Film Review - Tu Hi Re

Stale Romance

Film: Tu Hi Re (Marathi)

Cast: Swwapnil Joshi, Sai Tamhankar, Tejaswini Pandit

Directed by: Sanjay Jadhav

Duration: 2 hrs 15 mins

Rating: * *

Tu Hi Re is a remake of the Tamil film Sillunu Oru Kaadhal and this Marathi flick is done with Bollywood sensibilities leaving negligible scope for originality. Directed by Sanjay Jadhav who gave the block buster Duniyadari, Tu Hi Re reminds us of those romantic Hindi films of the 60’s and 70’s where the peace of a happily married couple is threatened by the past.

Five minutes into it and you know you are in to watch all the standard tropes. The heroine Nandini (Sai Tamhankar) is introduced with shots from different angles while she is swaying her hair in slow motion in the village pond.  She is married off to Siddarth (Swwapnil Joshi) and eight years later they are living in a rather fancy house in the city. They have a little daughter and their married life is saccharine sweet. So much so that you fear you might get afflicted by diabetes just by looking at their ultra romantic married life.

All is well till a politician enters the scene and threatens their peace- in a rather tedious flashback we are told about Siddarth’s affair and you know exactly which way this river will flow.

Apart from being predictable, the situations are dreary, artificial and some are even cringe worthy.  At best, this story would serve as a television serial where there is ample scope to manipulate the audience with unrealistic proceedings.

The lead pair of Swwapnil Joshi and Sai Tamhankar is likable but the rest of the Tu Hi Re walks down the beaten path. 

Published in The Navhind Times on 6th Sept. 2015
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Film Review - Dr.Prakash Baba Amte

An Inspiring Story

 

Film:Dr.Prakash Baba Amte (Marathi with English subtitles)

Cast: Nana Patekar, Sonali Kulkarni, Mohan Agashe

Directed by: Samruddhi Pohey

Duration: 2 hrs 17 mins

Rating:  * * * 1 /2

There are reel heroes and real life heroes. The full title of this film is Dr.Prakash Baba Amte - The Real Hero and the latter part is no exaggeration.  Son of the renowned social worker Baba Amte, the life of Dr.Prakash is well and truly inspiring full credit to the director Samruddhi Pohey for telling this richly deserved story.

Baba Amte and his work his well known but the name of his son Prakash will be familiar mostly to those in Maharashtra.

Biopics are rarely made in India and on the whole they have been a mixed bag, some work some don’t. But the Pohey who has also written the screenplay has rock solid material on hand.  After all, how many doctors, whose fathers were well known in the society gave up everything and worked for the welfare of tribals and animals. It is no surprise that the Amte’s were the first father son duo to be given the prestigious Magsaysay award. 

The film also benefits immensely from the lead pair of actors. A large part of the story is told in flashback. Dr. Prakash (Nana Patekar) following his illustrious father’s footsteps lives in the tribal area of Gadchiroli with the Madia tribe. He has a doctor by profession and decides to live an austere life by helping the locals along with his wife Mandakini (Sonali Kulkarni) whom he met in his college.   

Apart from serving the local tribe Dr. Prakash is also an animal lover and started an orphanage for injured wild animals which came to be known as Amte animal arc, snakes, leopards, deer, you name it, they are all at the orphanage. The kind of rapport that the good doctor has with the animals is to be seen to be believed in the real life footage shown during the end credits which are not to be missed.

The issue of naxalism and excess by the police is also highlighted but more importantly, the film captures the essence of the tribulations he had and how he overcame them to serve selflessly. Along with the doctor, his wife also comes as a pillar of strength and their relationship is heartwarming.  In fact the Magsaysay award

Technically, the film is just about okay, but this factor can be easily overlooked. The screenplay is not watertight either and the editing also could have been sharper. Couple of scenes where they treat ill people could have been trimmed.  But this is just nitpicking considering what has been portrayed in the film.

Of the cast, Nana Patekar is in splendid form in the lead role, we have seen his histrionics before but this is a highly commendable and restrained performance. Sonali Kulkarni matches the lead actor on every step and they share a good chemistry.

During times when everyone is caught in a rat race (even if you win the race you still remain a rat as a wise man once said) this story of a man working tirelessly and altruistically has even more relevance. This is a must watch film for everyone.

Published in The Navhind Times on 12th Oct 2014

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Film Review - Fandry

Shaken And Stirred

Film: Fandry (Marathi with English subtitles)

Cast: Somnath Awghade, Kishore Kadam

Directed by: Nagraj Popatrao Manjule

Duration: 1 hr 43 mins

Rating: * * * *

It is not very often that when you come out of the theater your mind and heart is racing with so many emotions. Anger, exhilaration, joy, sadness, not necessarily in that order, you feel it all at the same time. Most films nowadays hardly evoke even one those sentiments.

I felt anger because that is what the main protagonist went through, I was exhilarated because of the craft shown by the director, I felt joy because films like these are getting made and the sadness came from the fact that the brutal reality shown in it is true and still exists in the country.

Set in a village in Maharashtra, Jabuwant aka Jabya (Somnath Awghade) a young boy hails from the lower caste and is in love with a girl from his school who happens to be from the upper caste. Given his dark complexion, he even applies that tinge of talcum powder to look fair. The discrimination and taunts that he faces everyday keep reminding him of who he is and where he stands. His father (Kishore Kadam, terrific as usual) does small time jobs in the village, mostly those that no one else will, like catching pigs (Fandry means pig) that cause upheaval there.

Jabya’s sympathizer is the local villager (played by the director) who asks him to burn a black sparrow and sprinkle its ashes to bring good fortune. The young boy’s quest for the elusive sparrow is very effectively used as device to rein in the change.

The last 20 odd minutes where the family chases the pigs will knock your socks off. There is irony (people using Facebook to update the proceedings), dark humor and exceptionally brilliant scenes. I can’t think of a film in recent times whose climax weighed in so heavily on the overall impact of the film.

Manjule depicts the facts as they are – there is no sugar coating or any preachy social commentary. The music score by Alokananda Dasgupta (daughter of the acclaimed film maker Buddhadeb Dasgupta, she also composed the music for Shaala) is evocative. On the acting front, Somnath Awghade is convincing, especially in those parts where it matters the most and Kishore Kadam plays his part to perfection. 

Do yourself a favor and watch Fandry. At the end of it if you don’t feel emotions stirred in you, go and see a doctor immediately.    

Published in The Navhind Times on 16th Feb 2014

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