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Devmanus review: This drama is a fine mixture of crime and emotions

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Director Tejas Prabha Vijay Deoskar’s Marathi movie Devmanus is the official remake of directors Jaspal Singh Sandhu and Rajeev Barnwal’s Sanjay Mishra and Neena Gupta starrer 2022 Hindi movie Vadh (which this reviewer hasn’t seen). The movie is a fine emotional crime drama.

The story takes place in Kopargaon in Maharashtra. Senior citizen couple Keshav (Mahesh Manjrekar) and his wife Laxmi (Renuka Shahane) are staying alone after their son Madhav (Ruturaj Shinde) migrates to the US and gets married over there without their consent.

Keshav is a tuition teacher cum farmer, who somehow managed to gather loan to get Madhav educated in the US. Along with the bank, he also had to take money from the local contractor and an evil goon Dilip (Siddharth Bodke) while mortgaging their ancestral house.

Keshav was hasn’t been able to repay the instalments to Dilip for last four months as Madhav has stopped sending money. Hence, Dilip starts harassing them in worst and derogatory ways. The couple get some help initially from the newly transferred police inspector Deshmukh (Subodh Bhave). One day, Keshav gets involved in a crime, which changes his and Laxmi’s life forever.

Devmanus takes time to get into an exciting and intense mode. The first half is largely about Dilip harassing Keshav and Laxmi. We are not given the backstory of how Keshav had to take loan from a person as horrible as Dilip. He surely must have known about the latter’s reputation. Dilip using Keshav’s house to get intimate with sex workers just because the latter hasn’t been able to pay him for last four months is a bit too much.

However, the film goes onto different level once the crime angle comes in. From here onwards, it becomes a fine mixture of crime and emotions and keeps you completely gripped till the end credits.

The film scores well in the investigation angle, which was very crucial. Care is taken to not make it look clichéd and similar to the various crime stories on TV. The whole Wari angle is nicely included in the narrative and it succeeds in moving you. The guest appearance by Mohan Agashe was smartly done. One expects such crime sagas to end in a particular way. But Devmanus surprises during this part too.

Cinematographer Amey Vasant Chavan has well captured the town. He scores high during the Wari scenes. The background score is simple, which goes with the nature of the film.

This is one of Mahesh Manjrekar’s finest acts. He lives the character of Keshav in every breath and doesn’t let the graph low at any moment. Renuka Shahane also displays her fine talent throughout, at times speaking jus through expressions. Siddharth Bodke is evil personified. You can’t stop hating him, except on a few occasions where he overdoes. \

Subodh Bhave’s character isn’t that of a typical cop investigating crime and he does full justice to it. Abhijeet Khandkekar also scores well while playing another antagonist. Vinod Vanve is likeable as a kind-hearted auto-rickshaw driver. Ruturaj Shinde leaves some impact despite playing a cameo.

Overall: Devmanus is a well-made crime drama that also moves you.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Director: Tejas Prabha Vijay Deoskar

Producers: Luv Films

Writers: Jaspal Singh Sandhu, Rajeev Barnwal (original film) and Neha Shitole (adaptation and dialogues)

Cast: Mahesh Manjrekar, Renuka Shahane, Subodh Bhave, Siddharth Bodke, Abhijeet Khandkekar, Ruturaj Shinde

Also read: Phule review: Pratik Gandhi excels in this decent period drama

Vaalvi (Marathi movie) review – Swapnil Joshi, Subodh Bhave-starrer is a finely crafted dark comic thriller

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Filmmaker Paresh Mokashi’s first three films Harishchandrachi Factory (2010), Elizabeth Ekadashi (2014) and Chi Va Chi Sau Ka (2017) were different from each other, but they were all light in nature. With Vaalvi, he has taken a giant leap into the dark comic thriller territory.

Vaalvi revolves around Aniket (Swapnil Joshi), who works on a good post in a company, and his wife Avani (Anita Date). The two decide to end their lives together due to certain circumstances by shooting themselves. Aniket’s actual plan is to kill his wife by keeping his gun unloaded and Avani’s loaded because he is in a relationship with Devika (Shivani Surve), a dentist.

Aniket and Devika carry out various rehearsals to ensure that their plan doesn’t fail. But something happens on that fateful day and a mysterious man (Subodh Bhave) enters their lives.

Among various things, the makers of Vaalvi should be lauded for presenting a trailer that gives nothing away about the main plot. The story’s major crux lies in the second half and the trailer doesn’t feature anything of this. In fact, we just get a glimpse of Subodh Bhave’s character, making us wonder if he has a special appearance. But in reality, he plays a character as important as others.

Vaalvi is a thriller that scores high in all departments. Madhugandha Kulkarni and Paresh Mokashi’s basic tale itself is not just thrilling but also hilarious. It is finely narrated by the screenplay and intelligently presented by the direction. The dialogues require special mention for being hilarious; their unexpected timing on some occasions makes them even funnier.

