The performances are good. Shivaji Satam’s acting seems monotonous though. Makrand’s character has many shades, a loving and caring father, an angry son, a troubled husband and he shows all the emotions with ease. Siddharth Jadhav gives an energetic performance once again. Not a single moment is dull when he is on screen. Ajit-Atul & Sameer’s music is as usual catchy. The background music seems loud at some places. The title track ‘De Dhakka’ is excellent and it goes perfectly well with the story.
On the whole, ‘De Dhakka’ is a good one time watch.

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