• Movie : Happy Journey (2014)
• Director : Sachin Kundalkar
• Producer : Sanjay Chhabria
• Writer : Sachin Kundalkar
• Cast :
  • Atul Kulkarni – Niranjan
  • Priya Bapat – Janaki
  • Pallavi Subhash – Alice
  • Siddharth Menon – ajinkya
  • Chitra Palekar – Ansuya (Alice’s Mother)
  • Shiv Subramanian – Andrew (Alice’s Father)
  • Suhita Thatte – Niranjan & Janaki’s Mother
  • Madhav Abhyankar – Niranjan & Janaki’s Father
• Music : Karan Kulkarni
• Review By : Keyur Seta

Rating: ****

Review:

The title of Sachin Kundalkar’s Happy Journey is misleading, but in a good way. The film actually is a very happy journey; one which forces you to introspect and question yourself while you are filled with delight. It is yet another contemporary Marathi film with an international appeal.

Happy Journey revolves around the 35-year-old Niranjan (Atul Kulkarni) and his younger sister Janaki (Priya Bapat) and their unexpected and life-changing journey. Later on, Alice (Pallavi Subhash), Niranjan’s school friend, also becomes a part of the voyage.

After the initial few minutes, anybody’s obvious guess would be to see the film head into an obvious, particular direction. However, not only are we proved wrong but we are also dished out a huge surprise or a pleasant shock, if we can call it, in terms of the basic plot. The subject is way different form what we have seen in the promos, where the makers have smartly hidden it.

To simply put it, the storyline is unique. This itself is the biggest plus point. But the end result was possible due to Kundalkar’s mature handling of a sensitive subject. As the journey moves ahead, various layers are unveiled, which make you think a lot by just the visual medium. In other words, the film says a lot without saying much. Of course, there are emotional and, on few occasions, tear-jerking moments but they are in no way depressing.

The subject is such that it also has its share of flaws. There are few other questionable moments too, especially in the second half, where the pace also dips a bit. Thankfully, these issues don’t play spoilsport.

DoP Rangarajan Ramabadran has spectacularly captured the beautiful locations of the Konkan region. His work plays a large role in creating the desired effect. Karan Kulkarni composed tracks are soulful and they go perfectly with the situations.

Atul Kulkarni is easily one of the finest artists of the era. So it doesn’t come as a surprise that he delivers yet another outstandingly believable act while playing a complex character. But the scene-stealer is Priya Bapat. You just can’t stop adoring her due to the manner in which she gets her act right. Pallavi Subhash once again shows signs of talent. There is some issue with her Marathi pronunciation but it might be deliberate to go with her Catholic background.

Veteran artist Chitra Palekar returns as an actor after 32 years with this film. Despite having just a couple of scenes, we can say she has made a terrific comeback. Shiv Subramaniam too leaves behind a mark in just a single scene. Suhita Thatte, Madhav Abhyankar and Siddharth Menon play their respective characters perfectly.

Overall:

Happy Journey is an example of a modern tale, which is high on content. Given the end result and the presence of big names, the film will score well at the box office.

The post Review: Happy Journey – A soul-stirring voyage appeared first on MarathiStars.

• Movie : Happy Journey (2014)
• Producer : Sanjay Chhabria
• Director : Sachin Kundalkar
• Studio : Everest Entertainment
• Starring :
  • Atul Kulkarni – Niranjan
  • Priya Bapat – Janaki
  • Pallavi Subhash – Alice
  • Siddharth Menon – ajinkya
  • Chitra Palekar – Ansuya (Alice’s Mother)
  • Shiv Subramanian – Andrew (Alice’s Father)
  • Suhita Thatte – Niranjan & Janaki’s Mother
  • Madhav Abhyankar – Niranjan & Janaki’s Father
• Writer : Sachin Kundalkar
• Music : Karan Kulkarni
• Lyrics : Omkar Kulkarni. Tejas Modak . Kshitij patwardhan
• DOP : Rangarajan Ramabadran
• Sound : Pramod Thomas
• Editing : Jayant Jathar
• Production designer : Tejas Modak
• Art : Ajay Sharma
• Costume Stylist : Amit Divekar
• Executive Producer : Ranjit Gugle
• Creative Producer : Sameer Joshi
• Costume Designer : Amit Divekar
• Production Designer : Tejas Modak
• Publicity Designer : Sachin Bavkar
• Release Date : 28th November 2014

Synopsis :
It all happened once upon a time in a beautiful town.
A man returned to his hometown.
He was angry, hurt and lonely. He came all detached.
Back home a journey awaited him
The fantastic journey that would change his entire life.
The journey that he would cherish more than all other journeys he had taken.
And so awaited his charming young sister.
Who would take him along this fantastic trip. Of love & charming places.
In the HOME CARAVAN . That they both have built for themselves.

Happy Journey Marathi Movie Still Photos/Posters

Happy Journey Marathi Movie official Trailer

The post Happy Journey (2014) appeared first on MarathiStars.

Chitra Palekar is returning to silver screen after a hiatus of 32 years in Happy Journey the forthcoming film produced by Everest Entertainment.

She had made her debut as an actor way back in 1981 in Aakriet which was directed by Amol Palekar. Interestingly she was the lead female actor as well as the producer of Aakriet. Born in Dharwad, Chitra Palekar was a lead actor director in avant-garde theatre of Mumbai since 1967, she won a number of State Awards and has performed all over India. She began her multifaceted career in films in 1981 with Aakriet, which won a special Jury Award at Nantes, France. Post Aakriet she has been involved in various faculties of filmmaking. She wrote the screenplay and dialogues for Thodasa Roomani Ho Jaaye in 1989, Kairee( The Raw Mango)1999, Kal Ka Aadmi 2001, DhyaasParv  2001 and State Award winner for Best Screenplay MaatiMaay2006. She also wrote the additional screenplay for Bangarwadi , 1995 and Daayra (The Square Circle), 1996. She was also the Production Designer of  Kairee (The Raw Mango).

She made her directorial debut with the critically acclaimed Maatimaay in 2006. Chitra agreed to do this film as she loved the script of Happy Journey. She says she loves to work with the young filmmakers as it helps her to stay with times. She says the young filmmakers are bringing in a lot of new concepts and trying out various genres which is a very good development for the regional cinema to grow on the national as well as international platforms.

Sanjay Chhabria of Everest Entertainment commented that “it’s an honour to have Chitra Palekar on board for Happy Journey. He further added ‘we have a very young team making Happy Journey and I am sure people would like to see Chitra Palekar essaying a very interesting character role in Happy Journey.

The post Chitra Palekar returns to Silver Screen with Happy Journey! appeared first on MarathiStars.