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 - Hunterrr

Part Time Lover

Film: Hunterrr

Cast: Gulshan Devaiah, Radhika Apte, Sai Tamhankar

Directed by: Harshvardhan Kulkarni

Duration: 2 hrs 20 mins

Rating: * * 1 / 2

Hunterrr belongs to that very rare genre in Bollywood of sex comedies and we are not talking of the ones with cheap jokes and double entendres. Hunterrr in many ways goes for the jugular and succeeds to some extent. While it is a novel effort of sorts, it fails in getting the basic right – such films have to be crisp, to the point and should not overstay their welcome, the final stretch of this debut film by Harshvardhan Kulkarni drags on.

He has got most of the things right – The characters are quirky and there is sense that they could be real – you may have actually seen some around you at some point. Gulshan Devaiya plays Mandar Ponkshe, as it happens in real life too, some guys instantly know how to get their way around the opposite sex while for others, it takes a life time to figure out.

Mandar belongs to the former category; he has cracked the ultimate formula of wooing the girls at a young age. Initially, the story oscillates between his past and present. Right from his college days he has been active enticing single girls (Veera Saxena) and a married woman (Sai Tamhankar).

At least in films, all playboys ultimately have to fall in love and Mandar is besotted by Trupti (Radhika Apte). He has a tough time though giving up what he likes the most.

While the film starts off in top gear, it gets slack in the latter half. Mandar’s childhood memories are the best part and director Harshvardhan Kukarni knows how to show teenagers having fun. The episode where Mandar is caught watching an adult film is a hoot.

There is needless cutting between the past and the present in the latter half of the film, it’s a comedy after all and not a thriller. The songs try to carry the narrative forward but don’t succeed every time and there a handful of songs of them here.

The director deserves kudos for making a film that deals with the otherwise taboo subject of sex and he does so without cheapening the stakes.

Of the cast, Gulshan Devaiah fits the bill and the ladies are aptly cast.

Hunterrr is good enough for a few laughs and I wish it was left with that rather than stretch it more. 

Published in The Navhind Times, Goa on 22nd March 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 - 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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