2018 has been a splendid year for Marathi cinema! The great cinema was made last year too, but the audiences didn’t quite respond towards it! This year the audiences have wholeheartedly loved Marathi cinema & the box-office has boomed tremendously especially in the second half of 2018! So here’s our list of top 10 Marathi films of the year! Films that are high on quality as well have clicked with the audiences!

10. Mumbai Pune Mumbai 3
Our Rating: 3.5/5

The third part of the franchise mixed up the best of the previous two films very skillfully! It had the lighthearted fun tone of the first film & the serious dramatic undertone from the second film. Swapnil Joshi & Mukta Barve both had flawless chemistry as always!

Read our full review here

9. Redu
Our Rating: 3.5/5

Editor turned director Sagar Vanjari re-introduced the sweetness of ‘Malvani’ language & culture to the audiences, throughout enthralling us by the simplicity of this film. The film ended on such an unexpected yet beautiful point that it redefined the whole film & made us think after the film for a long time!

8. Aapla Manus
Our Rating: 4/5

The second Satish Rajwade film in our list after MPM 3! Nana Patekar’s surprise double role, the performances of the rest of the solid cast that included Sumit Raghavan & Irawati Harshe & the overall strength of the story made ‘Aapla Manus’ one of the most exciting films of the year! The idea of a suspense thriller was pushed to its limits rewarding the audiences in the end with an altogether unexpected twist.

Read our full review here

7. Pimpal
Our Rating: 4/5

Gajendra Ahire’s most simplistically beautiful film of all time! Dilip Prabhawalkar’s heartfelt performance connects us with the film almost instantly & we feel like we know this old man in real life. The film was a beautiful love letter to loneliness & how old age makes any stiff man become tender about his memories & the people who were most dear to him!

Read our full review here

6. Nude
Our Rating: 4/5

Ravi Jadhav’s magnum opus! Every frame of this film was like a painting! Probably the most visually stunning film made in Marathi ever! At the same time the film dealt with a very deep subject that dealt with the tragedy of a single uneducated mother fighting against the world. ‘Nude’ also had a philosophical subtext regarding ‘art’ & how it’s perceived by society.

Read our full review here

5. Maska
Our Rating: 4.5/5

Priyadarshan Jadhav’s debut film as a director was the most unexpectedly entertaining film of the year! Never have we ever seen a better ‘genre’ comedy in Marathi cinema. The performances of the cast that included Aniket Vishwasrao, Shashank Shende, Prarthana Behere, Pranav Raorane & Chinmay Mandlekar were equally brilliant & brought life into the quirky fun script! In years to come ‘Maska’ is destined to be an iconic Marathi film that will be enjoyed by the audiences repeatedly!

Read our full review here

4. Gulabjaam
Our Rating: 4.5/5

Sachin Kundalkar’s passion for food was seen in ‘Vazandar’ before but in ‘Gulabjaam’ he glamorized Maharashtrian food like never before! But beyond that the film’s strength was it’s emotional core & the chemistry between the characters played by Sonali Kulkarni & Siddharth Chandekar. ‘Gulabjaam’ had the right blend of Kundalkar’s avant-garde sensibilities & his love for ‘youthful’ mainstream cinema!

Read our full review here

3. Lathe Joshi
Our Rating: 4.5/5

A subtle masterpiece by debutant director Mangesh Joshi. A film that demands patience from the audiences & in return it rewards them with a completely original cinematic experience. A film that garnered praise all around the world at different festivals but didn’t quite receive a similar response upon its theatrical release here. Hopefully ,the film will pass the test of time & slowly the audiences would re-discover it some way.

Read our full review here

2. Chumbak
Our Rating: 5/5

A film presented by super star Akshay Kumar! He was so much in love with the film after watching it that that he wanted to be associated with it without expecting any returns! The film took the children film genre to an altogether new level in Marathi cinema. Popular lyricist & singer Swanand Kirkire gave a performance of a lifetime in this film & was equally supported by the rest of the teenage cast.

Read our full review here

1. Naal
Our Rating: 5/5

The Nagraj Manjule magic again worked! This time as producer & actor! However ,the real star of the film was the little kid Shrinivas Pokhale who gave the performance of the year! The audiences were throughout at the edge of the seat while watching this emotional journey of a little boy who discovers the meaning of the motherhood through it. Director Sudhakar Reddy Yakkanti explored the larger meaning of birth & death too in a very organic & non-pretentious yet artistic way!

