The Common Man Speaks

Ashok Saraf on Lifeline, “More than the length, the strength of the character is important”

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Veteran legend Ashok Saraf will next be seen in the Marathi film Lifeline. The movie is a social drama with the theme of superstition vs science. Directed by the first timer Saahil Shirwaikar, it will see a tussle between a surgeon, played by Saraf, and a Hindu priest specializing on last rites, essayed by another veteran Madhav Abhyankar.

During the trailer launch of Lifeline last evening, Saraf expressed his happiness at being offered a role in a film with such a subject. He said, “Firstly, I would like to congratulate Saahil Shirwaikar and his father Rajesh Shirwaikar (writer) for choosing such a subject. Till now, nobody even thought about this message that is in the interest of the society. People will understand that importance of doctors (from this film) and their point of view on doctors will change.”

Adding more about the subject, Saraf added, “Blind faith and science are poles apart. They can’t come together. But that conflict has been handled in such a beautiful way in this film that it will stay in the hearts of the audience.”

Saraf also revealed that his screen-time in the film isn’t large but that’s not a concern for him. “My role is very important,” he said. “Its length is less (but) the role has a lot of weightage. So, apart from my role, what else happened in the shoot, I am not aware. But I knew the story. When he (Saahil) narrated it to me, I instantly said yes. The length of the role is not a problem for me. The strength of the role is more important. What I will show through my role and how much it will impact the audience is important for me.”

During the course of the discussion, Saraf was asked the reason for trusting a newcomer like Saahil Shirwaikar and instantly agreeing to do his film. He said, “I felt the one who takes up such a theme with so much confidence, he must have done a lot of study on it. My only criteria were whether I will get to do something different, which I am always searching. I found that in this role. Once I get such a role, I don’t think about its length.”

Lifeline also stars Jaywant Wadkar, Bharat Dabholkar, Hemangi Kavi, Sharmila Shinde, among others. Produced by Crescendo Entertainment, the movie is all set to release in theatres on August 2.

Also read: Paradise (English-Sinhala-Malayalam) review: Provides a gradual hard-hitting jolt

Alibaba Aani Chalishitale Chor review: Vivek Bele’s dialogues deserve special mention  

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Subjects about friendship never get old. Most of the times, these are emotional films about a group of friends who face an internal adversity only to reconcile in the end. Aditya Ingale’s Alibaba Aani Chalishitale Chor is also a story about a group of friends and what happens amongst them, but there is a twist. It’s a comic drama with a dash of adultery.

The movie is based on the play of the same name (which this writer hasn’t seen). It tells the story of three couples, played by Subodh Bhave-Shruti Marathe, Anand Ingale-Madhura Welankar, Atul Parchure-Mukta Barve and a single guy (Umesh Kamat), who are a part of a group of friends in their 40s.

The seven of them decide to venture out of the city on a farmhouse for a weekend of relaxation and partying. At night, when all of them are merrily dancing, the lights suddenly go off. During that brief moment, one can hear a loud kiss, followed by the sound of a hard slap. Nobody knows who kissed whom and who slapped whom and whether the kiss and slap are related. This single incident is enough for everyone to doubt their respected spouses.

On top of that, each one of them get an e-mail from a stranger who has started a blog that publishes secrets among the people of their group and after eight days, he or she will reveal what exactly happened that night.

Alibaba Aani Chalishitale Chor is a rare movie where the dialogues score the highest. Vivek Bele, who also wrote the play, has come up with hilarious lines that get you in splits regularly, especially the theories about what happened that night. A lot of the conversations happen over the phone and these are also filled with humour. You are reminded of his previous work on a film on similar lines in the form of Badam Rani Gulam Chor (2012).

The dialogues have been rightly complemented by the actors. After Vaalvi, one again gets to see the funny side of Subodh Bhave and he proves his versatility yet again. Mukta Barve is seen in a different role for the first time and she too scores high. Umesh Kamat, as the only single person in the group, gets good scope and he latches onto it. Anand Ingale, Atul Parchure and Madhura Welankar provide funny and mature acts too. Shruti Marathe is decent.

The movie has a funny and enjoyable first half which also establishes the tale well, makes you laugh and curious about what happened during that fateful moment. But for a good amount of time in the second half, the story doesn’t move much, except creating more curiosity. You still don’t lose interest because of the funny lines.

