Film Review - Court

The Jury Is In

Film: Court (Marathi with English subtitles)
Cast: Vira Sathidar, Geetanjali Kulkarni, Vivek Gomber, Pradeep Joshi
Directed by: Chaitanya Tamhane

Duration: 1 hr 55 mins
Rating: * * * * *

Let me put this in plain English: Court is one of the finest films made in recent times, in any part of the world. When it comes to quality, mind and soul stirring cinema, it doesn’t get any better than this film, which also happens to be the debut feature of director Chaitanya Tamhane.  

And what a debut it is.

The subject of Court is something that is usually accompanied by a lot of drama and desk thumping. That legal matters move at a snail's pace, when they move at all, is well known but what happens to those who are at the receiving end of it? And what about those who are involved in the process of delivering justice?

Court deals with an enraging matter with a Zen-like calmness. Imagine an action film without stunts or a war film without gun-fire; this film tackles a strong subject but offers an alternative view.

An elderly dalit folk singer Narayan Kamble (Vira Sathidar) is charged by the police with abetting the suicide of a sewage worker. The accusation is that the dead man heard one of Kamble's songs and the lyrics drove him to commit suicide; he enters a manhole without proper safety equipment and the toxic gases kill him. The charge sounds ludicrous but the law has to take its own course, the singer is arrested and promptly remanded in custody.

A well- to-do activist lawyer (Vivek Gomber, who has also produced the film) represents Kamble in court while the public prosecutor (Geetanjali Kulkarni) fights tooth and nail to ensure he stays in jail. At one point she even cites archaic laws to claim that the elderly singer is a threat to the sovereignty of India. The defense lawyer knows very well that these laws are antiquated and irrelevant, but apart from being patient and carrying on the fight, there is precious little he can do.  

We also get a glimpse of the personal lives of those involved. The prosecutor leads a normal life - cooks food for her family, picks up her son from day care and does all the other domestic chores. There is also an exceptional scene in a train where she discusses olive oil with her friend. In another instance, with complete insouciance she says that the old man should be dumped in the prison for 20 years because she is fed up with seeing the same faces. 

The activist lawyer comes from a rich Gujarathi family, and when he is not fighting for the marginalized, he is seen buying wine and cheese in a supermarker. During a dinner table conversation, his father also accuses him of getting everything easily on a platter in life.  

And then there is the judge (Pradeep Joshi), who goes by the book. At one point he even tells a lady that her case will not be heard because she is wearing a sleeveless top and that is not permissible as per the rules. The law may be a ass but it is still the law.

Had it not been so real, Kafka would have been proud of this farce.

At the end of the day though, they are all doing their jobs to the best of their ability. But morality and the rule book don’t go hand and hand and Court makes this subtle point with great impact.

When it comes to court cases, in India, unfortunately, as many have discovered, the trial is itself the punishment, sometimes even worse. 

This is not a one track narrative, there is no good and bad here and hence there is no preaching.

All the while, the camera is an observer not a participant. In fact, in an Ozu like manner, Mrunal Desai’s frames remain fixed, the camera never moves, barring a couple of times when it pans.

There is no background music in the film, keeping it simple, and Lokshair Sambhaji Bhagat’s powada (poetry) is used to good effect.

The actors, many of them non-professional are in fine fettle. Vira Sathidar looks and plays his character to a T, Geetanjali Kulkarni as the prosecutor and Pradeep Joshi as the judge look more like real life people than actors playing a part.

Do as you please but do not miss this film.

Published  in The Navhind Times, Goa on 19th April 2015

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Film Review - Kay Rao Tumhi

No Beauty For Old Men

Film: Kay Rao Tumhi (Marathi)

Cast: Ravindra Mahajan, Satish Pulekar, Yatin Karyekar, Niyati Joshi
Directed by: Mrunalini Patil
Duration: 2 hrs
Rating: *

If Marathi films aping Bollywood films was not bad enough, now we have remakes as well. Kay Rao Tumhi directed by Mrunalini Patil is inspired by Basu Chatterjee’s Shaukeen (1982) which was remade recently as The Shaukeens with Akshay Kumar.

There is no originality whatsoever to speak of here – Three dirty old men (Ravindra Mahajan, Satish Pulekar, Yatin Karyekar) are looking for a good time and they embark on a journey. A struggling actor (Hemant Dhome) becomes their driver and his girlfriend (Niyati Joshi) becomes an object of their affection.

The humor is crass and there is nothing substantial that holds your attention. If you happen to walk into this one, enjoy the AC and a nice snooze.

Published in The Navhind Times on 12th April 2015

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Film Review - Mitwaa

Old Wine, Old Bottle

Film: Mitwaa (Marathi)

Cast: Swapnil Joshi, Sonalee, Prarthana Behere

Directed by: Swapna Waghmare Joshi

Duration: 2 hrs 10 mins

Rating: * *

Mitwaa is another of those films from the Marathi factory which is hugely inspired by Bollywood films and television serials. The writer Shirish Latkar has worked with television before and hence you can put two and two together – there is a bit of this and bit of that with novelty taking a backseat.

The only unique thing could be the fact that this is a Marathi film set in Goa where the hero is the most eligible bachelor in town. Cutting between the past and present, most of the story is told in flashback. Shivam (Swapnil Joshi) is a high flying businessman who abhors commitment changes his girlfriends every other week. Avni (Prarthana Behere) is his best friend and business partner of sorts and to complete the triangle, he falls in love with a new recruit in his office Nandini (Sonalee). The playboy in him takes a backseat and he pursues her with great zeal only to discover that she has to deal with her past.

