• Review : Dhyanimani (2017)
• Producer : Aniruddha Deshpande & Medha Manjrekar
• Director : Chandrakant Kulkarni
• Star Cast : Mahesh Manjrekar, Ashvini Bhave, Abhijeet Khandekar, Mrunmayee Deshpande
• Writer : Prashant Dalvi
• Music : Ajit Parab
• Review By : Abhay Salvi

Rating : 2.5/5

Dhyanimani Marathi Movie Review :

In the 70s & 80s Marathi theatre scene flourished like never before or after. Vijay Tendulkar was the pioneer of this change. The commercial stage did exist (before 70s) just as merrily as it has been throughout, but Tendulkar & a few others brought realism & experimental theatre in the mainstream specifically in that era. Some of these playwrights functioned till the 90s but most of them didn’t. The golden era diminished more sooner than expected. But then entered Prashant Dalvi in the early 90s, Dalvi was probably the most important playwright of the 90s who announced himself both on the commercial & experimental theatre scene. ‘Dhyanimani’ directed by Chandrakant Kulkarni was one such play of Dalvi. One of his most successful commercial play, a play that was readily accepted by the conventional audiences too.

So when today the film is being promoted as strictly for “serious” audiences it makes us curious. To put it this way, this film would still appeal more impactfully to the conventional Marathi audiences then specifically “serious” audiences. Today in the Internet era the serious audiences are getting exposed to cinema of all kind from all over the globe. An eyebrow raising “bold” moment in a film might no longer be the shock element. A serious audience demands more unique cinematic discoveries rather than just an impactful story. Rather the treatment is the king today more excitingly than the story. Dhyanimani doesn’t really succeed in providing us that!  

But thanks to the original soul infused by Prashant Dalvi ‘Dhyanimani’ is a decent watch. The performances too by Mahesh Manjrekar & Ashwini Bhave are good enough to make the film compelling. The story is simple; a middle aged couple, not blessed with a child, figure out other ways to live a happily married & complete life. The first half introduces us to the suspenceful other ways. The film expects us to really be shocked by it, needlessly by using loud suspenseful background music. 

Throughout the promotions the ‘Dhyanimani’ team has been stressing that it’s difficult to categorize this film to a specific genre. It’s true in one way because just after the interval comes a moment where we are pleasantly in an awkward “what now?” mind space. Sadly the happenings that follow aren’t strong enough to really give us that mental stimulation. Having said that for theatre lovers ‘Dhyanimani’ can just be the right film, while some of them would argue that this should have stayed a play. 

Prashant Dalvi’s three important plays; ‘Chahool’, ‘Charchoughi’ & of course ‘Dhyanimani’ belonged to the changing times of urban India. They do have subtle remarks on our societal incompetence to match up with these changes. In a play, many of these subtle remarks can be given away symbolically but in a film they needed a different treatment. We all know how ‘personal’ can transform into ‘universal’ if it connects with the audience. Unfortunately the personal trauma that this middle aged couple are going through couldn’t be transformed into universal.

The climax of this film is a major error. Trying to make ‘sense’ out of it on moral grounds is a real test of our interpretative & analytical skills. Even after investing that much effort do we come up with an acceptable justification? Not really. Though Chandrakant Kulkarni is a true-hearted director, he could have worked harder on the visual appeal of the film. Mahesh Manjrekar has given us a few intense moments but in some scenes he is unintentionally funny. And well Ashwini Bhave has essayed her most challenging role that we are aware of. She is decent but not quite haunting as her character wanted her to be.

Overall:

Serious or not if you belong to a group of audiences who love a bit melodramatic suspenseful Marathi entertainment. And yes if you’re not expecting a song & dance film, you should definitely go for ‘Dhyanimani’!

The post Dhyanimani Review: Thought Provoking but Mistreated & Loud! appeared first on MarathiStars.

On the occasion of an upcoming release ‘Dhyanimani’ we got the opportunity to ask one of India’s boldest filmmaker & a free spirited soul Mahesh Manjrekar a few questions regarding acting, directing & everything in between!

What drives you to choose a project as an actor/producer?

