Leading music composer and singer Salil Kulkarni is known for his evergreen compositions of the songs. Going a step ahead he had ventured into direction through Marathi film Weddingcha Shinema last year. He had penned the story of the film too. The film was a big hit in India and abroad. After the grand success of the Weddingcha Shinema Dr Salil Kulkarni is all set for a new Marathi film. Ekada Kaay Zala is the new Marathi film announced under the directorial stint.

The first poster of the film Ekada Kaay Zala was released recently and got huge response on social media. It has aroused curiosity among the cinema lovers. The Muhurat ofFeatuthe film was held in Pune in a glittering event in the presence of Salil Kulkarni and actors in lead roles. Sumit Raghavan,Urmila Kothare, Dr Mohan Agashe, Suhas Joshi, Pushkar Shrotri, Rajesh Bhosale, Pratik Kolhe, Mukta Puntambekar, Akankshja Athalye, Ritesh Ohol, Arjun Purnapatre, Adwait Wakchoude, Adwait Dhulekar and Merwan Kale were among the actors who attended the Muhurat shot of the film. The film is slated to be released in 2020.
The film ‘Ekada Kaay Zala’ is established its uniqueness from the title and assures the filmgoers that they are going have a feast of a very emotive and new subject. The film is being produced by Siddharth Mahadevan, Saumil Shrungarpure and Saumendu Kuber under their banner Show Box Entertainment and Arundhati Datye, Anup Nimkar, Salil Kulkarni and Gajvadan Productions of Nitin Prakash Vaidya. Like his first film, Salil Kulkarni is in multiple roles of writer, director and music director in Ekada Kaay Zala too. In his Weddingcha Shinema, Salil had proved his mettle in all these three roles.

The poster of the film Ekada Kaay Zala release recently depicts the image of the child and a man. The film is based on the relationship of the father-son duo. Salil Kulkarni’s multi dimensional performance in his first film was appreciated by the critic and the audience alike. After having successfully ventured into director, writing, the Marathi film audience it eagerly waiting for the next film from Dr Salil Kulkarni.

The post Shoot Begins of Dr. Salil Kulkarni Directorial ‘Ekada Kaay Zala’ Starring Sumit Raghavan & Urmila Kothare appeared first on MarathiStars.

• Review: Welcome Home (2019)
• Director: Sumitra Bhave & Sunil Sukthankar
• Star Cast: Mrunal Kulkarni, Sumeet Raghavan, Dr. Mohan Agashe, Uttara Baokar, Spruha Joshi, Siddharth Menon, Deepa Shriram, Prasad Oak, Sarang Sathaye, Irawati Harshe, Jitendra Joshi, Subodh Bhave & child artist: Pranjali Shrikant
• Screenplay: Sumitra Bhave
• Producer: Abhishek Sunil Phadtare, Vinay Bele, Ashwini Sidhwani & Deepak Kumar Bhagat

Quick Viewpoint: Certain films avoid being ‘certain’ in many ways. Welcome Home’s uncertainty is it’s biggest strength. It’s like a breeze of fresh air but air that has a conscience of it’s own.

What Works? 

• The singular most important aspect one needs to address here is how essential good actors are in this film. As usual though in a Bhave-Sukthankar film! These filmmakers use their actors so organically that the whole set up of the film never feels like a set up, it just feels like an actually existing world. Mrunal Kulkarni under Bhave-Sukthankar feels completely at ease, it’s like we always knew there was this intense (at the same time subtle) actor waiting to explode out of her! It won’t be exaggeration to call this her career defining performance!
  
• Story telling in films usually manipulates the time factor. Sometimes certain films do not skip or jump time as normally most of the films do. They linger over it, they let you go through the suffocated routine of the time passing. Smallest of things are amplified to their actual size in life. It’s like being trapped with those characters in a very specific time frame of their life. All of this results into a very lively experience of human existence & ‘Welcome Home’ does exactly that!
• ‘Welcome Home’ gets deeper into our upper middle class society’s skin. It tries to experiment and find what if so & so happens & our people are made to instantaneously react to it! What if an independent middle aged woman suddenly decides to leave her husband’s house & come back to her previous home (or her parent’s home). The results of this experiment are not really demotivating! While going through this the film stumbles upon it’s main subject of research which is the idea of home! And how does a modern day independent woman explores it.
• Usually ‘coming of age’ is a genre trait that can be spotted in films mainly with teenage protagonists. But here Mrunal Kulkarni’s character comes off age in a very organic and gradual process! And again the time factor let’s us actually understand the process better & how & exactly what triggered the process! One of the main triggers is a charm of character played by Sumeet Raghavan!
• As said earlier uncertainty is Welcome Home’s biggest strength, by uncertainty I do not mean in terms of the narrative and what would happen next in their life, but in terms of what exactly do we interpret from the proceedings. And it’s something that viewers need to experience on their own in a theatre! 