Mitwaa throws no surprises on any count least of all the story, the production values are impressive but how you wish that money was spent on a better story. The actors try their best by being enthusiastic and that’s about it as far as they could do. 

Published in The Navhind Times, Goa on 15th February 2015

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Film Review - Classmates

College Blues

Film: Classmates (Marathi with English subtitles)

Cast: Ankush Chaudhary, Sai Tamhankar, Sonalee Kulkarni

Directed by: Aditya Sarpotdar

Duration: 2 hrs 40 mins

Rating: * *

On one hand there are some outstanding offbeat films being made in Marathi and on the other, there are the crowd pleasers and middle of the road films. Classmates directed by Aditya Sarpotdar is in the latter category and this film is a remake of the Malayalam film of the same name made in 2006.

While that film was a huge box office success, surely we could have done without a Marathi remake of the same.

Classmates is one of those college campus films that don’t really go anywhere for a long time, the time that it takes to establish the setting is too long. A bunch of guys and girls meet after ages at their college reunion where one of them dies under mysterious circumstances. In flash back we are told about their background – Satya (Ankush Chaudhary) is a good Samaritan but his affiliations are with a dubious political party. Appu (Sai Tamhankar) has a soft corner for him but can’t spell it out, he meanwhile likes Aditi (Sonalee) who has political affiliations with another party. Anni (Siddharth Chandekar) is their friend who loves music while Rohit ( Sachit Patil) wants to stay away from politics but gets dragged into it.

The first half just meanders around without really getting anywhere, the college scenes and gags are also a drag. The film also falls in the trap of the song and dance routine trying to ape Bollywood films.

While the basic story had the potential to be a taut thriller, it is frittered away by becoming predictable and long drawn. 

Published in The Navhind Times on 18th January 2015

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Film Review - Lokmanya: Ek Yugpurush

Freedom Struggle 

Film: Lokmanya : Ek Yugpurush (Marathi with English subtitles)

Cast: Subodh Bhave, Chinmay Mandlekar, Sameer Vidwans
Directed by: Om Raut
Duration: 2 hrs 25 mins
Rating:  * *  

When it comes to biopics, you want to applaud the effort put in by film makers when they tell an inspirational story. But going by the evidence of biopics in Indian cinema, it is an uphill task to make a film that will rightly capture the spirit of what these idols stood for. Director Om Raut’s effort to shed light on Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak life is a sincere and noble effort but sadly it doesn’t translate into a film that will do justice to the life and the thoughts of the great man. 

There are some inspiring moments but there are is a bit of melodrama as well and there is no point in stylizing such content – for instance we see Lokmanya Tilak running in slow motion at least thrice in the film. Such stylization is best left for commercial potboilers and not for a man who gave all his life for the freedom struggle and to reform the society.

Many of his contributions are well known, his advocacy of Swaraj, the Swadeshi movement, public celebrations of festivals like Ganesh Chathurthi, Kesari the news paper and in the field of education.  Plus his role in the shaping the freedom struggle has also been highlighted in school history books. 

The film is told cutting between the past and the present, a journalist (Chinmay Mandlekar) is inspired by the life of Tilak after reading about him, a la Rang De Basanti.  The leaders life is recounted through various incidents that occurred during his life time, his friendship with Gopal Ganesh Agarkar (Sameer Vidwans) with whom he shared the same ideology to begin with but then split later right to the bubonic plague that struck Pune in 1896 to his six year imprisonment in Mandalay, the film covers it all.

But the narrative is faulty. At times it is a bit all over the place and doesn’t stick a particular thread. Also the fusion of the past and present doesn’t really amalgamate well and looks artificial. 

The highlight is Subodh Bhave who is excels in the lead role. It is his effort that has adds considerable value to the film, which, though it tells an important story cinematically it leaves a lot to be desired. But it remains an important story all the same. 

Published in The Navhind Times on 4th Jan 2015

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Film - Guru Pournima

Meet the Parents

Film: Guru Pournima (Marathi)

Cast: Upendra Limaye, Sai Tamhankar, Sulabha Arya

Directed by: Girish Mohite

Duration: 2 hrs 3 mins

Rating: * *

Directed by Girish Mohite, Guru Pournima is a family drama that doesn’t offer any novelty or surprises. It has decent production values but the screenplay is a major let down – it is predictable and the way in which the story unfolds doesn’t add much positive weightage to it.

Meant to be a story about love, marital discord and family relationships, we have Guru (National award winner Upendra Limaye) who teaches film making to students. One such talented girl is Pournima (Sai Tamhankar) whose parents are extraordinarily cruel and chuck her out of the house only because she wants to be an actress. With support from his loving mother (Sulbha Arya) Guru gives her shelter and eventually they get married.

Years later, we learn that they have separated and he is living with their daughter (Sai Tamhankar again, in a double role). Turns out that the mother wanted to pursue her acting career leading to discord and finally separation. Now it is upto the daughter and the grandma to make the twain meet.  

The story could have served well for a television serial – everything is a bit too convenient in it to digest as a feature film. The whole affair about a short film contest organized by a bank and the route taken to make the parents reunite looks artificial. The editing also leaves a fair bit to be desired.

The strongest point of the film is the acting. Upendra Limaye is a seasoned actor and can pull off any scene with ease. Sai Tamhankar has the arduous job of playing a mother as well as daughter and she is convincing in both roles. The actors do wonders to the film, sadly they don’t have a story good enough to back them.  

Published in The Navhind Times on 14th Sept 2014

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