Director: Sameer Joshi

Producer: Renu Desai

Writer: Sameer Joshi

Cast: Swapnil Joshi, Mukta Barve, Sai Tamhankar, Kadambari Kadam, Hemant Dhome, Vijay Patwardhan

Genre: Romance/ Drama

Music: Nilesh Moharir

Rating: * * ½

By: Keyur Seta

Story Outline: Married couple Satyajit (Swapnil Joshi) and Aarti (Mukta Barve) are going through a troubled phase due to the former’s target-oriented job in a radio station. Although they love each other, there are constant fights between them, due to which they are also not able to bear a child. After their relation reaches a new low, they are separated. But are they separated forever?

Review: Sameer Vidwan’s effective and mature romantic flick Time Please – Love Story Lagna Nantarchi was released just less than four months ago. If you have seen that film, you won’t be too impressed with Sameer Joshi’s debut Mangalashtak Once More since it is like a not-so-convincing remake of the former. If you haven’t, the Swapnil Joshi and Mukta Barve starrer can be seen once for some appealing moments and, of course, the lead couple.

First, let’s come to the plus points. The clash between Satyajit aka Satya’s personal and professional life is handled with maturity through some realistic scenes at both fronts. Scenes inside Satya’s office deserve special mention as that is exactly the case in today’s target-oriented era.

But the film has two major problems. Firstly, the main issue of Satya throwing Aarti out of his house isn’t convincing since problems between the couple hadn’t reached such a high level. One can’t ignore it as ‘just a scene’ because the entire story is based on it.

Secondly, as stated above, the story is very similar to Time Please minus the delightful character of Himmatrao. But what is more surprising is that the pre-climax twist is also the same in both the films and that too involving the same actor – Sai Tamhankar! If it’s a co-incidence, it’s a huge one indeed! Apart from this, the scene between Aarti and a watchman appears unwanted.

Nilesh Moharir’s soulful music suits the situations well. The same can be said for the cinematography, background score and editing.

Swapnil Joshi and Mukta Barve performance is one of the biggest plus points. Swapnil displays various moods of his character with ease. Mukta shows maturity both while portraying helplessness and happiness.

Although Sai Tamhankar’s character is very similar to the one she played in Time Please, she succeeds in bringing a different take to it. But why is her supporting role listed as ‘friendly appearance’ in the credits? As Barve’s best friend, Kadambari Kadam plays her part well. Hemant Dhome is hilarious while Vijay Patwardhan and the rest of the actors offer decent support.

Overall, Mangalashtak Once More is an above average fair. The film has a taken a good opening and is expected to do well, mostly due to the lead pair.