What Fails?

• Spruha Joshi though has given a much smoother performance when compared to her recent filmography but the only flaw of the film rests on her little track in the film. Her presence within the ‘home’ is quite essential in the film, but the point film wished to make through the rest of her track doesn’t quite gel in the scheme of things and doesn’t feel essential to the film. Moreover the track had a really irritating song.

Final Verdict: In the rich & diverse filmography of filmmakers Sumitra Bhave & Sunil Sukthankar, ‘Welcome Home’ is a welcome entry! Like in most of their films they have again explored our societal patterns through the case study of family dynamics in a well educated, cultured upper middle class! 

The post Welcome Home Review: A Film that Meditates on Womanhood & the Idea of Home appeared first on MarathiStars.

The Pu La Deshpande biopic ‘Bhaai – Vyakti Kee Valli’ released in theatres in the first week of the year & is got a great response from audiences as well as critics. In Diwali, we witnessed the amazing life of ‘Dr. Kashinath Ghanekar’ in the Subodh Bhave starrer biopic! And now biopic of Balasaheb Thackeray has released in both Hindi & Marathi! In this completely biopic dominant atmosphere, we would like to propose 5 more biopics that should be made in Marathi cinema in the near future!

1. Sant Gadge Baba 

Unlike countless pseudo Babas of today’s times, Sant Gadge Baba had nothing to do with religion or blind faith! Rather Gadge Baba inspired people to think rationally & question every belief that is been thrust upon them. Gadge Baba was also a firm believer in cleanliness so much so that he is forever considered as the icon of many cleanliness programmes that are undertaken even now! Interestingly a film was even made on Gadge Baba starring Mohan Joshi as ‘Gadge Baba’. But unfortunately, it never released in theatres & was stuck in the post-production!

Whom would we like to play Gadge Baba? 

Of course Mohan Joshi! We wish that film releases at least now or whenever a new film is made we would again want Mohan Joshi to play Gadge Baba!

2. Neelimkumar Khaire 

Not a hugely popular name, but an incredibly great man who has dedicated his life to the world of snakes & different animals & our environment! Neelimkumar Khaire is an Environmentalist and Herpetologist who has an unbelievable record of spending 72 hours with 72 highly poisonous snakes in an 8 feet by 8 feet glass chamber! Not even a single snake bite him & survived the challenge! After that, he spent all his life working for the welfare of snakes & other animals! He even lost one hand during his journey, but he says his hand was not lost because of snake’s poison but because of the carelessness of the doctors who treated him! Know more about him & his inspiring, thrilling journey in this interview.

Interview Credits: Maharashtra1 TV

Whom would we like to play Neelimkumar Khaire?

Since this great man’s journey starts from his young age, we would name three actors to play him at different stages of his life! The younger role should be played by Suvrat Joshi, the middle-aged by Girish Kulkarni & the older one by Dr. Mohan Agashe!

3. Nikhil Wagle 

If you’ve seen the above interview, well we wish to know more about the interviewer himself! Nikhil Wagle is a senior reporter who has worked on many different channels & newspapers, magazines. No matter where he worked he has always voiced his opinion clearly & openly! Many hate him, many idolize him but none can ignore him! He has been an eye witness of the changing Maharashtra & India in the time period of over 3 decades! His life story certainly deserves to be told on screen!

Whom would we like to play Nikhil Wagle? 

This is quite a simple choice! Our beloved Jitendra Joshi is tailor-made to play Nikhil Wagle!

4. Dr. Narendra Dabholkar 

Do we even need a justification here? A man who was killed just because he was helping people become aware of the blind faith happening around them. He was never against any religion yet he had to become a martyr. His life is inspiring in every way. His selfless act of eradicating blind faith from our country brought together many like-minded young & old individuals & even today after 5 years of his assassination, these inspired people are still doing their work of eradicating blind faith!

Whom would we like to play Dr. Dabholkar?

While this is a really difficult choice but we believe we have one great actor who can pull off any difficult role, & he is the extremely versatile Dilip Prabhawalkar!

