Marathi cinema over the years has always made it’s presence felt at the National film awards. Last year Marathi cinema bagged all the big prizes from best director to best film. This year though we have bagged less awards we have still made our presence felt.

Prasad Oak directorial ‘Kaccha Limbu’ has bagged the prestigious Best Marathi film award. Ravi Jadhav has expressed his happiness regarding the same through his social media handle & has also mentioned that his film was ignored completely at the State film awards! Nagraj Manjule has bagged his second national award for a short film for his film ‘Pavsacha Nibandh’, he was awarded Best Director (Short Film).

Nipun Dharmadhikari too was awarded in an important section. His first film ‘Dhappa’ (he made this film before Baapjanma) has bagged the Nargis Dutt award for best film on National Integration. Along with that Best children film went to Marathi film ‘Mhorkya’, the director of ‘Mhorkya’ Yashraj Karhade also got a special mention for his direction.

Best Editing award also went to a Marathi film called ‘Mrutyubhog’. Best Non-feature Short Film award went to ‘Mayat’ by Suyash Shinde & Best Promotional Film went to ‘Chanderimama’ by Rajendra Jangle.

We congratulate all the winners & we hope our films keep on winning National awards every year & the audiences too get to savour these films in theatres.

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2017 has been a sad year at the box-office for Marathi cinema. But that doesn’t mean that we didn’t have great films! In fact it’s one of the best years for Marathi cinema in recent times in terms of pure content. Genres of different kinds where explored by many young filmmakers. Some well made & well marketed commercial films like ‘Faster Fene’ & ‘Ti Saddhya Kay Karte’ did make fair amount of connect with the audiences. A film like ‘Boyz’ proved that a film doesn’t always need the backing of a strong studio to reach the audiences. We look at 2017 as the year where we couldn’t come of age from the ‘Sairat Fever’, yet there was hope that the audiences would reward good films.

Honourable Mentions:

• Ti Ani Ittar

Directed by veteran Hindi director Govind Nihalani ‘Ti Ani Ittar’ had a very strong subject & an ensemble cast of Subodh Bhave, Sonali Kulkarni, Amruta Subhash & others who all gave great performances.

• Manjha

A true blue psychological thriller with top notch performances by the young hero & villain, had the film not faltered drastically in its last 10-15 minutes or so it could have well been in our top 5.

• Braveheart

Based on a true story, a young man’s battle against a deadly disease, ‘Braveheart’ took us through his everyday struggle & his strong bond with his father. Sangram Samel & Arun Nalawade’s performances where are also crucial to the film.

• Lapachhapi

Probably the only effective ‘horror’ film in Marathi at least in the last two decades or so! Lapachhapi also dealt with other social subjects beneath its basic genre.

Top 10 Marathi Movies of 2017!

10) Gachchi

This refreshing entertainer starring two very natural actors Priya Bapat & Abhay Mahajan ended 2017 for Marathi cinema on a good note. One of the film’s strongest aspects apart from the performances, writing & direction was the inventive use of background music. Read Full Review.

9) Ti Saddhya Kay Karte

The film that gave a romantic start to 2017 for Marathi cinema was like a breath of fresh air. Though the film starred two incompetent debutants in important roles, the performances we took back with us where of the little Anurag-Tanvi & the adult Anurag-Tanvi (Ankush Chaudhari & Tejashri Pradhan). Read Full Review.

8) Faster Fene

A genre defining detective entertainer! An all-round effort from writing, acting, directing, cinematography, editing & background score without a single compromise! And the latest good news is that ‘Faster Fene 2’ is soon going on floors! Read Full Review.

7) Muramba

A film that redefined the traditional ‘family drama’ genre for Marathi cinema! A quadrangular acting tournament between Sachin Khedekar, Chinmayee Sumeet, Amey Wagh & Mithila Palkar was lost by none! Read Full Review.

6) Shentimental

Starring Marathi cinema’s greatest actor Ashok ‘Mama’ Saraf in a fantastical setting of a crime investigative comedy! A perfect blend of humour, emotions & reality ‘Shentimental’ presented the world of our police in a wholly new way! Read Full Review.

