Direction: Rahul Jadhav

Production: Artha Motion Pictures and Nirmit Nirmitee

Writer: Chinmay Mandlekar

Cast: Chinmay Mandlekar, Murli Sharma, Namarata Gaikwad, Ganesh Yadav, Kedar Shinde

Music: Amit Raj Sawant

Genre: Political Drama

Rating: * * *

Story Outline: Shankar Gawde (Chinmay Mandlekar) is not just a karyakarta (party worker) for Forest Minister Prakash Jadhav (Murli Sharma). He considers the politician as his demigod. He helps fulfill Jadhav’s political motives by staging fake protests, gatherings, etc.

All hell breaks loose for Jadhav when television journalist Shrikant Pathak (Ganesh Yadav) exposes him for corruption in the land sector. Hence, the party chief demands Jadhav’s resignation. In order to show his power and hit back at the party chief, Jadhav orders Gawde to organize a violent protest outside the party chief’s office. An emotionally charged Gawde obeys the orders only to realize that he has been taken for a ride. Angry and heartbroken, Gawde sets out to take revenge from Jadhav for the betrayal!

Review: There have been a number of political dramas in recent years. But despite that, debutant filmmaker Rahul Jadhav’s Vijay Aso stands out for portraying the real picture on the working of a karyakarta (party worker). Although there is an absence of flawlessness, the above mentioned point, a fast narration and above all, Chinmay Mandlekar’s bravura act make sure that Vijay Aso is surely worth watching.

What works most for the movie is a fast paced narration with hardly a dull moment. After an average beginning, the writers have nicely presented a number of interesting events one after the other. But the biggest plus point has to be the inside story behind political events like rallies, gatherings, protests, etc.

This surely brings back memories of Avdhoot Gupte’s Zenda. But Vijay Aso treads on a different path by focusing more on their working style with respect to the manner in which they organize staged political events. Later on, the most defining moment and Mandlekar’s transformation take the movie to a new level.

The film, however, would have been superlative but for some negative points. The evil motto of one of the main characters is not clearly explained. The writers should have exploited Mandlekar’s transformation by including more clap-worthy moments. An important incident in the pre-climax portion and the events in the climax needed to be presented in a more impactful manner.

Jadhav shows his class in his cinematography, which is a big plus point of movie. The background score succeeds in creating the desired effect. The tune after Mandlekar’s transformation is very impactful! Music (Amit Raj Sawant) doesn’t have much scope in such films but the title rock track manages to impress and suits the subject. ‘Holicha Danka’ too is memorable but the item song ‘Ishqachi Boat’ is just average.

Chinmay Mandlekar is brilliant as the central character Santosh Gawde. He shows his acting prowess by playing two different characters with perfection. This is the first time that Murli Sharma is playing one of the main characters in a Marathi movie. He gives a terrific act as a cunning, manipulative politician. His Marathi pronunciation should be applauded except on a couple of occasions which is surely forgivable considering his background.

Ganesh Yadav is mostly famous for playing the role of a cop in Marath films. For the first time, he plays a television journalist and he is just outstanding! Namrata Gaikwad fits the bill as Gawde’s love interest, although she is more of a supporting character. Kedar Shinde, Janardan Parab, Amita Khopkar and the rest of supporting cast play their parts well.

Overall, if you enjoy realistic political dramas, Vijay Aso won’t disappoint you. The film desperately needs a strong word-of-mouth due to the average hype and the fact that it is clashing with a number of other Marathi movies.