5. Nilu Phule

The obvious choice isn’t this! There isn’t a bigger iconic Marathi actor in the history of Marathi cinema than our beloved Nilu Bhau! While he was more popular for negative roles in films, he did play all kinds of character in different films & even plays! But more importantly, Nilu Bhau was known as a gold-hearted human being! He lived his life with utter simplicity & always participated in social work. He gave back much more than what he got from society!

Whom would we like to play Nilu Phule?

The supremely talented Sagar Karande would be our choice!

The post 5 Biopics We Would Like To See in Marathi Cinema in the Near Future appeared first on MarathiStars.

• Review : Deva – Ek Atrangi
• Producer : Pradeep Chakravorty
• Director : Murali Nallappa
• Star Cast : Ankush Chaudhari, Tejaswini Pandit, Spruha Joshi, Dr. Mohan Agashe, Vaibhav Mangle, Pandharinath Kamble & Reema Lagoo
• Story & Screenplay : Unni R. , Martin Prakkat
• Review By : Abhay Salvi

Deva – Ek Atrangi Marathi Movie Review:

Ankush Chaudhari is without a doubt an actor of great calibre. He has a knack of playing underplayed performances with subtle perfection. He started the year 2017 on that note with his performance in ‘Ti Saddhya Kay Karte’. But every now & then Ankush is a part of a film that has been forcefully made to be a ‘commercial entertainer’ & then Ankush becomes a strangely different actor! All his subtle charm goes away instead we see his laughable antics to project himself as a ‘hero’.

That’s exactly the case with the much awaited ‘Deva – Ek Atrangi’. Ankush’s performance in the film is as tasteless & spineless as the overall film. I haven’t seen the original Malayalam film ‘Charlie’ of which ‘Deva’ is an official remake. So I can’t judge ‘Deva’ on any other terms other than its own. To me the basic plot itself is so basic & lacking the possibility of giving birth to an entire film based on it. But again there are films that have poor plots but their treatments interest us. In case of ‘Deva’ the treatment too is as horrible as the plot.

So the film starts with introduction of a famous travel blogger turned book writer (by simply compiling her travel blogs together) ‘The Maya Deshmukh’ (as one of her “fans” call her). So ‘The Maya’ (Tejaswini Pandit) has become a sensation in the world of literature (but wait didn’t she simply write ‘travel blogs’? who cares!) every publishing house wants her to write for them. But she cannot find a subject for her new book. One of her friend says come with me to ‘Konkan’ you’ll find you’re subject. A writer going places to find a subject for her book! (who does that?)

Now Maya is staying in a house of an artist who doesn’t visit his home that often. An artist who is never shown in the film creating any of his art forms, yes its ‘Deva’. He paints he sculpts but never in front of the camera. I guess he is camera shy. So in that house ‘Maya’ finds a freshly crafted ‘graphic novel’ of sorts! One that shows how Deva befriends a thief who comes at his house at night & later goes on an adventure to rob other homes with him! (why? Because he is an ‘Atrangi’!)

Slowly Maya starts finding out ‘Deva’ helps random strangers from a beggar on the streets to a doctor (Spruha Joshi) attempting suicide! Just before the interval Maya finds out that Deva is at a lodge nearby again saving a little girl from something bad happening to her. Maya runs behind him & Deva (who knows her too) looks into the mirror smiles but doesn’t stop his jeep (why?).

Post interval the film becomes completely stationary as the plot is completely focused now at an old age home of sorts made by Deva. All characters are here & they are bonding over to create some kind of drama in the film, one that never works. But Deva isn’t present. We get it ‘Deva’ is like the dumbest metaphor for ‘God’. Who loves everyone helps everyone but doesn’t belong to any one person.

But the root this film has taken to present this metaphor is an illogical mess. Every character’s action is never powered by reason. It’s simply done to add to the legacy of ‘Deva’. We are never explained why ‘Deva’ is the way he is. What is it that made him such a person? Maybe again that would be because he is a metaphor for ‘god’. But for god’s sake god needs better metaphors & better plots revolving them.

Overall:

‘Deva’ is one of Ankush Chaudhari’s worst films till date. His performance too is plainly single toned. Even if you’re his fan it would be really difficult to like this film! Though you can still try if you want to!

The post Deva Movie Review: One of Ankush Chaudhari’s Worst Films Till Date! appeared first on MarathiStars.

Year 2017 will end up with a new zeal and enthusiasm, as upcoming movie ‘Deva’ is all set to release. Recently, new song from the movie ‘Jarashi Jarashi’ was launched by infamous poet and lyricist Guru Thakur.