5) Nadi Vahte

Made by the director of ‘Shwas’, ‘Nadi Vahate’ is realistic cinema at its most unadulterated form. Everything about this film looked so real, the actors didn’t seem to act, the conflict seemed so relatable & the village in the film too looked & behaved like a real village & not a setup! Read Full Review.

4) Baapjanma

Written & directed by Nipun Dharmadhikari ‘Baapjanma’ took us by surprise! It had a very novel sense of humour & the most interesting central character of this year for Marathi. Bhaskar Pandit played with magical ease by Sachin Khedekar was not an ordinary father with ordinary conflicts! This film is now available on a legal streaming medium & can be enjoyed many times as it has tremendous repeat value. Read Full Review.

3) Kaasav

The national award winner for Best film! Kaasav’s symbolism & calm nature takes more than a single watch to let it percolate inside us. Filmmakers Sumitra Bhave & Sunil Sukthankar proved that they are only getting better & better with age & are crafting films that become more than just films, but experiences for a patient & understanding audience. Read Full Review.

2) Ringan

There’s something about father-son bonds in cinema. We have around 4 films in this list that present it in different ways. Ringan was the most heartfelt among these. A film so pure in its optimism that inspires us to hang in there as some day we would break the circle of sorrow & enter the circle of happiness & in such a way continuing a ‘Ringan’! Read Full Review.

1) Kaccha Limbu

The boldest Marathi cinema in my memory! Prasad Oak as a director didn’t held back one bit while translating this heart wrenching tale written by great Marathi writer Jaywant Dalvi on screen. There are moments in this film that can go down in the history of Indian cinema as the most difficult moments to watch on screen! But it’s sad that the film was ignored by our audiences & couldn’t last in theatres for more than a weak in Mumbai & almost all other places in Maharashtra. Read Full Review.

Note: The top four films in the list; Kachcha Limbu, Ringan, Kaasav & Baapjanma have very little in between them & we gave 4.5 stars out of 5 to all four of them in our reviews!

– By Abhay Salvi

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2017 has been a different year! Different because the whole Film industry has seen extreme peak points with success of Bahubali 2 & Dangal! The other film industries with ease proved that their films are full proof from all kinds of social political changes that are happening in our country. Sadly that’s not the case with Marathi cinema. Our films have been affected by these changes for sure. Apart from a few exceptions our films haven’t really worked on the box office. But the better news is that our audiences have still backed few good works that came out in 2017 so far, in the first half.

5. Braveheart

Though Braveheart was not technically perfect, it had a powerful soul in it’s story. The real life inspiring story of Nikhil Karkhanis who fights a deadly disease without losing hope or losing his love for life! The strongest aspect of Braveheart was Sangram Samel’s performance as Nikhil & the chemistry he shared with his father portrayed by Arun Nalawade.
Read our Review of Braveheart HERE

4. Chi Va Chi Sau Ka

Romcom as a genre has been lately been explored too often by Marathi cinema. But Paresh Mokashi and co-writer Madhugandha Kulkarni give this love story a fresh spin by incorporating a unique twist in the tale. Lalit Prabahakar and Mrunmayee Godbole share a warm chemistry that makes their characters and performances even more relatable.
Read our Full Review of Chi Va Chi Sau Ka HERE

3. Ti Saddhya Kay Karte

Satish Rajwade’s Ti Saddhya Kay Karte gave a solid beginning to 2017 for Marathi cinema. A unique rom com that didn’t follow any set pattern. Ankush Chaudhari’s performance both as an actor & narrator lifted the whole calibre of the film. Though debutants Aarya Ambekar & Abhinay Berde could have been better the film still entertained us thoroughly. Not to forget a refreshing performance by Tejashri Pradhan.
Read our Review of Ti Saddhya Kay Karte HERE

2. Muramba

Another fantastic take on the Rom Com genre. But debutant director Varun Narvekar’s Muramba was beyond just that. It was a family drama set in today’s time, today’s sensibilities. Varun proved that a good script, systematic approach to the craft & using the aesthetics of cinema visually & through music is enough for the audiences to love your film. A huge budget is not a necessity. The film relied equally on the shoulders of the cast Amey Wagh, Mithila Palkar, Sachin Khedekar & Chinmayee Sumeet who gave literally perfect performances.
Read our Review of Muramba HERE

1. Ringan

The best Marathi film of 2017 so far & probably the best Marathi film in recent years of Marathi cinema. Ringan’s strongest aspect was it’s simplicity. In the plot, in the treatment & in the performances. Shashank Shende & the little Sahil Joshi as father & son showed heartfelt chemistry. Director Makarand Mane’s clarity of his intentions can also be credited in the success of Ringan. The holy city of Pandharpur has a connect with us & Ringan reinstated our belief in it & strengthened the positivity within us.
Read our Review of Ringan HERE

– Abhay Salvi

The post Top 5 Marathi Movies of 2017 So Far (First Half)! appeared first on MarathiStars.

