Sunday 4 May 2014

Film Review - Dusari Goshta




Apolitical Blues

Film: Dusari Goshta (Marathi with English subtitles)
Cast: Vikram Gokhale, Sandeep Mehta,Neha Pendse
Directed by: Chandrakant Kulkarni
Duration: 2 hrs 10 mins
Rating: * * 

Biopics are very uncommon in India and films based on people who are still living are even rare. And if the person happens to be a well known politician, that something virtually unheard of. 

What happened to Gulzar’s Aandhi when the authorities played safe because they thought t the lead character had some semblance to Indira Gandhi, is well know. We have come a long way since but not far enough to real life people by their names. So, for example in this film, Bofors is called Tofors, Indira is Indumati, Chandrashekhar is Rajshekar Pawar is Parab, Kasab is Nawab, Sonia is Sania and she even speaks with a unusual accent.  It is almost as if the film makers are giving you clues (depending how politically savvy you are) to connect the dots.

I walked into Dusari Goshta not knowing it is based on the life of Sushil Kumar Shinde, the well known politician from Maharashtra and the current Minister of Home Affairs. Growing up in a small town in Solapur the early part of his life is interesting. Coming from the lower caste, he faced a lot of social issues but went on to become a self made man, first as a bailiff in a court, then as a police officer. At that stage he took a plunge in politics under the wings of Parab (Anand Ingle) who was his mentor with whom he split later.

Barring him working his way to the top, the screenplay is not engaging enough at times. Narrated in flashback during the present time, Shinde (played by Vikram Gokhale) reminisces about his past, right from his childhood. As for the politics of it, it is significance to those who have academic interest in such matters but then again, there is nothing that is not already in the public domain.

As a viewer, you start losing interest in the second half because of the uneven pace, as if the writers and the director were unsure of what to leave out and what tempo to maintain.  

Unlike other Marathi films lately, this is not a compelling watch, it has some merits but very few.

Published in The Navhind Times on 4th May 2014

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