The newly released song which is picturised on actors Spruha Joshi and Ankush Chaudhary is filled with liveliness. Lyricist Guru Thakur who has penned down this song, gives a new perception to live our life to the fullest.

One of the leading composers, Amit Raj has once again created a delightful music for this song. While, singer Harshavardhan Wavare has lent his voice to it, making it more soulful. Not only the newly released song, but, all the songs have managed to sway the audiences with its music.

Directed by Murli Nalappa, produced by Innovative Films and Pramod Films, ‘Deva’ will hit the silver screen on December 22.

The post Guru Thakur launches song ‘Jarashi Jarashi’ from ‘Deva’ appeared first on MarathiStars.

We have seen quite a few love triangles in Marathi cinema in recent times. Many a times when we see three known stars together in a film, we predict it’s a love triangle. However though Deva stars Ankush Chaudhari, Tejaswini Pandit & Spruha Joshi it doesn’t feel like a typical love triangle!

The colourful flavour of the film has reflected in every aspect of the film as evident from the trailer. Whether, it’s the beautiful locations or the refreshing dressing styles of the lead actors ‘Deva’ projects a variety of colors. These colours also symbolize ‘happiness’, & the thought of living life to the fullest which seems to be the philosophy of the title character ‘Deva’ played by Ankush Chaudhari.

This film is an official remake of a Malayalam film ‘Charlie’. However this trailer suggests that it has been suitably adapted for the Marathi audiences to connect with us instantly.

The post Deva Trailer: A Colourful Multi-Starrer! appeared first on MarathiStars.

Recently a new song ‘Roj Roj Navyane’ from upcoming Marathi film ‘Deva’ was launched on social media. Innovative Films & Pramod Films produced ‘Deva’ had already intrigued the audiences with its teaser, but now with this song the excitement is at a new peak. Directed by Murli Nalappa ‘Deva’ has brought together composer Amitraj & popular singers Sonu Nigam & Shreya Ghoshal through this song!

This song takes us into a beautiful world of love & these beautiful lyrics are written by popular writer & lyricist, ‘Faster Fene’ fame Kshitij Patwardhan. For the first time Sonu Nigam & Shreya Ghoshal are singing together for Amitraj.

Just like all lovers of romantic songs, Shreya Ghoshal herself too is in love with this song, she calls it her favourite! Deva releases on 1^st December all over Maharashtra & along with Ankush Chaudhari & Tejaswini Pandit, the film also stars Dr. Mohan Agashe, Vaibhav Mangle, Pandharinath Kamble & Mayur Pawar.

The post Roj Roj Navyane Song (Deva) : Amitraj Collaborates with Sonu Nigam & Shreya Ghoshal appeared first on MarathiStars.

Long back Ankush Chaudhari‘s look from ‘Deva‘ was revealed online. Ever since then the audiences have been awaiting this film religiously. Recently the first teaser of the film was out. And the wait definitely seems to be worth the film.

What appears like Ankush plays a free spirited artist in this film. More precisely a painter! The film stars Tejaswini Pandit in the role of the narrator & an important character. It appears like she plays a writer in this film.

Visually ‘Deva – Ek Atrangi’ has a distinct flavour to it. The film being directed by Murli Nallappa from South, the film seems smooth technically. Especially the music of the film sounds very fresh & new. It would be interesting what the film us really about as the plot of the film hasn’t been revealed much in this teaser. This film will soon release in theatres from 1st December.

The post Deva Teaser: Ankush Chaudhari’s ‘Atrangee’ Deva Will Please his Fans! appeared first on MarathiStars.

• Movie : Deva – Ek Atrangee(2017) | देवा – एक अतरंगी
• Producer : Pradeep Chakravorty
• Directer : Murali Nallappa
• Studio : Innovative Films, Pramod Films
• Star Cast :
  • Ankush Chaudhari as Deva
  • Tejaswini Pandit as Maya
  • Spruha Joshi
  • Dr. Mohan Agashe
  • Vaibhav Mangale
  • Pandharinath Kamble
  • Mayur Pawar
  • Reema Lagoo
  • Jaywant Wadkar
  • Vaibhav Mangle
• Story : Unni R.
• Screenplay : Unni R. , Martin Prakkat
• Dialogues : Ashwini Shende
• Lyrics : Guru Thakur, Kshitij Patwardhan
• Music : Amitraj
• Background Score : Amitraj
• Cinematography (DOP) : Vijay Mishra, Bharat R. Parthasarathy
• Editor : Sanjay Sankla
• Art Director : Naushan Menon, Subhajyoti Datta
• Costume Stylist : Prianca Jhaveri, Rohini Salekar
• Vfx : Chadan kar
• Visual Promotions : Just Right Studios
• Line Producer : Amit Kulkarni
• Creative Producer : Pratik Chakravorty
• Executive Producer : Shruti Nallappa
• Associate Producer : Nikhil Nerurkar
• Genre  : Drama
• Release Date : 22 December 2017

Synopsis : Maya Deshmukh, a new age writer, who escapes to the Konkan region to write her next novel, finds herself being drawn to the colorful story of Deva. As she sets out to explore the story of Deva, her initial intrigue soon turns into an obsession.

