• Review : Pimpal (2018)
• Producer : Supriya Sunil Phadtare, Ashwini Sidwani, Arpan Bhukhanwala and Deepak Kumar Bhagat
• Director : Gajendra Ahire
• Screenplay : Gajendra Ahire
• Star Cast : Dilip Prabhawalkar, Priya Bapat, Alok Rajwade, Sakhi Gokhale & Kishore Kadam
• Review by : Abhay Salvi

Rating : 4/5

Pimpal Review (Marathi Movie):

Gajendra Ahire directorial ‘Pimpal’ is one of his rare movies that understands the power of minimalism & inhibits it in & out. Running around one & a half hours, ‘Pimpal’ has a very specific world & an organic structure that doesn’t follow any norms of conventional storytelling usually seen in our films.

Dilip Prabhawalkar plays an old retired man living alone with some assistance from his cook (Kishore Kadam) & his doctor (Priya Bapat). The actual people in his life are probably only these two! But in a virtual world, he is connected to his two sons & their family including grandsons & a granddaughter almost on daily basis. His sons, daughters-in-law & grandchildren all of them seem genuinely interested in the old man through their regular video chats.

There are no distinct caricaturish features assigned to this old man, which makes him more believable! Even Priya Bapat’s character isn’t created like a make-believe movie character, to some extent we feel to be at distant from her real self, which again works for the film. At first, we are allowed to wonder what the film is actually about! Slowly we get into the actual soul of the film.

That soul too is minimalistic just as the approach to the overall making of the film. We have many times heard that it’s depressing for a single old person to survive once he/she loses their life partner. This film goes deep into this feeling, it’s not depressing, neither is it pleasant. It’s a bit of both! It’s a lot like being in love! A bittersweet feeling as they call it! This loneliness is more on the sub-conscious level than in physicality. How can an old man who has a loving family eagerly waiting for his arrival be lonely? One could ask this question? That’s the point in physicality (which also includes the virtual world) he isn’t alone, but in his conscience, he misses the life he had, he misses his wife, he regrets how he couldn’t live his life at it’s fullest when she was with him!

The film doesn’t really have a strategically constructed ‘story’. It just dwells on certain real human feelings & probably the most peacefully lonesome phase in a person’s life. It uses the medium of cinema in actualizing this lonesome atmosphere & we can experience the same through our senses in a cinema hall. Provided we open up our senses & look beyond a ‘story’ & a conventional idea of ‘entertainment’.

This is Dilip Prabhawalkar’s finest performance in a long long time! You couldn’t have anyone else in his part. He is tailor-made for the role & for the film. Priya Bapat too explores a new side of her in the film! Kishore Kadam gels well in the film too. Gajendra Ahire is a passionate Marathi filmmaker who has a habit of disregarding the technical aspects of the medium many times. But here since the film had a minimalist need in every way he has managed to make the film just about perfect in every way. His biggest achievement here is that he has captured the feeling of loneliness through image, sound & the overall atmosphere he creates in the film!

In a way, it works cathartically for those who regret their life decisions & wish they could have given more time to themselves & their loved ones.

Overall:

‘Pimpal’ is a must watch for those who love thought provoking simplistic films! While there are too many options in the theatres currently (including Marathi) ‘Pimpal’ is a clear stand out amongst all of them as it can give some peace of mind to the audiences in the midst of all chaos we are in right now.

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‘Sohala’ is an upcoming Marathi film that has united many senior artists & filmmakers together. ‘Sohala’ stars popular actor-singer-filmmaker Sachin Pilgaonkar & is directed by Gajendra Ahire. This film is presented by a big name in Hindi film industry K.C. Bokadia, while the producers of the film are Sohan Bokadia & Suresh Gundecha.

The film also stars senior actor Vikram Gokhale, Shilpa Tulaskar, Mohan Joshi, Lokesh Gupte & Bharat Ganeshpure. The film’s subject deals with the modern day micro families. It also speaks about the change in today’s relationships.

Sachin Pilagaonkar says the story of the film is hidden in its title ‘Sohala’ itself. This is a ‘Sohala’ of human relationships! The music of the film is given by composer Narendra Bhide & the choreography of songs in the film is done by Phulwa Khamkar. Soon the film will release in theatres for the audience to experience it!

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• Movie : Pimpal (2018) | पिंपळ
• Producer : Supriya Sunil Phadtare, Ashwini Sidwani, Arpan Bhukhanwala and Deepak Kumar Bhagat
• Director : Gajendra Ahire
• Studio :
• Star Cast :
  • Dilip Prabhavalkar
  • Priya Bapat
  • Kishor Kadam
  • Vrinda Gajendra
  • Alok Rajwade
  • Sakhi Gokhale
• Story : Chintamani
• Screenplay : Gajendra Ahire
• Music and Background Music : Narendra Bhide
• Cinematography (DOP) : Krishna Kumar Soren
• Editor : Kutub Inamdar
• Art Director : Santosh Suresh Phutane
• Executive Producer : Rohan Shah, Amar Singh and Abhijeet Yadav
• Trailer : Kutub Inamdar and Vaibhav Dabhade
• Promo Sound Design : Roshan K Sharma
• Post Production Design : Amar Singh
• Digital Marketing : Loki’s Studio
• Genre : Drama
• Release Date : 08th June 2018

Synopsis : A retired widower, Arvind, lives all by himself in Pune and is asked by his children to move to the US to live with them. As he begins to pack, he comes across various things that bring back old memories.