Also read: Kennedy review: Anurag Kashyap’s political cum crime drama is impressive

But what really hurts the film is the finale, for which you have been waiting eagerly. The major reveal in the end takes you by surprise but it isn’t exciting or interesting enough. The same goes for the message given. The film would have been a much better entertainer if it had scored well in the climax.

Overall: Alibaba Aani Chalishitale Chor is a one-time watch because of the humorous lines.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Director: Aditya Ingale

Producers: Nitin Prakash Vaidya, Nikhil Vadarkar, Viraj Londhe and Sandeep Deshpande

Writer: Vivek Bele

Cast: Subodh Bhave, Mukta Barve, Shruti Marathe, Anand Ingale, Madhura Welankar, Atul Parchure and Umesh Kamat

Aata Vel Zaali (Marathi movie) Review: Film about active euthanasia brings a smile

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Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Guzaarish advocated the idea of euthanasia on a patient who was completely bed-ridden and in a vegetative state from below his head. But filmmaker Ananth Narayan Mahadevan’s Aata Vel Zaali (English title: It’s Time To Go) shows two protagonists wanting to end their lives through active euthanasia despite not suffering from any major illness.  

The movie starts off in 2018. A senior citizen couple Shashidhar Lele (Dilip Prabhavalkar) and Ranjana Lele (Rohini Hattangadi) lives alone peacefully in a middle-class household in Mumbai. They would appear content with life to anyone. However, they have a desire of ending their lives through active euthanasia despite being fit. They feel they have carried out all their life’s responsibilities and have nothing more to offer in terms of productivity. Hence, they wish to end their respective lives while being in a happy and peaceful state.

Mr and Mrs Lele are considered weird by their extended family members and neighbours but that is not going to deter them. They write to the President of India about their wish and try other means as well but to no avail. But they are not ready to give up.

The biggest challenge for Aata Vel Zaali was to make the audience take Mr and Mrs Lele’s wish seriously and the film achieves that convincingly. You might not agree with Shashidhar and Ranjana’s desire of ending their lives this way but the reasons given by them appear sensible and convincing. In fact, some examples presented are even praiseworthy. For example, Mr Lele once quoting a philosopher saying that if you want a happy ending to your story, you must know where to end it.

The idea about an old couple wanting to end their lives brings back memories of Mahesh Bhatt’s classic Saaransh (1984). However, in that movie, the couple decides to end their life out of depression born out of the grief of their young son’s untimely death. But Mr and Mrs Lele are far from depressed. Interestingly, the 1984 movie also featured Hattangadi as the wife, although in a completely different character.

Despite the film speaking about death throughout its duration, it never gets sad. On the contrary, Aata Vel Zaali also qualifies as a light-hearted drama with a number of dialogues by Mahendra Patil that either make you laugh or smile. The picturization (cinematography by Pradip S Kanvildkar) also plays an important part here. The entire film is visually rich even if it shows ordinary, everyday visuals. This was also the case with Mahadevan’s earlier Hindi movie Gaur Hari Dastaan.  

There was huge responsibility on Dilip Prabhavalkar and Rohini Hattangadi’s shoulders. It was their performance that was largely going to be responsible for making the audience understand and agree to their unusual demand. To say that they succeeded in their task would be an understatement. The two veterans add plenty of life to a film about death. Their unusual chemistry is felt right from the first scene. The rest of the actors like Jaywant Wadkar, Smita Tambe, Bharat Dabholkar and others offer good support in a limited screen time.

After so many plusses, you expect a bit more from the final scene than what is offered. Nevertheless, the climax isn’t disappointing.

Overall: Aata Vel Zaali is a smooth-flowing feel good film despite the topic it deals with.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Director: Ananth Mahadevan Narayan

Producers: Dinesh Bansal, G K Agrawal and Ananth Narayan Mahadevan

Writers: Ananth Mahadevan Narayan and Mahendra Patil

Cast: Dilip Prabhavalkar and Rohini Hattangadi

Also Read: Amaltash (Marathi movie) Review: Tenderly created saga on love, life & music

Amaltash (Marathi movie) Review: Tenderly created saga on love, life & music

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Stories about protagonists suffering from a severe illness have been dealt brilliantly in India in films like Anand and Kal Ho Na Ho. Filmmaker Suhas Desale’s Marathi movie Amaltash, which also deals with an important character going through a serious crisis, reaches to that level, although its way different than both movies in terms of the story, narrative and handling.