Deva Marathi Movie Poster / Still Photos

Deva Marathi MovieTrailer

The post Deva (2017) – Marathi Movie appeared first on MarathiStars.

• Review : Kaasav (2017)
• Producer : Sumitra Bhave – Sunil Sukthankar
• Director : Sumitra Bhave – Sunil Sukthankar
• Star Cast : Irawati Harshe, Alok Rajwade, Kishor Kadam, Dr. Mohan Agashe,Devika Daftardar, Santosh Redkar, Omkar Ghadi
• Story : Sumitra Bhave
• Music : Saket Kanetkar
• Review By : Abhay Salvi

Rating : 4.5/5

Kaasav Marathi Movie Review :

Earlier this year Sumitra Bhave & Sunil Sukthankar were honored with the most important film award for a film in India the Golden Lotus for ‘Kaasav’. Many film lovers felt they were honored as more on the basis of their phenomenal career as filmmakers then specifically for ‘Kaasav’. I had seen the film at a festival last year & felt maybe it wasn’t their best film. But now in the second viewing I loved the film more. It is probably their finest film!

The idea of using an animal as a metaphor to a different conflict is not new to Marathi films. The best of the lot could be ‘Valu’. Even the other two films of the makers ‘Astu’ & ‘Devrai’ which are also about mental disorders make use of metaphors, though in case of ‘Devrai’ it wasn’t an animal but the Devrai tree. Here the ‘Kaasav’ symbolizes a young boy ‘Manav’ (Alok Rajwade) who is suffering from depression. While watching this film the audiences need to understand that depression is not a state of mind. And it’s not because something bad has happened to the character. Once you accept the existence of depression this film will open up your mind.

Janaki (Irawati Harshe) finds Manav stranded on the roads. Accompanied by her help (Kishore Kadam) she brings him home, a beach house. Post that almost throughout we can hear the waves at the seashore. Janaki sees herself in Manav, as she once suffered from depression, she could relate the nothingness inside Manav. Even now Janaki suffers from panic attacks once in a while. The reason she was in this small village by the sea is because her doctor/councilor told her to find a project, in a sense a purpose. The purpose that Janaki finds is helping Datta Bhau (Dr. Mohan Agashe) in his work of sea turtle conservation! So in a way she is conserving two turtles at a time!

The way the film keeps relating the turtle project with the condition of Manav is in a way cathartic. It’s a time consuming process that would help find these turtles a life & Manav a new life. In the second viewing the character played by Kishore Kadam & a little kid who sells tea at the nearby S.T. depot makes me understand the hidden lessons of philosophy imbibed in this film. Around the climax of this film Manav accompanies this kid (who has now become his good friend) to a place. This little journey that they make completes a circle in Manav’s life & in the film. The way Kishore Kadam, a simple minded servant, looks at Manav’s depression & Janaki’s efforts towards helping Manav out of it reflects how a common man would look at depression. However when the servant tries understanding Manav & his conflict we see that he gets it! He gets it in his own way.

Just like the characters & the metaphor the sea & the beach play a vital role in this film. This is without a doubt the most visually stunning film made by the duo. There are two songs in this film that have the musical form of this film’s soul. Especially ‘Leher Samandar Re’ that again reminds us of the cathartic nature of this film. While ‘Astu’ was lot more complexly philosophical ‘Kaasav’ is more simplistically philosophical. However it’s difficult to choose between the two. What’s need to be noted is that even after spending so many years in filmmaking Sumitra Bhave & Sunil Sukthankar have an urge to adapt new things & keep improving the cinematic richness of their films, which is a rare quality in Marathi industry!

Overall:

‘Kaasav’ is a film that needs patient. Just like a dialogue in this film, we have eyes, we have ears, but we still need to learn seeing & hearing. To those who have learned it ‘Kaasav’ is a must watch, & to those who are now willing to learn it ‘Kaasav’ is the perfect film to begin with.

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