Read our full review here

Honourable Mentions:
Farzand – 3.5/5
Amhi Doghi – 3.5/5
Take Care Good Night – 3/5
Ani..Dr. Kashinath Ghanekar – 3/5
Mulshi Pattern – 3/5
Cycle – 3/5
Mantra – 3/5
Youngraad – 3/5

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Lot was riding on Marathi cinema’s Diwali release Ani..Dr. Kashinath Ghanekar & the film came out with flying colors! The Subodh Bhave starrer has made this Diwali more special for the audiences. The word of mouth for the film both on social media & in the real world is extremely positives. ‘Ekdam Kadaak..’ has become a new slogan now!

The audiences have specifically loved Subodh Bhave’s & Vaidehi Parshurami’s performance in the film. The young actress was sharing the screen with stalwarts like Subodh Bhave, Sonali Kulkarni & others & she has impressed one & all. And Vaidehi is being called the next big thing in Marathi cinema.

While no office box office numbers have been revealed yet, but one can easily understand that the film is a huge success just by seeing the number of shows that are being increased after the opening day! Ani..Dr. Kashinath Ghanekar had a huge competition from this week’s Hindi release ‘Thugs of Hindostan’. While the Hindi film has been generating negative word of mouth, for ‘Ani..Dr. Kashinath Ghanekar’ the love from the audiences is only being multiplied with time!

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Cast: Subodh Bhave, Sonali Kulkarni, Prasad Oak, Mohan Joshi, Anand Ingle, Nandita Dhuri, Vaidehi Parshurami, Sumeet Raghavan, & others

Director: Abhijeet Deshpande

Quick Viewpoint: While the film doesn’t quite match the expectations it still delivers as a honest account of a flawed protagonist.

What Works?

• Every actor casted in the film has delivered effectively from Sonali Kulkarni, Prasad Oak, Nandita Dhuri, Sumeet Raghavan & others. While Subodh Bhave continues his usual perfection of getting into the skin of the character & catching the right emotional tone of the character. Young actress Vaidehi Parshurami too stands out for her subtle brilliance in a challenging role.
• The dialogues! Again something that had tonnes of expectations from the audiences! Especially that dialogues that involve the theatrical backdrop.
• The entire graph of Dr. Kashinath Ghanekar’s life is very well covered in the film, at times the periodic jumps may seem abrupt but overall they feel exhaustive & the makers have managed to cover many aspects of his eventful life.
• For the audiences who have watched Dr. Ghanekar in action & have been a witness to that period this film will surely make them nostalgic, & for the younger audiences the film will introduce them to a world that once existed in our world & how it still has importance in our culture!

What Fails?

• The superficial depiction of certain scenes that were supposed to show the darker side of Dr. Ghanekar. They are so subtle (in a negative way) that many audiences won’t even get the real purpose of those scenes, & what they were meant to interpret.
• We are not really rooting for the protagonist. There isn’t real emotional connect to put us by the side of the protagonist. We are distant from the film emotionally.
• At many instances the production design of the film feels fake, & it affects the impact of the overall scene.
• Above the dialogues are mentioned in the ‘positive’ section yet sometimes they feel forceful, especially when every character put their one-liner definition of what Dr. Ghanekar is like, they feel to be forcefully added in the scheme of things & had no real context to the scenes.

Final Verdict: ‘Ani..Dr. Kashinath Ghanekar’ is a film that doesn’t really have any major flaws yet the positives of the film aren’t that impactful. The film entertains & serves the purpose of documenting the life of a flawed superstar but it lacks the magic that it promised in it’s teasers & trailers.

Rating: 3/5

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This Diwali Marathi cinema has a bumper release, the much awaited ‘Ani..Dr. Kashinath Ghanekar’ biopic of Marathi theatre’s first superstar starring the current Marathi star Subodh Bhave as Dr. Ghanekar. Moreover the film also features many renowned actor portraying roles of legends from that golden period of Marathi theatre. We are sure that you have already made your plans to watch this film in theatres, yet if you are in two minds we give you top 7 reasons to not miss ‘Ani..Dr. Kashinath Ghanekar’ in theatres!

• The Astounding Star Cast! 

With Subodh Bhave in the lead as Dr. Kashinath Ghanekar, this marks his third biopic after ‘Bal Gandharva’ & ‘Lokmanya – Ek Yugpurush’! The audiences associate a certain sense of trust with the name of Subodh Bhave & this film is no different! Along with him the film has a very strong cast which includes Prasad Oak as ‘Prabhakar Panshikar’, Sumeet Raghavan as ‘Dr. Shriram Lagoo’, Sonali Kulkarni as ‘Sulochna Tai’, Anand Ingle as ‘Vasant Kanetkar’ & Mohan Joshi as ‘Bhalji Pendharkar’ among others!