Amaltash (which translates to ‘a month and a week’) takes place in Pune and it revolves around Rahul (Rahul Deshpande). He lives with his elder sister (Deepti Mate), her husband (Bhushan Mate) and their daughter Dimple (Trisha Kunte). Rahul is a musician and singer who works in a showroom selling and looking after musical instruments. He was once a part of a band with the same people he is working in the shop. The band was dissolved due to unfortunate circumstances.

Rahul once visits one of their customers and well-wishers Mrs Potdar (Pratibha Padhye) for some music instrument related work. Over there, he meets her young granddaughter Keerthi (Pallavi Paranjpe), who stays with her father in Canada and has visited Pune for some time. The two become friendly and she gradually becomes a part of Rahul’s life because of their common passion towards music.

Amaltash Movie

Amaltash isn’t narrated as the synopsis above. The movie is a collage of scenes, sequences and conversations from real life where the viewer is a keen observer. The narrative takes a few minutes for one to get accustomed to. But once that happens, you just can’t leave the film. The observer in you becomes more and more curious and you never realize when you get emotionally attached to the characters and their story. The film is narrated with a lot of tenderness, which you feel every now and then.

Another major positive here is the dialogue. The conversations are straight out of real life but deep and impactful enough to add to the overall effect. Music plays an important role but the film doesn’t present songs in a conventional manner. What you get is live, unplugged and intimate performances taking place inside homes when friends meet.

During all this, the movie also presents Pune in a very different and pleasant manner. It does what Tu Hai Mera Sunday did for Mumbai.

But the biggest triumph of Amaltash is the handling of the pre-climax and climax with, again, such tenderness, that it moves you no ends but at the same (without giving away much) is full of life.

As far as the technical aspects are concerned, the camerawork, background score and editing gel well with the nature of the film and stick to being simple.

The same is the case with the performances as well. Rahul Deshpande was tremendous in Mee Vasantrao (although he shot this film after Amaltash). With Amaltash, he proves that he is as good an actor as a singer. A major effect one feels in the movie is because to his act. Pallavi Paranjpe is thoroughly believable as a Canadian return. She never overdoes with her language and succeeds in speaking without speaking much at times.

Also read: Kennedy review: Anurag Kashyap’s political cum crime drama is impressive

Deepti Mate, Trisha Kunte and the rest of the supporting cast is flawless too. It is interesting to note that all the actors had faced the camera for the first time and they belong to some diverse fields of work.

It is difficult to point out any major flaw or negative point in Amaltash. Perhaps, the pace could have been quickened a bit in a few portions before the climax.

Overall: Amaltash is a thoroughly moving piece of cinema on love, life and music.  

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Director: Suhas Desale

Producers: Darshan Productions and Medium Strong Productions

Writers: Suhas Desale, Mayuresh Wagh and Pallavi Paranjpe

Cast: Rahul Deshpande, Pallavi Paranjpe, Deepti Mate, Trisha Kunte, Pratibha Padhye

Panchak (Marathi movie) Review

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Beliefs in different superstitions is a part and parcel of live all over India, including among the educated class. Superstitions often make way for comedy if looked at them from a distance. This tussle between superstitions and science is tackled by directors Rahul Awate and Jayant Jathar’s Marathi movie Panchak in a humorous way. The film is produced by Madhuri Dixit Nene and her husband Dr Shriram Nene.

Panckak is a belief where if a person from a family dies during a certain astrological time, it is followed by five more deaths within a year either from the same family or from people close to that family. The story takes place in the interiors of Konkan. Ananta Khot (Dilip Prabhavalkar) dies in his old age. The family’s priest Joshi (Vidyadhar Joshi) realizes that the man passed away during Panchak. Hence, the entire Khot family and their near and dear ones get scared as they feel five more deaths will follow in a year’s time.

However, Ananta’s son Madhav (Aditnath Kothare) finds this laughable since he is an atheist and a believer in science and rationality. He also works in the field of science. He faces the wrath from Joshi and the entire family (played by Satish Alekar, Bharti Achrekar, Anand Ingle, Nandita Patkar, Deepti Devi and Ganesh Mayekar) for his outlook but he is unperturbed. What actually happens till a year from that period forms the rest of the story. Madhav also shares a complicated romantic relationship with Revati (Tejashri Pradhan), who stays in the same village.