Well to talk about this (Dhyanimani) subject specifically, I actually wanted to direct it. Even while producing this play (in 1993) I thought of it as a film. So when I entered the film line I always wanted to make this film & I also wrote the screenplay for it. I decided at some point I’ll ask Chandu (Chandrakant Kulkarni) & Prashant (Dalvi) about it. But then they said, they’ve written the screenplay & they want to do it themselves. I said fine. Anyhow, I wanted this film to be made. The subject itself is so off-beat that it’s difficult to categorize it in a specific genre. In a way it’s a thriller, a suspense film & has an emotional impact but beyond that it has its own USP, a shock element to it.

From ‘Kshitij’ A Doordarshan serial to ‘Rege’ many of your roles have become immortal. How would you specify your approach to acting? Are you a method actor?

When I did ‘Kshitij’ the stigma of ‘Leprosy’ was huge. One spot of Leprosy could destroy a man’s life. Actually, one type of Leprosy was curable (the other type wasn’t). But otherwise too it wasn’t infectious. That was a very important serial in my life, I was also the writer of it. I was extremely proud of it & I felt it was ahead of its time.

Even your performance in ‘Kaante’ was ahead of its time.

In case of ‘Kaante’ all others were heroes & I got to play a guy who’s a drug peddler. So I did my homework. I asked the director if he’s using sync sound. So when he said yes. I decided to use the ‘stammer’ & the director agreed. I still feel that everyone performed really well but I stood out because of my ‘stammer’. I did it because I felt that suited the madness of that character.

This role (in Dhyanimani) seems to be a difficult role to play, emotionally. Does it affect you personally?

I never take my role home. I am not a “Method Actor”. I don’t have that much patience. When the director says ‘Action’ I am into the role & the moment he says ‘Cut’ I am out of it!

Many Marathi plays are being adapted for the screen. What about other Marathi literature?

Look, there’s a reason to it. It’s a simple human psychology. In case of other literature one needs to read & create the images on his own. A filmmaker is subconsciously lured by plays because he’s already seen it. Now ‘Kakpsarsh’ was based on a work of literature. But for that Girish Joshi worked hard on it & gave it a visual form which helped me as a director.

So do we need more professional screenwriters?

I feel we have very few good screenwriters. Every day I get phone calls that they’ve written Oscar-winning scripts! If you read them they are pathetic, but in their own mind, it’s a masterpiece. Film line is the most abused line. If you can’t do anything in your life, you decide to be a director! All these so called writers & directors are in plenty today, whereas a good writer has no value. I think the most well-paid profession should be of writers.

You’ve implied a bold “Baghu Naka” marketing strategy for Dhyanimani. This should inspire others.

I don’t know about others. But I’ll tell you why I did this. See I am also doing another song & dance film. So I would readily invite the audience who likes that kind of cinema. In that case, if you’re expecting something thought provoking you should avoid it. I trust the audience. If you give anything good it has its own audience. There’s a song & dance audience & there’s serious film’s audience. But when the song & dance film lovers come to watch a serious film, they ridicule it. This results in negative word of mouth which is unfair to the film. These audiences might even distract (the popcorn & stuff) the serious film watchers watching the film.

What is your equation working with Chandu Sir (Chandrakant Kulkarni)? Does the director in you come in between your work as an actor?

Never, but I can discuss with Chandu since he has done theater. In other cases, I prefer the ‘supply according to demand’ philosophy. I am being paid to do exactly what the director wants me to do. I never think too much of it. But with Chandu it’s a different scenario. I share my vision with him. There’s scope for discussion & we come to common grounds. However the last word will always belong to Chandrakant Kulkarni. Actually if we observe there’s no other director around who works with his actors so wonderfully.

Nana Patekar said in an interview that he wants to play ‘Sakharam Binder’ in a film directed by you. What are your thoughts?

I said this to Nana that actually I am not convinced about it. Nothing against ‘Sakharam Binder’, it’s definitely a milestone play written by Vijay Tendulkar. The problem is I can’t see Nana as ‘Sakharam Binder’. I don’t doubt his acting skills, we all know he can absolutely smash it as an actor. The problem is his godly image in the hearts of the people. With his recent works as ‘Dr. Prakash Amte’, ‘Natsamrat’ & his actual work for ‘NAM Foundation’ he has reached an iconic status. His image will affect the film. I don’t think the audiences would like Nana playing a womanizer. They respect him a lot. However, I would definitely want to work on a different film with Nana. As a director, I am obviously greedy to work with a great actor like Nana Patekar again. That film has to be eye popping but it shouldn’t be something in which people won’t accept Nana in.