• The Volatile Personality of Dr. Kashinath Ghanekar 

Dr. Kashinath Ghanekar was supremely talented yet he had a very unpredictable & volatile personality which is also evident from the trailer & teasers of the film! His most successful roles had a sense of aggression in them, whether it was of Sambhaji Raje or of ‘Lalya’ from the play ‘Ashrunchi Jhali Phule’! He was also suffering from alcoholism in a phase of his life. Such unpredictable personality makes for exciting material for a biopic!

• The Complex Love life of Dr. Ghanekar!

Dr. Kashinath Ghanekar was already married to a doctor even before he entered the Marathi theatre fraternity. But later in his life he fell in love with a much younger woman than him! Who was that woman? And what was her equation with the star? What was it about her that inspired the star so much? All of that can be known after watching the film!

• The Golden Period of Marathi Theatre!

Those were the times when the Marathi society’s biggest obsession was nothing but Marathi theatre! Dr. Kashinath Ghanekar recreated that craze among the audiences for Marathi theatre. Moreover there were so many talented actors like Prabhakar Panshikar, Dr. Lagoo & others all functioning at same time as Dr. Kashinath Ghanekar. The audiences truly get an opportunity to relive that era through ‘Ani..Dr. Kashinath Ghanekar’!

• Honest Depiction of a Star’s Life!

Writer-director Abhijeet Deshpande has clearly specified from the very beginning that this film won’t be glorifying Dr. Ghanekar. It believes in honest depiction of his life. The director believes that the audiences relate to a person who is flawed. A flawed personality makes that character more human beyond the glorious image that a star has in the limelight! So we can say that the film is interested in the human side of the star!

• Vaidehi Parshurami as the Surprise Package!

Vaidehi Parshurami plays a very significant role in the film, a much younger girl than Dr. Ghanekar who falls in love with him & is also a huge fan of him. The character is essential in the perspective that has been used in the film, as the film is based on the book written by this very person! Vaidehi Parshurami previously seen in few films promises to be the surprise package of ‘Ani..Dr. Kashinath Ghanekar’!

• The Solid Backing of ‘Viacom’

Earlier in the year ‘Viacom’ has gifted the Marathi audiences with ‘Aapla Manus’ & ‘Cycle’. Now they are all set with a grand Diwali gift in the form of ‘Ani..Dr. Kashinath Ghanekar’. The production house has earned great amount of credibility in very less time. It also promises a grand release for the film so that audiences from all corners can enjoy this film in theatres this Diwali!  

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Ever since the first teaser of ‘Ani..Dr. Kashinath Ghanekar’ came out the dialogues of ‘Lalya’ a character Dr. Ghanekar portrayed have again become popular among the audiences. The way Subodh Bhave says ‘Kadak’ has already become so iconic! Now a full fledged song dedicated to ‘Lalya’ has been revealed!

The character of ‘Lalya’ represented a free spirited carefree attitude that the audiences of those times found fascinating! Moreover Dr. Ghanekar too lived with a similar carefree attitude in his life! This song captures the essence of that carefree attitude perfectly!

Penned by Sachin Pathak, sung by Nakash Aziz & composed Rohan – Rohan this song introduces both ‘Lalya’ & Dr. Ghanekar in a fun way! The film also stars stalwarts like Sonali Kulkarni, Sumeet Raghavan, Mohan Joshi, Prasad Oak, Anand Ingle & others in iconic roles of stars & personalities from the golden age of Marathi theatre. ‘Ani..Dr. Kashinath Ghanekar’ hits theatres this diwali on 8th November!

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Subodh Bhave is currently on a role, this year he has been ruling on both Marathi cinema & now with the success of ‘Tula Pahate Re’ he has again become a household star who meets the audiences daily through their T.V. But at same time his hugely anticipate biopic of Dr. Kashinath Ghanekar is all set to release this diwali. The trailer of ‘Ani..Dr.Kashinath Ghanekar’ has impressed the audiences & critics all alike & everyone is expecting a huge blockbuster for Marathi cinema this Diwali when the film releases on 8^th November! Here’s Subodh Bhave’s views on Theatre & Dr. Kashinath Ghanekar!

Sir, we all are aware that you started your acting career with theatre! Tell us which are your favourite Marathi Plays of all time!

One play I just can’t forget is ‘Dhyanimani’! It starred Shivaji Satam & Neena Kulkarni back then! And then all plays of Satish Tare! I have loved every play that I have seen of his & I have always been a huge fan of his!

Did you get a chance to watch Dr.Kashinath Ghanekar perform live on theatre? Or did you read his plays?