Panchak had the difficult task of creating a dark comedy out of someone’s death. The narrative and dialogues maintains the balance and ensure that nowhere does the proceedings become insensitive. The film also goes onto the extent of providing some rib-tickling and crazy humour all within the parameters of the subject. The confrontations between Madhav and his family members is funny in a natural away, even though it becomes slapstick at times.

Pankchak doesn’t have much of a story development. This isn’t felt much in the first half where the unfolding events keep you glued. But the same doesn’t happen in the second half where you start feeling that limited story material. Hence, more onus is given to gags and some incidents are stretched. The whole idea of hiding something from one character in the second half appears more like a ploy to keep the runtime over two hours, whereas it would have been fine if the film would have gotten over before that. The humour also appears a bit repetitive in the second half.

The finale, thankfully, is a nice and simple end to the debate and the story.

The performances fall in the positive. Adinath Kothare is thoroughly impressive as a firm but affectionate Madhav. He scores while portraying different moods of his character. Nandita Patkar gets more than noticed while playing an interesting character with perfection. Anand Ingle, Deepti Devi and the rest are also without fault. Veterans like Dilip Prabhavalkar and Bharti Achrekar leave an impact despite limited presence. Tejashri Pradhan is likeable in an extended cameo.

Like a number of previous Marathi films, the picturesque Konkan is explored richly here. Pooja S Gupte’s camerawork is impressive but at the same time quite simple and apt for the subject.

Overall: Panchak is worth watching for the humour and the ensemble cast.

Rating: 3 out of 5

Also read: Ole Aale (Marathi movie) Review: Nana Patekar starrer is a moving family drama

Ole Aale (Marathi movie) Review: Nana Patekar starrer is a moving family drama

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Filmmaker Vipul Mehta’s Ole Aale is the official Marathi remake of his Gujarati blockbuster Chaal Jeevi Laiye (which this reviewer hasn’t seen). The film is produced by the same banner Coconut Motion Pictures, which produced the original movie.

The title Ole Aale is a shortcut of the names of the two main protagonists of the film – Omkar Lele (Nana Patekar) and Aditya Lele (Siddharth Chandekar). The two share a bittersweet father-son relationship as they stay alone with a house help (Makarand Anaspure) in Pune. Omkar is a successful and wealthy businessman, who has absolutely no time for his father. In fact, he is so busy in making his dream of having an office in every country of the world come true that he hardly even acknowledges his father’s presence.

Omkar, on the other hand, is troubled by the fact that his son, who is his only family member after his wife died years ago, ignores him all the time. However, he stays in good spirits and sports a jovial mood most of the times. He loves irritating his son regularly in a playful manner to express his disappointment.

One fine day out of the blue, Omkar and Aditya are faced with a very serious situation, which compels the latter to look at life in a different way. The development ensures that the father-son duo goes on a holiday in the northern parts of India. Over there, they meet a young girl (Sayali Sanjeev), who becomes their companion. What happens with Omkar and Aditya forms the rest of the story.

Stories about a child or children being indifferent and rude towards a parent or parents isn’t a novel idea. But you won’t feel the redundancy in that topic in Ole Aale simply because of the fast pace and, more importantly, some simple and witty humour. The aspect of providing entertainment is kept as the topmost priority throughout the movie through the aforementioned factors.

The comic timing of the main cast also helps in keeping the entertainment factor alive. But at the same time, the actors also rise during the emotional moments. Nana Patekar succeeds in playing a man affected by his son’s behavior but not showing the same through a mature and subtle performance. Siddharth Chandekar also suits the character of a badly behaved son. But he scores even higher when his character goes through a transformation. Sayali Sanjeev once again displays her talent while Makarand Anaspure lives up to the humorous expectations from him.

The film also boasts of some enchanting visuals of Hrishikesh and other scenic areas of north India through the lens of cinematographer Gulam Nabi.

Ola Aale, however, isn’t completely a smooth journey. The twist before the climax is surely surprising but also questionable. The film could have also ended much before its duration of 2 hours and 22 minutes. The idea surrounding the two goons and its mystery is too far-fetched. A simple film like this could have used a much simpler idea. Needless to say, this angle played a major role in increasing the film’s runtime.

