“I am humbled by the feedback the music is receiving for Naal”: Advait Nemlekar

The Marathi movie Naal movie released a few days ago (16th November) and we managed to catch up with the Music Director of the film Advait Nemlekar . Sharing his experience on the film, he said,Naal released yesterday, and the feedback is very good, people are giving amazing reviews. I am very humbled. The film is a beautiful piece of work, mostly because of an emotional story and performances, and I am lucky to be a part of this movie. Its an honor to have worked for the Marathi film industry, because this film has marked my debut as a Music Director in this space. I feel humbled and privileged that I got an opportunity of working with such a talented team, because they are probably the most humble and down to earth people I have worked with and it felt like working with a family.Continue reading ““I am humbled by the feedback the music is receiving for Naal”: Advait Nemlekar”

Lathe Joshi Movie Review: A minimalist social drama with depth and humour

In the second half of the film, our protagonist Vijay Joshi (Chittaranjan Giri) rides his humble bicycle to the sprawling bungalow of Mr. Sathe who’s the owner of his workshop from which he has recently been laid off. A guard accosts him at the gate telling him that being bed-ridden due to illness, Sathe is not entertaining any visitors. Joshi has worked diligently at the workshop for 35 long years and knows that the boss acknowledges his contribution. Yielding to Joshi’s persistence, the guard makes a call to Sathe’s home from the gate. After Joshi lets Mrs. Sathe know over the phone that he wants to have a word with her husband, she asks Sathe if he’s willing to meet a certain Vijay Joshi. We then see Vijay hearing his boss’s answer – “Oh is it Lathe Joshi? Please let him come.” And, our protagonist smiles for the very first time in the film. It’s just a slight stretch of the lips, but it’s enough to notice that he is feeling a resurgence of pride in himself. The beauty of the film lies in this ability of it being able to evoke an emotion, without seemingly making much of an effort or say quite a bit, without apparently saying much. It’s this minimalistic approach that makes even a tender smile soar so high.Continue reading “Lathe Joshi Movie Review: A minimalist social drama with depth and humour”

Aamhi Doghi Movie Review: Priya Bapat gives career-best performance in this moving tale of womanhood

The promos of Aamhi Doghi would have you believe that the film is only about the relationship between two women – a young, confident and frank Saavi (Priya Bapat) and a shy, traditional and calm Ammi. The title of the film also suggests the same. The film, though, is only partly about the camaraderie between the two. The trailer of last week’s Gulabjaam had almost reduced the layered and touching film to a slapstick comedy. Aamhi Doghi’s case is somewhat of the opposite kind. The promos had raised my hopes sky high, but the film didn’t turn out to be as good. That is not to say that the film lacks nuance, I was only expecting it to be something different.Continue reading “Aamhi Doghi Movie Review: Priya Bapat gives career-best performance in this moving tale of womanhood”

Raakshas Movie Review: Uneven blend of reality and fiction

What if I tell you that I recently saw a film that tries to merge a dark fantasy and a violent real world with a little girl in the centre of it all? In the background of a bloody battle between the establishment and leftist rebels, the little girl is asked to complete certain tasks by a mythical creature, to get something she strongly desires. Well, no, I am not talking about Guillermo del Toro’s film Pan’s Labyrinth (2006). But the film i saw by debutante writer-director Dnyanesh Zoting borrows the above elements and more from the highly acclaimed Spanish movie.Continue reading “Raakshas Movie Review: Uneven blend of reality and fiction”

Viacom18 Motion Pictures and Ajay Devgn join hands together for the Marathi film– ‘Aapla Manus’

Viacom18 today announced its upcoming Marathi film Aapla Manus, the network’s first regional film of the year. Directed by celebrated director Satish Rajwade, this family thriller has Nana Patekar, Sumeet Raghavan & Irawati Harshe in lead roles. The film explores the story of a young couple living with the man’s father, juggling the pressures of urban life and managing the complexity of relationships. An unexpected incident forces them to question their beliefs about their life and family. Aapla Manus marks actor Ajay Devgan’s foray into the regional film sector as a Producer. The film promises to be the one to watch out for in 2018 not only for its stellar cast and gripping narrative but also for the vision of four industry dynamos – Viacom18 Motion Pictures, Ajay Devgn FFilms, Watergate Marathi Motion Pictures & Shree Gajanan Chitra.Continue reading “Viacom18 Motion Pictures and Ajay Devgn join hands together for the Marathi film– ‘Aapla Manus’”

Kaasav Marathi Movie Review: Sensitive, nuanced take on depression

Sumitra Bhave & Sunil Sukhtankar – the conscience keepers of Marathi cinema and filmmakers par excellence – are back. If you are familiar with their exceptional body of work, you would know their approach to filmmaking – a pertinent social issue tackled cinematically with utmost sensitivity, grace and sincerity. Often Bhave’s screenplays layer the seemingly simple storyline with deep meanings with the help of metaphors. Their latest Kaasav (Turtle) also uses the same tropes to great effect.Continue reading “Kaasav Marathi Movie Review: Sensitive, nuanced take on depression”

Muramba Movie Review: Finally, 2017 has a Marathi movie worth a visit to the theatres

‘Golden Period of Marathi Cinema’, ‘Marathi New Wave’ are some of the fancy labels that are attached to contemporary Marathi films by bloggers (including, yours truly) and other movie enthusiasts. But the reality couldn’t be farther from it. Yes, there have been few gems that have released every year, but that’s about it. The average quality of Marathi films that release in a year are as low as any other regional industry in the country. Alarmingly, nearly all of the Marathi movies that released in 2016 were declared as commercial duds.

Continue reading “Muramba Movie Review: Finally, 2017 has a Marathi movie worth a visit to the theatres”

Ringan: Trailer

Ringan (The Quest) is an award-winning Marathi film. The film is directed and written by debutant Makarand Mane and revolves around a father-son duo of a low-income family from Maharashtra. The film is set on the backdrop of farmers’ suicides in India and also deals with spirituality.The film was adjudged as the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Marathi for the year 2015 at the 63rd National Film Awards. After a long wait finally the film is finding a theatrical release on 30th June. The film features Shashank Shende and Sahil Joshi in the lead roles of the father Arjun and the son Abhimanyu respectivelyContinue reading “Ringan: Trailer”

Samit Kakkad’s ‘Half Ticket’ bags the coveted ‘Ecumenical Jury Award’

  • Indian filmmaker Samit Kakkad’s “Half Ticket” wins the prestigious ‘Ecumenical Jury Award’
  • Among the only few Indian filmmakers to win this coveted international award
  • Indian filmmakers such as Mira Nair (1988), Awtar Kaul (1974) and Rabindra Dharmaraj (1981) among the only others to have won this award
  • International filmmakers such as Andrei Tarkovsky, Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Samira Makhmalbaf, Asghar Farhadi, Fatih Akin and Pedro Almodovar have won this award 

Continue reading “Samit Kakkad’s ‘Half Ticket’ bags the coveted ‘Ecumenical Jury Award’”