The post Interview: Mahesh Manjrekar invites all serious film lovers for ‘Dhyanimani’! appeared first on MarathiStars.

Dhyanimani, a film starring Ashwini Bhave in the lead role will be releasing on 10 February. The film has started an innovative marketing campaign where celebrities are requesting the audience to not to watch the film. This is a new strategy by the makers of the film as it creates an anticipation and curiosity about the film.

The celebrities like Amitabh Bacchan and Salman Khan have already tweeted urging audience not to watch Dhyani mani. Marathi film industry actors like Jitendra Joshi, Subodh Bhave, Priya Bapat, Pushkar Shroitri Sachin Khedekar, Bhau Kadam, Amruta Khanvilkar, Sanjay Jadhav, Sandeep Pathak, Anand Ingle, Sanskruti Balgude, Vaidehe Parshurami, Pooja Sawant and Akash Thosar have published a video saying to watch this film. Such negative publicity will help to create awareness of the film and will make audience to know more about the film, said the publicity experts. Here are these videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Vk2otqHOI
The film is produced by Mahesh Majrekar and directed by Chandrakant Kulkarni. The film stars Ashwini BHave, Mahesh Manjrekar, Abhijeet Khandekar and Mrunmayee Deshpande.

The post Dhyanimani to be released on 10 February | Baghu Naka Promotion appeared first on MarathiStars.

Every Chandrakant Kulkarni film comes like a shocker, you’re never aware about its making. Last year we had ‘Family Katta’ surprising us out of nowhere & ended becoming one of the best Marathi movie of 2016. Now at the very start of 2017 Chandrakant Kulkarni is back with a power-packed ‘Dhyanimani’.

Yes the trailer suggests an intense drama between the leading characters played by Ashwini Bhave & Mahesh Manjrekar. The film also stars Abhijit Khandkekar & Mrunmayee Deshpande but it’s Ashwini’s ‘Mother’ to whom the story seems to belong. In the trailer we can see the susupense is regarding the child of this (Bhave & Manjrekar) middle aged pair.

The trailer of this film was first shared on social media by none other than Mahesh Manjrekar’s dear friend Salman Khan! Even other Bollywood celebs have shown interest in this film, seems like Chandu Sir’s ‘Dhyani Mani’ will be enjoying a great following even before its release.

It’s refreshing to see both Ashwini Bhave & Mahesh Manjrekar in full-fledged lead roles. Both these actors have been underused by Marathi filmmakers & this trailer suggests these are going to be one of the most important performances of their entire career.

The post Dhyanimani Trailer: Suspenseful & Intense! appeared first on MarathiStars.

Dhyanimani Upcoming Marathi Movie starring Mahesh Manjrekar, Ashwini Bhave. Directed by Chandrakant Kulkarni.

• Movie : Dhyanimani (2017)
• Producer : Aniruddha Deshpande & Medha Manjrekar
• Director : Chandrakant Kulkarni
• Studio : Great Maratha Entertainment 
• Star Cast :
  • Mahesh Manjrekar
  • Ashvini Bhave
  • Abhijeet Khandekar as Sameer
  • Mrunmayee Deshpande
• Writter : Prashant Dalvi
• Dilogues : Ajit Dalvi
• Music : Ajit Parab
• Lyrics : Sandip Khare
• Sound : Manoj Mochemapkar
• Cinematography : Ajith Reddy
• Editor : Paresh Manjrekar
• Art Director : Abhishek Vijaykar
• Costumes : Laxman Gollar
• Associate Producer : Smita Thackeray, Amolak Singh Gakhal, Iqbal Singh Gakhal and Rajesh Banga
• Executive Producer : Vijay Shirke
• Genre : Drama
• Release Date : 10th February, 2017

Dhyanimani Marathi Movie Poster / Photos:

Dhyanimani Marathi Movie Trailer:

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