Overall: Ole Aale is a pleasant and entertaining watch for the family audience.

Rating: 3 out of 5

Also read: Naal Bhaag 2 Review: Continues the heartwarming tradition

Jhimma 2 Review

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Filmmaker Hemant Dhome’s Jhimma (2021) told the story of a group of seven women – played by Sonalee Kulkarni, Suhas Joshi, Sayali Sanjeev, Kshitee Jog, Suchitra Bandekar, Nirmitee Sawant and Mrinmayee Godbole – going on a trip to London through a travel agency run by Kabir (Siddharth Chandekar).

The trip turns out to be a life-changing affair for them with each battling something or the other internally. As they break the shackles, rediscover and heal themselves, as an audience it moves and uplifts you. In terms of the writing and direction, Jhimma scored high despite being on the lengthier side.

The mere announcement of Jhimma 2 meant that the group of ladies would be embarking on another trip organized by Kabir and that’s exactly the case with the sequel. They yet again travel to Britain, but this time it’s the Lake District. Jhimma 2 doesn’t feature Sonalee Kulkarni and Mrinmayee Godbole. We see the inclusion of Rinku Rajguru and Shivani Surve to make it a total of seven.

It is difficult to explain the story of Jhimma 2 because it doesn’t have one. It simply carries on the formula about a group of women going on a foreign trip without their family. The premise and the characters were new in the first film. Hence, it turned out to be interesting to explore one character after another and their backstory. Jhimma 2 simply carries on to do the same, although this time the backstory is not given to all the characters. So, it just turns out to be a repeat exercise. For example, Nirmiti Sawant’s conversation with her politician husband had purpose in the first film. But here it’s just used as a filler. Even the humorous scenes given to her, and other characters, aren’t funny enough.

The narrative does include a few conflict elements but they are episodic and not interesting enough for you to develop concern. For example, the character of Shivani Surve is troubled but you don’t feel much for her because her issues are touched only on the surface. A serious incident during the interval point appears more forced than organic. It also defies logic.

Also Read: Naal Bhag 2 Review: Continues the heartwarming tradition

The strongest point about Jhimma 2 are the performances by all the eight actors. In fact, it is the acting that ensures that you don’t give up on the film, followed by the visuals of the picturesque locations. But you might wonder why the same group of friends visited England yet again. The answer lies in the word ‘subsidy’.

Rating: 2 out of 5

Director: Hemant Dhome

Producers: Chalachitra Mandalee, Jio Studious, Colour Yellow Productions and Crazy Few Films

Writers: Hemant Dhome and Iravati Karnik

Cast: Suhas Joshi, Sayali Sanjeev, Kshitee Jog, Suchitra Bandekar, Nirmitee Sawant, Rinku Rajguru, Shivani Surve and Siddharth Chandekar

Naal Bhag 2 Review: Continues the heartwarming tradition

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Cinematographer Sudhakar Reddy Yakkanti’s directorial debut Naal (2018) turned out to be one of the finest Marathi films of this era. It is always tricky to create a sequel to a film that is so iconic. It wouldn’t be a smart idea to expect Naal Bhag 2 to be as great as the 2018 movie because such movies happen rarely. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t expect it to take you on yet another heartwarming and emotional ride.

Naal told the story of the kid Chaitu (Shrinivas Pokale), who stays with his aunt Sumi (Devika Daftardar) and uncle Shankar (Nagraj Popatrao Manjule), thinking them to be his real parents. The kid was adopted by the two due to certain circumstances. Chaitu, one day, gets to know about his real mother Parvati (Deepti Devi) and becomes eager to be with her. Circumstances bring Parvati to Chaitu’s house but she forcefully hides her emotions after seeing Chaitu and ignores him. The film ends with Chaitu making peace with his stepmother and stepfather. (Read the review of Naal HERE)

Naal Bhag 2 takes place a few years later when Chaitu and family visit his real parents’ Parvati and Ajinath (Jitendra Joshi) house for holidays and to tackle one issue. Chaitu meets Parvati’s children Chimi (Treesha Thosar) and her specially-abled brother Mani (Bhargav Jagtap), who are actually his real siblings. Chaitu gets bowled over by Chimi’s cuteness and is overjoyed to know that he has such an adorable sister. Chimi, however, doesn’t reciprocate his feelings as she is too close to Mani. It becomes a mission for Chaitu to win his little sister’s love.

