Brave Mohaan Aawatey’s fight against injustice
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Rating: ***
Presenter: Ark Films & Entertainment Presents Story, Music & Producer: Aniruddha Kale Director: Subhash Kale Cinematographer: Anil Xavior Choreographer: Phulwa Khamkar Cast: Sanjay Narvekar, Siya Patil, Vinay Apte, Ashok Shinde, Kamlakar Satpute Movie Review by: Ulhas Shirke |
“On the edge of destiny, you must test your strength.” Aniruddha Kale and Subhash Kale’s new film ‘Mohaan Aawatey’ which is based on this viewpoint, is an action packed story of a common man whose life takes a new turn after coming to the city of Mumbai from a village in Maharashtra. Not like many others who come to Mumbai only with dreams of becoming rich , Mohan like a typical Maharashtrian youngster, joins his elder brother’s business of cycle repairing in a small shop in central Mumbai; only with an intention of helping him.
Mohaan (played by Sanjay Narvekar) is otherwise happy and contended with whatever God has given him. Like any other youngster of his age, he too falls in love with a charming flower vendor- Gauri (Siya Patil). He does all that mischief in love and even sings and dances with her around the trees. He also works sincerely in his brother’s shop. But, there is also a good quality that he possesses and that is, he just cannot tolerate injustice in society. Whether, it is somebody snatching chain of a woman or somebody trying to threaten someone using muscle power. He would then go all out to help such people in trouble. It is this quality in him, is noticed by the chawl owner Premjibhai (Prasad Pandit) where his brother’s shop is located.
Soon, destiny brings a sudden change in Mohaan’s life. Highly impressed by his gutsy behaviour and honesty, Seth Premjibhai, who has other big business of Forwarding and Clearing agency, appoints Mohan in-charge of the same. He also pays him handsomely and also offers him a bungalow to stay. But, as they say; when you are showered with Good things, something bad is bound to happen. Mohan too, goes through a bad phase. “Prosperity is a great teacher; adversity is a greater”. So, when he recovers, he teaches a lesson to all those politicians and their goons in their own style. It’s like tooth for a tooth and eye for an eye. In the process, he gets public sympathy and with the help of that he defeats the main politician in his own constituency.
So, what’s so great about this film with such a theme? The difference between Mohaan Aawatey and many other action filled films, whether in Marathi or Bollywood is that, this film before its start, openly admits that it is based on a true story of a true person. Nowhere it is stated that it is a work of fiction. And that commitment itself gives the film more realistic look. Generally, people enjoy watching true stories. The screenplay and direction by Subhash Kale is good and so is the story of Aniruddha Kale. One duet and the title song penned by Supriya Kale were enough to go with the film’s script, however, the inclusion of two additional songs applies break to otherwise thrilling screenplay.
The film’s screenplay, especially after interval has been largely inspired by bollywood style angry young man’s courageous show. You can witness Mohaan dragging the villain and Minister Vinay Apte, resembling to Amitabh Bachchan dragging Madan Puri or Sudhir in Deewar. The way he fights at a time with a big team of goons of the Minister, he reminds us of Sunny Deol’s Ded Mann ka haath. Moreover, the way he takes the revenge, it clearly indicates that there is no role of Police in the film. But, leaving apart these few flaws, the film’s presentation has been very good. In fact, it is a well presented Marathi film with good background music and equally good performances from all the artistes.
Sanjay Narvekar playing the title role, fits perfectly into that character of an honest turned angry young man. He has different shades to present through his character. Initially, he is a simple, shy, honest and romantic hero and in the later part of the film, he turns into an angry young man followed by a shrewd person using his diplomacy to defeat his enemy. Siya Patil as Gauri is impressive through her limited role. Kamlakar Satpute and Suhas Paranjape as Mohan’s brother and sister-in-law respectively, are remarkable and so are Vinay Apte and Ashok Shinde as selfish Politicians. Ramesh Wani and Prasad Pandit support well. Photography by Anil Xavier and background music by Anirruddha Kale go well with the film’s screenplay.