No, I didn’t get the chance. I was in 5^th Std. when he died. But I remember one monologue of his from the play ‘Raygadala Jevha Jag Yete’. I used perform that in my program. I hadn’t read his other plays. And for ‘Ani..Dr. Kashinath Ghanekar’ I followed Abhijit Deshpande’s script as he had thoroughly researched on Dr. Ghanekar & his life & his work in theatre!

Now that you’ve played him in the film, you are aware of the characters he played. If you get a chance, which of his characters would you like to play on theatre?

I had seen the play ‘Ashrunchi Jhali Phule’! Not starring Dr. Ghanekar, but the later adaptation where Shreyas Talpade played his part! I find that role fascinating & I would any day love to play the character of ‘Lalya’ from ‘Ashrunchi Jhali Phule’!

You have now played the role of a theatre artist in the medium of cinema, if you get a chance to play the role of a theatre artist in theatre, what would you enjoy more?

To me the medium isn’t important. Getting to do good characters in any mediums is important! Whether it is cinema or theatre or even serials, to me the character on it’s own is more important & not the medium! If I get a chance to play Dr. Ghanekar’s role in theatre I would surely do it, if time & other things permit me!

Do you think if Dr. Kashinath Ghanekar was alive today & was functioning in today’s modern world of films! What fun would have he had as an actor?

I am not sure if he would have done films had he been working today! Even today he would have done theatre as films didn’t really connect with him. Both biopics that I have done of artists; Bal Gandharva & Dr. Kashinath Ghanekar, never enjoyed working in cinema. Because both of them had a direct connect with the audience, they loved the ‘live’ medium of theatre!

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‘Ani..Dr.Kashinath Ghanekar’ is Marathi cinema’s big Diwali release this year. It stars a brigade of Marathi Stars; Subodh Bhave, Sumit Raghvan, Sonali Kulkarni, Prasad Oak, Anand Ingle, Mohan Joshi & others playing Marathi Stars of the yesteryears! And the captain of this grand ship is the writer turned director Abhijeet Deshpande! After writing many a hit films like ‘De Dhakka’, ‘Mi Shivajiraje Bhosale Boltoy’ & ‘Lalbaug Parel’ he is all set to announce himself as a director! Here’s his views about the film & the process!

Today a dream of yours is coming to life! How old is this dream? & how does it feel?

From around 2005 to 2018, 13 years! And the dream connected to ‘Kashinath Ghanekar’ is around 5-6 years old! 6 years ago this idea came into my mind & I started writing. I begin with the research necessary for the film. It took me around 3 years to write the film! After that around one & a half to two years went in preparing for the film. Then the shoot of the film took 2 years!

There are so many iconic Marathi Stars from the yesteryears. Why ‘Dr. Kashinath Ghanekar’?

I was fascinated by the character! It’s never been seen in our films & maybe after ‘Ani..Dr. Kashinath Ghanekar’ it won’t happen again! The life journey of this character is so huge. Dr. Ghanekar was obviously talented, that’s like a by default for every great theatre artist of ours. The personal journey of Dr. Ghanekar was very complex & dramatic. Moreover he initiated a huge change in Marathi theatre. It was a new era for Marathi theatre, the shift from class to mass had happened & the youth were attracted towards it because of Dr. Ghanekar. And his personal journey too, we have shown all of it as it is, without any glorification!

How do you think the audiences would react to your honest approach of telling Dr. Ghanekar’s story as it is?

I think today’s audiences is more open to different subjects. They like ‘human’ characters which can be flawed & vulnerable. And Dr. Kashinath Ghanekar was that exact ‘human’ character! I am thankful to Viacom & Nikhil Sane for giving me complete freedom in telling Dr. Ghanekar’s story without holding anything back.

How did Subodh Bhave’s name come to your mind? Was he in your vision from the writing stage itself?

No, Dr. Ghanekar himself was in my vision when I was writing. But then when I knew that there is so much complexity in this character & in the story, I wanted an actor who can project all those different shades of the same person! Subodh in reality is an exact opposite of Dr. Ghanekar. But that’s the fun part, that there’s a challenge for Subodh & his skills to portray a character that is completely different from his personality or even his previous characters. Moreover for the audiences too it’s more exciting to see Subodh in a new avatar!

You have been working in Marathi & Hindi films as a writer for years! How has that experience of yours helped you in direction?

‘Ani..Kashinath Ghanekar’ stars so many brilliant & big actors that too playing iconic actors of the yesteryears. Now as a director I am a first timer, but what helped me is the understanding of the script! For example when a cinematographer turns a director, it’s a given that his film will have beautiful visuals, when an editor turns director his film’s editing will show brilliance in editing. Same way when a writer turns a director, his content has to be good! The challenging part for me was to bring out the desired performances from my actors, & after interaction with my actors I did pull it off.