Naal 2

Naal Bhag 2 gets you transformed into its world – the picturesque village filled with natural beauty. You are thoroughly reminded of Yakkanti the cinematographer along with the filmmaker. The content goes hand-in-hand with the location as the story moves organically like a gentle stream. You get instantly captivated by Chaitu’s struggle and start rooting for him. The makers are fortunate to have got the same kid for the sequel. He continues from where he left in the first film but gives a mature performance this time as a grown up Chaitu. He holds the film on his gentle shoulders, which was the need of the hour.

Along with Chaitu’s struggle, the movie also features the conflict between the grown up siblings as they are involved in a land dispute. The juxtaposition of these tracks speak a lot without speaking much and it culminates in a heartwarming way. But that’s not all as the final moment turns out to be applaud-worthy.

Also read: Baaplyok (Marathi movie) review: A sweet journey about a bittersweet relation 

These points also overshadow some minuses. Elaborating on them, Chaitu’s fondness for his real mother is not seen much here. Although he has made peace with Sumi, there is hardly any notable reaction when he sees Parvati for the first time after years. The pace somewhere drops for some time in the second half and the film could have ended a little before 130 minutes. There is also a lot of repetition of information on the sub-plot about land dispute.

The film belongs as much to the little girl child actor Treesha Thosar as much as to Srinivas Pokale. She is adorable from the word go and plays a major role in you rooting for Chaitu. Bhargav Jagtap, in the highly challenging role of the specially-abled Mani, also puts his best foot forward. The grown up artistes – Deepti Devi, Nagraj Manjule, Jitendra Joshi, Devika Daftardar and others – are fully reliable.

Overall: Naal Bhag 2 is yet another heartwarming journey from Sudhar Reddy Yakkanti that deserves to be seen on the big screen.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Director: Sudhakar Reddy Yakkanti

Producers: Zee Studios and Aatpat

Writers: Sudhakar Reddy Yakkanti (story and screenplay) and Nagraj Popatrao Manjule (dialogues)

Cast: Shrinivas Pokale, Treesha Thosar, Bhargav Jagtap, Nagraj Popatrao Manjule, Deepti Devi, Jitendra Joshi, Devika Daftardar

Baaplyok (Marathi movie) review: A sweet journey about a bittersweet relation

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Filmmaker Makarand Shashimadhu Mane made his Marathi feature film debut by presenting a story about a father and son titled Ringan (2017). It had Shashank Shende in the role of the father. His recently released film Baaplyok, as hinted by the name, is also about a relationship between a father and son and this time too Shende plays the father.

There is one similarity and dissimilarity between both the films. Baaplyok is way different than Ringan but it turns out to be just as heartwarming.

Baaplyok takes place in a village in Maharashtra in today’s times. The story starts when Sagar (Vitthal Nagnath Kale) gets engaged to a girl (Payal Jadhav). Although their relation is arranged by their respective parents, there is immense love between the two. So much so that Sagar never leaves any opportunity to meet the girl or have a pep talk with her over the phone. But the only problem in Sagar’s life is his father (Shashank Shende). The two can’t see eye-to-eye and they don’t leave any opportunity to take a jibe at each other, be it for anything.

So when it is decided that Sagar will have to accompany his father to visit their relatives and friends in neighborhood villages on his bike to invite them for his marriage, he initially backs out. But as he realizes that he has no other choice, he hesitatingly agrees. What all happens during their journey forms the rest of the film.

Baaplyok makes it clear at the start that the film is about a journey and you probably also guess how it will end. But not once does it appear uninteresting. This is largely because of the constant humour born out of the conversations between Sagar and his father. The situations they encounter is another reason why this doesn’t appear like any other film about a journey that changes something in the main protagonists. In other words, there are constant doses of sensible and realistic entertainment and at the same time, nothing seems forced.

Baaplyok is also a visual treat for it goes deep into the village and its life. Yogesh M Koli’s camerawork is as per the need. He keeps it simple but at the same time ensures that the quality of frames is rich. The minimal use of background score too goes perfectly with the theme and mood of the film.