2016 has been an eventful year but still a complex year to analyze. The year started out on a commercially great note with ‘Natsamrat’ that became the highest grossing Marathi film back then. Only to be surpassed in few months by the 100 Crore grosser ‘Sairat’! And since then this year belongs mostly to Sairat. After a long gap around November ‘Ventialtor’ did stand the test by making considerable profit on the box-office, but again the ‘demonetisation’ impact postponed many big Marathi releases & affected the ongoing releases! However this list of ours is predominantly designed to represent films judged only on the basis of content, quality & cinematic greatness!

Phuntroo

Sujay Dahake’s third feature film, a mightily ambitious sci-fi romance starring Madan Deodhar, Ketaki Mategaonkar & Shivraj Waichal is definitely the most technically sublime Marathi film ever made. Yes there are issues with its second half that is plain incompetent that ends hurriedly & almost ridicules our interest in the film but still ‘Phuntroo’ is an important film merely for what it achieves with visual effects! Add to that some really brilliant dialogues & strong performances from a young & talented cast!

Bho Bho

Starring the king of Marathi theatre Prashant Damle in the role of an eccentric detective who has a soft corner for dogs! Bho Bho has three different genres submerged together. It works on two of its subgenres one a ‘comedy’ & other a ‘melodrama’. Where it doesn’t work is ‘murder mystery’ which is actually the main genre of the film. Even with that error the heartfelt believability that Prashant Damle brings to this common man turned detective connects with us & makes the whole process enjoyable!

Chaurya

Director Sameer Asha Patil shows traces of western filmmaker Tarantino in his debut feature film that’s based on incidents that took place at a prominent religious centre of Maharashtra. It fictionalizes & even stylizes the happenings & tries to indulge the audience with a pretty different (for Marathi) approach to the narrative. Again alike many films this year Chaurya could have been more effective had it worked more on its second half. Having said that Sameer Asha Patil is definitely a director to watch for in the future!

Ventilator

Priyanka Chopra’s debut film as a producer, Bollywood’s filmmaker Rajesh Mapuskar’s first Marathi feature & Ashutosh Gowariker’s comeback to acting! ‘Ventilator’ had a burden of expectations & it did fulfill them to much extent. A simple story that touches your heart was brought to life by a brigade of talented Marathi & non-Marathi actors. Shining the brightest were Jitendra Joshi & senior playwright Satish Alekar! Though the satirical dark comedy that Mapuskar aspired for in the first half could have been more sharper, less repetitive & a bit subtle!

Ranga Patanga

Makarand Anaspure for once was not cracking lame jokes or dancing out of rhythm on a item song. ‘Ranga Patanga’ was a strong & emotionally effective, realistic rural film. The journey of a man who is looking for his two bulls ‘Ranga’ & ‘Patanga’. The ironic part is that this poor man is a muslim by religion. This year itself a law was passed by our government which put a ban on killing of cows & eating of beef. This film made a subtle social statement on how the poor suffers for basic necessities & the media-system make a fool out of them.

Half Ticket

The official remake of ‘Kaaka Mutthai’, ‘Half Ticket’ had a gem of a heart, a beautiful example of simplistic filmmaking. Though it didn’t maintain the realistic flavor from its original it still made the necessary impact on us. The little stars Shubham More & Vinayak Potdar are exceptional in the film & that helps the feel good feeling of this film. The music, cinematography & the background score complements the film soulfully. The film propagated a beautiful message that no matter what we should keep dreaming & keep working to fulfill our dreams!