More attention has been paid on the post production techniques. The film is likely to invite attention of action film lovers and those who enjoy watching true stories.
True man’s true story, says Subhash Kale
Subhash Kale is not a new name to Marathi film industry. After working as assistant director for Hindi and Punjabi films, he made his debut as a director into Marathi with ‘Mumbaicha Shahane’ in 2008. His much awaited film ‘Mohaan Aawatey’ (True Man’s true story) is all set to release shortly. Here he is in chat- chat with Marathi Movie world.
Here he is in chat- chat with Marathi Movie world.
Q: Why have you titled the name of this new film of yours with a person’s name?
A: This film is based on a story of a person called ‘Mohaan Aawatey’. We have tried to cover his entire life journey, revolving around different happenings in his life. Since this is in particular, a character oriented film, we thought it fit to title the film with his name.
Q: Oh, that means this is a biography of a person called Mohaan Aawatey ?
A: In fact, this is not a fiction. The tagline of this film already indicates ‘True man’s true story’; which means that it is based on a real story. Therefore, it cannot be called a biography.
Q: How did you manage the budget of this film ?
A: The producer of this film has been working as a music director for the past 12 years. He insisted on shooting at particular locations for more perfection. Therefore, the outdoor shoots went on increasing and hence the budget too went on a rise. But, that did not matter. He was always supportive to bear that extra cost. He spent more on song picturisations and also paid attention on background music more.
Q: What do you have to convey through this film ?
A: Every person has to begin somewhere. When a young man comes from a village to a city, he has to face hardships but how he overcomes all the hurdles and finally achieves what he aspires for, is all that I have tried to say through this film.
Q: Why only Sanjay Narvekar to play this title role ?
A: We had two options initially. The first was Sanjay Narvekar, who was already there in our mind and the other was Upendra Limaye. But, Upendra’s dates were not available. When we contacted Sanjay, he showed his willingness by making this dates available. With his acceptance, we felt relieved; as he is such a natural and realistic actor.
Q: This film can categorized in which form, action or story oriented ?
A: The film does have a strong story line and also contains action. So, it is not possible to categorise into one particular form.
Q: How do you rate your film’s chances at the box office ?
A: Our only wish is that this film should reach to all classes of Marathi audience. We haven’t spent much on publicity, as we believe that the ‘word of mouth’ publicity would do wonders for the film’s success.
‘Balance 2 Hours’ – a short film on Swine flu
The deadly attack of Swine flu has already taken the toll of more than hundred people in India beginning from Pune. No one had expected the severity of this type of fever in India. The health ministry did try to spread awareness about the deadly fever, but that wasn’t enough. For almost a month it created panic at various places in Maharashtra. Now, when you hear about someone making a film on this topic; obviously, eyebrows are raised.
Director Subhash Kale, who made films like ‘Benere Bhaya’, ‘Mumbai che Shahane’, and ‘Mohan Aute’; has made this short film titled Balance 2 Hours’ on the topic of Swine flu. The film is based on the concept of Shailesh Gaikwad, a collegian from Bhiwandi, who has been running an NGO to create health awareness in this populated township. Watching the hard work put in by the youngster, Subhash Kale with the help of his NRI friend Prakash Kamal, worked seriously on this subject and made this short film almost with international quality, so that he could present the same at various film festivals across the Globe. The director received excellent co-operation from some Bhivandi residents, during the making of this film.
Story and screenplay of ‘Balance 2 Hours’ is written by Subhash Kale himself on the concept drawn by Shailesh Gaikwad. Dialogues are written by Bhalchandra and the cinematography by Anil Xavier. The star cast of the film comprises of Ashok Shinde, Rina Jadhav, K. Vrushali, Ganesh Divekar, Sangeeta More along with child artistes Aishwarya, Drushti and Rahul Jadhav.