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The trailer of ‘Ani..Dr. Kashinath Ghanekar’ starring Subodh Bhave in the title role excited the audiences about the film! As much love Subodh has got for his portrayal of ‘Dr. Ghanekar’ from  the trailer equal amount of love & fascination is being expressed on Sumit Raghvan’s portrayal of ‘Dr. Shriram Lagooo’! Here’s what the talented actor has to say about the film & his work!

How would you describe playing the role of Dr. Lagoo in ‘Ani..Dr.Kashinath Ghanekar’? Was it challenging or frightening?

I am really thankful to Abhijit (Abhijit Deshpande, the director) & Nikhil Sane for giving me this role. I did feel the pressure while playing this role as Dr. Lagoo is with us today! Dr. Lagoo is an acting school on his own! And in this film there’s a conflict between the two schools of acting that Dr. Lagoo & Dr. Ghanekar represent! I didn’t understand how to react when this role was offered to me, because Dr. Lagoo himself will be watching this film! He even saw my play ‘Hamlet’ & he met me after the play & he was teary eyed! So now playing him in a film is very emotional & challenging for me!

What exactly is your role in this film? Is it a cameo or an extended cameo or something else?

In a way yes, I am playing a cameo. But Dr. Lagoo’s character is very important in the film, in shaping the screenplay of the film! Dr. Ghanekar was a very different actor than Dr. Lagoo. Dr. Ghanekar was flamboyant, & he played to the gallery, while Dr. Lagoo was more within him & more studious as an actor. Dr. Lagoo was like Rahul Dravid & Dr. Ghanekar was like Sehwag!

Dr. Lagoo once said that an actor has to be an athlete! I think it applies to you perfectly as you look the same as you looked 10 years ago! How do you think the fitness of an actor helps an actor in his acting?

See when I am fit physically the audiences have scope to watch me in different roles! Today I am 47 years old, if I start looking my age I won’t be able to fit into different roles! Moreover an actor’s body is like his own instrument. And even after that the shelf life of an actor is less. You get around 25 years! And only great fitness can let you extent it to even 50 years!

We’ve seen you in Hindi films, serials & in Marathi but your mother tongue is Tamil! Would you ever be interested in dong Tamil films?

I would love too! That’s the language that is spoken in my house by my parents. While I am not an expert in Tamil, I definitely communicate in it & with a bit of homework I can certainly be comfortable to do a Tamil film!  

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Subodh Bhave starer ‘Ani..Dr. Kashinath Ghanekar‘ is nearing its release date which is 8th November. While the audiences are all set to watch the film in big numbers, a new sift romantic song from the film has been revealed! Suddenly this soulful romantic song gives another dimension to the film.

Picturized on Vaidehi Parshurami & Subodh Bhave this song captures the essence of falling in love. Sung by Sharayu Date & composed by Ajit Parab, the beautiful lyrics of the song are penned by Guru Thakur. Vaidehi Parshurami plays the character of Dr. Ghanekar’s second wife in the film. Though there was a huge age gap between the two, the song certainly shows that love is not bounded by the age gap!

Directed by Abhijeet Deshpande & starring a brigade of other stars from Sonali Kulkarni, Sumeet Raghavan, Prasad Oak, Mohan Joshi, & others ‘Ani..Dr. Kashinath Ghanekar’ is the big Diwali release for Marathi cinema this time & it promises to recreate the golden period of Marathi theatre on the cinema screen!

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Popularly known as one of the most iconic songs in Marathi cinema, ‘Gomu Sangtina‘ starring Dr. Kashinath Ghanekar & Asha Kale from the film ‘Ha Khel Savlyancha‘ has now been recreated for Dr. Ghanekar’s Biopic ‘Ani..Dr. Kashinath Ghanekar‘. As we all know Subodh Bhave plays Dr. Ghanekar in the film, the excitement was to see which Marathi actress of today’s times would fit in the place of the legendary actress Asha Kale!

Prajakta Mali suits the bill perfectly it seems! Both Subodh & Prajakta have captured the energy of the original song pitch perfectly in this recreation. Originally sung by Asha Bhosale & Hemant Kumar & composed by Hridaynath Mangeshkar, the new version uses the same vocals of the legendary singers. The further remastering of the song has been done by singer-composer Ajit Parab!

‘Ani..Kashinath Ghanekar’ is Marathi cinema’s grand diwali gift to the Marathi audiences! The teaser, trailer & now this song have excited the audiences towards the film. So don’t forget to watch meet Dr. Ghanekar again in theatres from 8th November!

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