Family Katta

Chandrakant Kulkarni’s ‘Family Katta’ was a refreshing take on a classic Marathi genre ‘Family Drama’! The film was based on a play made by the same team but the way cinematographer Mahesh Limaye shot the film it didn’t remind us one bit that we are watching something that was first a play. The film has two really strong female performances from Vandana Gupte & Sai Tamhankar. Family Katta is not a moral lesson about the importance of traditional family values instead it was a beautiful commentary on the need of togetherness!

Kaul

The most talked about Marathi movie of 2016 (of course after Sairat!). ‘Kaul’ challenged the basic rule of filmmaking i.e the audio-video interpretation. It’s a difficult film to interpret if we are obsessively stressing ourselves to do the unnecessary mathematical hard work. Instead if we relax & simply go with the film’s audio-visual flow & enjoy its surrealist nature, we are in for a treat! Experiencing Kaul is a one of a kind ‘Original’ experience to be cherished forever. There are some theatres that are still screening the film, if you haven’t seen it yet you should definitely experience it!

Astu

Well technically ‘Astu’ did release back in 2013 but only in a single theatre! It’s sad & still inspiring that ‘Astu’ had to be re-released in 2016. The makers of the film Sumitra Bhave & Sunil Sukthankar opted for support from the audience through the process of crowd funding. The film starring Dr. Mohan Agashe, Irawati Harshe, Amruta Subhash & Milind Soman is a deeply philosophical film that uses the device of Alzheimer’s disease. The film is an spiritual experience that make us question our purpose of existence & the sense it makes in the overall concept of existing!

Sairat

Come on! You already knew the number one Marathi film of 2016! It’s ‘Sairat’ & we won’t be going over the top to also call it the number one Indian film of 2016. Yes in the whole Indian scenario of popular Hindi films & regional cinema ‘Sairat’ is a milestone! Nagraj Manjule redefined the age old rich girl-poor boy love story completely! What it also had which no other Indian film of its genre ever hard was a strong context of social divide. The music of Sairat is equally responsible for its success & so are the many little cinematic elements that make the filmore wholesome & tremendously increase its repeat value for viewers of all kind![td_smart_list_end]

Important Mentions:

• YZ
• Vazandar
• Natsamrat
• Jaundya Na Balasaheb
• Poshter Girl
  All these 5 films are mentioned here mainly because they had an important commercial & popular impact in 2016. Among these ‘YZ’ & ‘Vazandar’ could have almost been in our top 10. These films had much scope to become better films than what they actually are. They do show sparks in certain aspects but overall they could have been better!

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10.72 MILES -EK PRAVAS

Produced by : Akshay Kumar, Ashvini Yardi
Directed by : Rajeev Patil
Story : Based on Ashok Vatkar’s autobiography
Star Cast : Smita Tambe,,Chinmay Sant, Chinmay Kambli, Sharavani Solaskar and Isha Mane

It takes great skills to narrate a journey with a lot of tragedies in a non-depressing manner. Those skills were shown by the late Rajeev Patil in 72 Miles – Ek Pravas. Despite the numerous sad incidents, the film manages to make you smile eventually. It is also blessed by some excellent performances from Chinmay Girish Sant and Smita Tambe. Read Full Review

9.Narbachi Wadi (2013)

Produced by : Kalyan Guha, Rupali Guha
Directed by : Aditya Ajay Sarpotdar
Story : Guru Thakur
Star Cast : Dilip Prabhavalkar,Manoj Joshi, Nikhil Ratnaparakhi, Atul Parchure, Kishori Shahane, Vikas Kadam, Jyoti Malde, Bhau kadam and Kamlakar Satpute

Aditya Ajay Sarpotdar’s film is a simple and amusingly funny tale that strikes many a chords. This was also largely possible due to an apt performance by veteran Dilip Prabhavalkar. It once again reminds us that simplicity alone can provide pots of entertainment. Read Full Review

8.Anumati (2013)

Directed by : Gajendra Ahire
Story : Guru Thakur
Star Cast : Vikram Gokhale, Reema Lagoo, Neena Kulkarni, Subodh Bhave, Sai Tamhankar, Kishor Kadam, Arun Nalavde,Rohan Mankani,Neha Pendse

Respected veteran Vikram Gokhale’s performance in this film had the capacity to move even a stone-hearted person. As he goes about struggling to save his wife, we are also subjected to some blissful visuals of the Konkan region. The scenes between Gokhale and Reema Lagoo too are truly memorable. Read Full Review