Pimpal Marathi Movie Poster/Photos :

Pimpal Marathi Movie Teaser/Trailer :

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Not many times we see two stalwarts who have been on distinctly different paths throughout their careers coming together at some point! ‘Sohala’ is an upcoming Marathi film that has caused such rare collaboration of two stalwarts; director Gajendra Ahire & actor-singer-filmmaker Sachin Pilgaonkar!

Presented by K.C. Bokadia & produced by Suresh Gundecha under the banner ‘Arihant Film Productions’, ‘Sohala’ is directed by national award winning director Gajendra Ahire & stars Sachin Pilgaonkar & Shilpa Tulaskar in lead roles.

Director Gajendra Ahire says the film is about changing relations in a family in today’s times. Along with Sachin Pilgaonkar & Shilpa Tulaskar the film also stars Vikram Gokhale, Lokesh Gupte, Mohan Joshi & others. This film set to release in theatres in April-May season. Sachin Pilgaonkar believes the magic of this film lies in it’s title itself as a family coming together is a festival or ‘Sohala’ in itself.

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Gajendra Ahire, one of the renowned directors from Marathi film fraternity has always given quality films like Gulmohar, Anumati, Nilkanth Master, Shasan to the audiences. On the auspicious occasion of Akshaya Tritiya, Gajendra Ahire announced his upcoming film ‘Kulkarni Chaukatla Deshpande’ with an amazing teaser poster.

The film presented by Smita Production and produced by Vinay Ganu is slated to release on 29th September 2017. Although the star cast of the film hasn’t been announced yet but the name and the teaser poster of the film has surely raised the curiosity of the audiences.

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“The Silence” by Gajendra Ahire has bagged the “Best Indian Film” award at the 8^th Bengaluru International Film Festival which took place in Bengaluru and Mysore from 28^th January to 5^thFebruary 2016.

“The Silence” has also participated in film festivals in Brazil, Czech Republic, Mumbai (MAMI), Delhi and Jaipur. “The Silence” was the first Indian film to be screened at the Brasilia International Film Festival. Over the next few months “The Silence” will be traveling to Madrid, Singapore and Cameroon.

“The Silence” began its journey in Germany at the Indian Film Festival Stuttgart where Gajendre Ahire won the German Star of India 2015, Directors Vision Award.

SMR produced “The Silence” is based in a true story. Young Chini traveling late at night in the local train witnesses an incident that forces her to face up to demons from her past.  Blending past and present and with forceful drama, the film tackles crucial, taboo topics, tracing the recurring question of responsibility – or silence.

Raghuvir Yadav, Mugdha Chaphekar, Anjali Patil, Nagraj Manjule and Kadambari Kadam, child actress Vedashree Mahajan have played very important roles in the film. Indian Ocean, Indian rock band has composed tracks for this film.

Ashwini Sidwani, Arpan Bhukhnawala and Navneet Hullad Moradabadi have produced this film. Gajendra Ahire has also written the dialogues and screenplay of the film. Krishna Soren is the DOP and the editor is Mayur Hardas.

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Gajendra Ahire is one of the most talented and prolific of Marathi film directors having given us classics like ‘Not Only Mrs.Raut’, ‘Neelkanth Master’, etc. and now his most ambitious film ‘Shasan’ is set for release and we caught up with the director to know more about his new film.

How did you conceptualize ‘Shasan’?

I wanted to make a film based on the background of politics and when I got this script based on the happenings in state politics for the last six months or so, I got my script ready to film and I shot this film within no time.

How did you cast for the film?

I had the characters in mind and when I started thinking about them, the names and faces came easily to my mind like Jitendra Joshi and Manva Naik in the lead roles along with Bharat Jadhav and Makarand Anaspure in leading character artiste roles and my casting was complete. And I must say that all my actors have done a fabulous job and the film is looking great.

Where has the film been shot?

Basically the film has been shot in various locales of Mumbai, Pune and other interior of Maharashtra locations.

Has the film been shown in festivals?

That is totally the producers call and I have no say in the matter.

You are such a prolific director having made more than 40 films? How do you manage it?

Nothing at all. I consider it as my job and set myself like doing it a daily job and not as something just as a lark.

What’s next?

I have a film called ‘Silence’ coming up.

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‘The Silence’, a film by Gajendra Ahire will be screened at MAMI on 4th November, 2015 at 8.30pm, PVR Juhu.