Stories revolving around murder tend to go at least a bit downhill in the second half but Vaalvi steers clear of that. In fact, as mentioned above, the movie ups the ante even further post-interval.  

Vaalvi is a taut thriller without any songs. But its background music, by Mangesh Dhakde, plays a vital role as it adds more intrigue to the proceedings. Similarly, Satyajeet Shobha Shreeram’s camerawork and Abhijeet Deshpande and Saurabh Prabhudesai editing also adds to the plusses.

Swapnil Joshi showed a different side of himself in both the seasons of the web-series Samantar. He has again gone against his image and has come up with a fine act of a mean individual who feels nothing when it comes to hatching a plot to kill his own wife. The one-take sequence where he fears getting killed by another character by a gun deserves mention.

This is yet another fine performance by Subodh Bhave. Without going much into his character to avoid spoilers, it is safe to say that the actor has succeeded in showing his comic side with dedication while playing a serious character. Anita Date displays perfection while playing a woman diagnosed with mental illness. Shivani Surve is decent as Aniket’s love interest. Namrata Awate Sambherao has only a couple of scenes but they become memorable because of her act.

Also read: Ved (Marathi movie) review

As it happens with films of this genre, Vaalvi too has quite a few creative liberties taken. The transportation of one dead body stands out amongst all. The movie would have appeared more intelligent if this was taken care of.

Overall: Vaalvi is a finely crafted dark comic thriller. After this film, Paresh Mokashi won’t be known only for Harishchandrachi Factory.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Director: Paresh Mokashi

Producers: Zee Studios and Madhugandha Kulkarni

Writers: Madhugandha Kulkarni and Paresh Mokashi

Cast: Swapnil Joshi, Subodh Bhave, Shivani Surve and Anita Date

Touring Talkies (Marathi Movie) Review

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By: Keyur Seta

Director: Gajendra Ahire

Producer: Trupti Bhoir

Writer: Gajendra Ahire

Cast: Trupti Bhoir, Subodh Bhave, Kishore Kadam, Chinmay Sant, Suhas Palshikar, Milind Shinde

Music: Ilayaraja

Genre: Drama

Rating: * * * *

(For more reviews, previews and news about Marathi Cinema, visit our main website by clicking HERE.)

Story Outline: The film throws light on the culture of touring talkies – film screenings inside tents (tamboo), which is slowly dying. Chandi’s touring talkies is one of the rare ones still surviving in Maharashtra.  She and her brother Babya (Chinmay Sant) take great pride in showing films in their tent, which has been their family business since decades.

But their business is threatened due to some foolishness by Chandi’s drunkard father Babu (Suhas Palshikar). Chandi sees a ray of hope when filmmaker Avinash (Subodh Bhave) arrives in their locality to screen his film in the tents.

Review: With Gajendra Ahire’s Touring Talkies, Marathi Cinema can boast of paying tribute to Indian cinema in its centenary (100th) year in such a heartwarming manner that the cinema chya keeda inside you will feel mighty proud. The experience becomes even greater when you watch the movie in a tent (like I did).

Ahire does the painstaking task of presenting every minute detail of tent culture cinema with remarkable ease. The viewer gets quickly involved with the proceedings with one amusing moment following another. But despite that, the film stays miles away from being a documentary. The characterization and narration with the use of simple conflict elements make sure you instantly feel for the characters and their struggle to keep cinema alive in their tent.

What also strikes you is how Ahire has managed to present even the dishonest activities of the group in an innocent manner. For example, you really don’t mind when Chandi renames Avinash’s film as Gela Haath Cholit or even when Babya mixes few porn film reels with the reel of Avinash’s film. The characters’ unique style of film promotions to lure audiences will also keep you smiling and so will the scene where Chandi stops Babya from tearing off film posters.

Touring-Talkies-Marathi-movie

From the flipsides, there comes a moment in the second half when the film threatens to be a drag. It is also strange to see Avinash’s ‘art film’ getting accepted in a place where only hardcore commercial films are acknowledged, despite the special offers for the audience. But these points won’t hurt you due to the delightful climax and the overall heartwarming nature of the film.

The soulful background score and Amol Gole’s artistic camerawork provide apt support. Ilayaraja composed English tracks suit the subject but there definitely was scope for a Marathi song considering it’s a Marathi film. But special mention should be given to the art director for bringing the touring talkies culture alive.

Trupti Bhoir displays an example of complete dedication and hard-work in her performance. She shows the tough as well as emotional side of the character brilliantly. Subodh Bhave perfectly fits in the shoes of a realistic filmmaker and gives a mature act.

An unusually hilarious performance is presented by Kishore Kadam. It’s a pleasure to see him announcing even unimportant details. After Jana Gana Mana, Girish Sant once again gives a smile-producing performance. Milind Shinde and Suhas Phalshikar provide perfect support while Neha Pendse shines in a cameo.

Overall, Touring Talkies will touch the hearts of all those who are fascinated by the magical world of cinema. The film desperately deserves some rapid word-of-mouth to succeed at the box office. It is highly recommended to see the film in a tent.