The subject is such that it relies heavily on the performances of Vitthal Nagnath Kale and Shashank Shende and both of them are up to the mark. After establishing himself as a son who doesn’t like his father, Kale’s transformation is gradual and natural. Shende, as one would expect from a seasoned performer like him, is thoroughly flawless, especially in scenes where he speaks through expressions. Payal Jadhav also makes her mark felt in a limited role while the rest of the supporting actors, who don’t get much screen time either, lend able support.

Also Read: Dream Girl 2 review: This film also has one Sakina falling for a Sardar

The scenes where the duo meets different families play a role in achieving the desired end. But a couple of encounters, one with a Muslim family and another with a city-based relative, are too short. There might also be a section of audience that would miss a major conflict in the whole narrative.

Overall: Baaplyok is a heartwarming journey about a father and son.  

Rating: 4 out of 5

Director: Makarand Mane

Writers: Vitthal Nagnath Kale and Makarand Mane

Cast: Vitthal Nagnath Kale, Shashank Shende, Payal Jadhav

Sari (Marathi movie) review: This love story is more like a mystery drama

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Over the last seven years, one has seen several love stories in Marathi. However, almost all of them were based on the same theme as Sairat after the Nagaraj Manjule’s movie became a huge runaway success in 2016. But with directors KS Ashoka and Vishal Asha Patil’s Sari, one can say that this is a rare love story in this language that’s fresh and miles away from the Sairat hangover.

Sari is the official Marathi remake of the Kannada movie Dia. KS Ashoka, the director of the original film, has also helmed the remake along with Vishal Asha Patil. The trailer of Dia and its synopsis indicate that Sari is a faithful remake, which can’t be ignored.  

The movie tells the story of the introvert college student Dia (Ritika Shrotri). She sets her eyes on a fellow student Rohit (Ajinkya Raut) but is unable to even approach him, leave alone confess her love. When Dia finally gets an excuse to talk to Rohit, she realizes that the latter has left the college and the city.

Despite being heartbroken, she moves on. A year later, Rohit suddenly enters her life again. Much to Dia’s delight, she realizes that all this while, Rohit too was secretly in love with her. The two start their own journey of love, which, unfortunately is short lived. Later on, fate brings the happy-go-lucky Adi (Pruthvi Ambaar, who played the same role in the original) in her life and he gradually becomes as good as her family.

Sari Marathi movie

The major positive aspect about Sari is that despite the subject of a girl and boy falling for each other and then fate separating them is done-to-death, there is a high degree of freshness in the narrative and presentation. The directors’ manner of portraying even the simplest of situation is filled with out-of-the-box creativity. This also ensures that the love triangle part also doesn’t appear outdated, although it is on paper.

Sari also scores high when it comes to bringing back the lost innocence in love stories in films of today’s times. The romantic moments are full of old-world charm and at the same time they appear modern. Along with the direction and dialogues, the soft-hearted music too plays an important role in this aspect.

With Sari, Ritika Shrotri has come out of her image as a teenage actress by giving a mature act as Dia. Ajinkya Raut and Pruthvi Ambaar are perfect fit for their characters of Rohit and Adi. Raut succeeds in showing some degree of shyness that was needed by the character. Pruthvee, on the other hand, is the opposite of him and he displays his versatility. Mrinal Kulkarni is once again reliable and likeable.

Spoilers ahead

I always avoid giving away spoilers in any review. But with Sari, I have no other choice since its biggest negative point lies in the pre-climax and climax. Still, without giving away anything about the story, it can be said that these portions are not just tragic but also mentally brutal after 80% of the film being light-hearted and non-heavy even in sad situations.

Also read: Maharashtra Shaheer review

There is no harm in showing tragedy but it needs to fit the story and the narrative. In the case of Sari, it appears needless and just for the heck of it. Another reason why this part doesn’t suit the film is because the dialogue, “Life is full of surprises and miracles” is uttered repeatedly along with some positive preaching. The trailer also asks us to “believe” in the good. The only good one can see in these moments is that the film becomes like a mystery drama.

Overall: Despite the issues in the pre-climax and the climax, Sari scores enough to see it once.

Rating: 3 out of 5

Directors: KS Ashoka and Vishal Asha Patil

Producers: Dr Suresh Nagpal and Akash Nagpal

Cast: Ritika Shrotri, Ajinkya Raut, Pruthvi Ambaar, Mrinal Kulkarni