Actor Subodh Bhave’s directorial debut Katyar Kaljyat Ghusli (2015) turned out to be a spectacular affair. There were much expectations for his second film as a director Sangeet Manapmaan, not just because he is in the director’s chair. This film is also adapted from an old classic musical play, just like the 2015 movie. But this time, the end result turns out to be just a one-time watch.  

Sangeet Manapmaan is adapted from Krushnaji Prabhakar Khadilkar’s musical play of the same name, which was first staged way back in 1911.  

The story takes place in a kingdom in Maharashtra called Sangrampur in an unspecified era. The chief of army Kakasaheb (Shailesh Datar) expresses his wish to the queen of Sangrampur (Nivedita Saraf) to retire from his services because of his advanced age. Although the queen believes he is irreplaceable, she suggests Kakasaheb’s deputy Chandravilas (Sumeet Raghvan) as the next chief. Kakasaheb subtly disagrees with the queen as he believes, despite being a brave warrior, Chandravilas doesn’t possess the exact qualities to be the next chief.

Chandravilas is arrogant and proud about his position as the deputy chief. He has a deep desire to be the next army chief after Kakasaheb retires. He also wishes to marry Kakasaheb’s beautiful daughter Bhamini (Vaidehi Parshurami), who has been his childhood friend.

Meanwhile, Dhairyadhar (Subodh Bhave) is an ordinary villager from the same kingdom, who stays with his doting mother (Neena Kulkarni) and does odd jobs for a living. Being brave and strong, his wish is to join Sangrampur’s army. One day, he saves Kakasaheb from a life-threatening attack from King Dhiren’s (Upendra Limaye) soldiers from the neighborhood kingdom. Impressed by Dhairyadhar, Kakasaheb inducts him into Sangrampur’s army, much to the jealousy of Chandravilas.

The original story is not just interesting but it also weaves together drama, romance, politics and action seamlessly. What pleasantly surprises you is the character of Bhamini, who is shown to be brave, both from within and outside. Generally, stories about kings and kingdoms are male dominated and they display only their bravery. But here, a young girl is shown not just to be brave but also someone who doesn’t let others take decisions about her life, including her marriage. Interestingly, her father also lets her be free.

To find such a character in a play written over 110 years ago indicates the progressiveness of theatre back then. Bhave and the makers deserve credit for selecting a play with this story. The production designing succeeds in recreating the bygone era and ensuring that the visuals are eye-pleasing.

When it comes to doing justice to the original story, the movie does bring about sequences that either move or thrill, especially in the ending moments. However, they are not present throughout the film. In other words, there was scope for the narrative to be more dramatic as well as emotionally thrilling but somehow the film doesn’t turn out to be as gripping as one would expect from such an interesting original story.

The duration of 165 minutes also goes against the movie. Although Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy have succeeded in recreating Khadilkar’s songs and composing fresh tracks, the movie could have been easily trimmed if it didn’t have these many songs. There are quiet a few instances where a song applies brakes on the storytelling. Plus, a couple of song situations suit more in the medium of theatre than in cinema.

Subodh Bhave makes the internally and externally strong character of Dhairyadhar believable. He also succeeds in the subtle transformation in the latter stages once he joins the army. Sumeet Raghavan is fine as the scheming and jealous deputy chief. Vaidehi Parshurami does justice to the strong character of Bhamini and portrays different emotions convincingly.

However, there is an issue with the age factor of Bhave and Raghavan as they appear much older to Bhamini. As Bhave plays a 35-year-old man, you can still excuse him. But it is impossible to believe Raghavan as Vaidehi’s childhood friend. His fake moustache also affects his screen presence. Similarly, Upendra Limaye also appears older for the role of King Dhiren.

Coming to the rest of the performances, Shailesh Datar, Nivedita Saraf and Neena Kulkarni score well as Kakasaheb, the queen and Dhairyadhar’s mother.

Overall: Sangeet Manapmaan turns out to be a one-time watch saga. Don’t expect anything of the level of Katyar Kaljyat Ghusli.

Rating: 3 out of 5

Director: Subodh Bhave

Producers: Jio Studios and Shree Ganesh Marketing and Films

Writers: Krushnaji Prabhakar Khadilkar (original play), Shirish Gopal Deshpande, Urja Deshpande and Prajakt Deshmukh

Music: Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy

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