7.Samhita – The Script (2013)

Directed by : Sumitra Bhave – Sunil Sukthankar
Story : Sumitra Bhave
Star Cast : Milind Soman, Devika Daftardar, Rajeshwari Sachdeva, Uttara Baokar, Jyoti Subhash, Sarang Sathye, Ashwini Giri, Dr. Sharad Bhutadia, Dr. Shekhar Kulkarni, Neha Mahajan

The most visually stunning film of the year also impressed with the way two starkly different eras were overlapped so intelligently. The film also made it clear that Devika Daftardar deserves many more films. This one surely deserved a much better run at the box office. Read Full Review

6.Time Please (2013)

Directed by : Sameer Vidwans
Written By : Kshitij Patwardhan
Star Cast : Umesh Kamat, Priya Bapat, Sai Tamhankar, Siddharth Jadhav, Vandana Gupte, Seema Deshmukh, Madhav Abhynkar

A married couple falling apart isn’t a new topic. But this thought won’t cross your mind while watching this film simply due to the maturity in the writing and direction. Although Umesh Kamat, Priya Bapat and Sai Tamhankar performed very well, it is Siddharth Jadhav’s character of Himmatrao that produces many a smiles. Read Full Review

5.Pitruroon (2013)

Directed by : Nitish Bharadwaj
Written By : Based on a story by Sudha Murthy
Star Cast : Sachin Khedekar, Tanuja, Suhas Joshi, Ketaki Palav, Omkar Kulkarni, Poorvi Bhave, Madhavi Soman, Om Bhutkar, Chandrashekhar Kulkarni, Uma Sardeshmukh

Sudha Murthy’s impressive story that had both thrilling and emotional elements worked well here. Nitish Bharadwaj, who had played the memorable character of Shree Krishna in B R Chopra’s Mahabharat, showed his skills as a director in his very first film. But it would be unfair not to mention Sachin Khedekar’s notable performance while playing two different characters. Read Full Review

4.Popat (2013)

Directed by : Satish Rajwade
Written By : Satish Rajwade
Star Cast : Atul Kulkarni, Siddharth Menon, Ketan Pawar, Amey Wagh, Anita Date, Neha Shitole, Megha Ghadge

Satish Rajwade pleasantly surprised the audience by giving an important social message in a humorous and extremely light-hearted manner. This was also possible due to Atul Kulkarni’s brilliant act and the chemistry between the four main characters. With this film, Rajwade further imposed his stamp as one of the best directors in the Marathi film industry currently. Read Full Review

3.Premachi Goshta (2013)

Directed by : Satish Rajwade
Star Cast : Atul Kulkarni,Sagarika Ghatage,Rohini Hattangadi,Sulekha Talwalkar,Meera Velankar,Ajay Purkar,Satish Rajwade

There are good romantic films but there are very few that make you fall in love with love. This film, again by Rajwade, is surely one such that shines due to the various degrees of simplicity in every department. Smart characterization and heart-warming presentation make you feel for the lead pair of Atul Kulkarni and Sagarika Ghatge, making sure you root for them and their love story. Read Full Review

2.BP (Balak Palak) (2013)

Directed by : Ravi Jadhav
Star Cast : Prathamesh Parab,Shashwati Pimplikar,Madan Devdhar,Bhagyashree Shankpal,Rohit Phalke,Sai Tamhankar,Subodh Bhave,Amruta Subhash

Ravi Jadhav brings a winner by portraying a tale about teenage introduction to sex and porn without being vulgar or cheap whatsoever. Apart from the amusing characters of four kids, what makes the film special is the fact that it’s a laugh-riot but at the same time high on emotions. Read Full Review

1.Tuhya Dharma Koncha? (2013)

Directed by :  Satish Manwar
Star Cast : Upendra Limaye, Vibhawari Deshpande, Kishore Kadam

This is a rare gem of a film by Satish Manwar where it is too difficult to find a single flaw or negative point. Despite the film being a serious tale about the struggle of a tribal family and their decision to convert, you just can’t put your eyes off it due to the film excelling in all departments. The visual narration of the climax, without the use of dialogues, deserves special mention. It is sad that the film wasn’t seen by a large section of the audience. Read Full Review

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