Based on a real life incident, the story of ‘The Silence’ is about Chinee – happily living in Konkan region with her father. On an unfortunate day in her life how her loved one becomes devil for her and how those memories haunt her in different steps of life is beautifully depicted by Ace director. The film stars Kadambari Kadam and Nagraj Manjule as leads.

After earning good reviews for her work in Hindi industry Anjali Patil is taking her first step in Marathi industry through ‘The Silence’. While Raghuvir Yadav a well known face from Hindi industry can be seen as one of the central characters. ‘The Silence’ launches two new faces Mugdha Chaphekar and Vedashree Mahajan.

This film is also in the race for an award at Brazil International Film Festival. Total 8 films are competing in the race, and countries like Mexico, Belgium, Paraguay, Germany, Bulgaria, Cuba, Argentinaare participating along with India. The Brazil International Film Festival commences on 6th November, 2015 and will continue till 15th November, 2015.

‘The Silence’ has previously been appreciated at the Germany’s Indian Film Festival as well. Director Gajendra Ahire has won German Star of India 2015’s ‘Director’s vision’ award.

Ashwini Sidwani, Arpan Bhukhanwala and Navneet Hullad Moradabadi have collectively produced the film. The story of the film is written by Ashwini Sidwani. The concept of the film is by Mayur Hardas and Krishna Soren is the DOP. Through ‘The Silence’, Rockband Indian Ocean debuts in Marathi film industry.

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Two things make a man wise, one is the book and second one is the people, this useful thought given by none other than the great director Gajendra Ahire from his next upcoming Marathi movie “Shasan“. Many great actors are working together in this movie for the first time.

Shreya Films Pvt. Ltd. presents ‘Shasan’ produced by Shekhar Pathak. It’s starring Makarand Anaspure, Bharat Jadhav, Jitendra Joshi, Manava Naik, Siddharth Jadhav, Dr.Shriram Lagoo, Vrinda Gajendra, Vikram Gokhale, Mohan Joshi, Vinay Apte, Nagesh Bhosle and many more.

Shasan movie’s story depends on politics. This is the story of raw ambition, of personal turmoil, of getting to the roots of cause and paying the price for it, characters stuck in a dilemma of what is right and what is wrong, the nexus of politics and mafia, political ambitions, and the ever suffering common man. Overall it is political drama and you will know the more story on 22nd of October. This story written screenplayed by Gajendra Ahire.

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• Review : Nilkanth Master (2015)
• Director : Gajendra Ahire
• Writers: Gajendra Ahire
• Producers : Akshar Films
• Cast : Omkar Govardhan, Neha Mahajan, Pooja Sawant, Vikram Gokhale, Kishore Kadam, Adinath Kothare.
• Music : Pankaj Padghan
• Music: Ajay-Atul
• Genre: Period Drama
• Review By: Keyur Seta

Rating : 2.5/5

Review:

Gajendra Ahire has churned out some impressive films in the last few years. Some of these include Touring Talkies, Anumati, Postcard, and the recent, Bioscope. He has displayed his touch also in Nilkanth Master. However, the film doesn’t provide the satisfaction one expects after an interesting first half. This is simply because the basic story itself isn’t happening enough.

Nilkanth Master is based in the pre-independence era in Maharashtra. Vishwanath (Omkar Govardhan) joins a revolutionary group after earning the trust of the leader, Vyenkatesh (Adinath Kothare). But during the first secret operation after his joining, Vyenkatesh gets killed while fighting the British and their mission fails. Indu (Pooja Sawant) is Vishwanath’s childhood love.

To hide from the eyes of the British, Vishwanath is made to stay with the senior-most member of the group (Vikram Gokhale). He is given a pseudo identity of the school teacher, Nilkanth. Hence, he is now called Nilkanth Master. His first task is to break the news of Vyenkatesh’s death to his lover, Yashoda (Neha Mahajan).

Nilkanth Master has Ahire’s honest touch all over, as a writer and director. His creative visual narration, for which he is known, is also seen regularly. This makes the characters, situations, and the entire setting believable. He is nicely helped by Krishna Soren’s artistic camerawork and some realistic production designing. These points ensure that the film appears pleasing.

But despite these positive points, you surely don’t get a kick as you walk out. It is vital for every story to have some basic aim, but that is missing here. One can argue that that aim is India’s independence. This is also what is told to the audience through the electrifying and patriotic opening credits.

But the independence gets dissolved in the complex relationships of the characters. On top of that, complete lack of patriotic and freedom struggle elements make the pre-climax and climax absolutely thanda. This is more than surprising because the film starts with an action-packed sequence about the activities of the revolutionaries. Also, the idea of putting Pooja Sawant on the poster and nobody else from the cast is misleading since she has a limited role to play.

Composer duo of Ajay-Atul shines through the well-written and sung track ‘Adhir Man Jhale’ and ‘Kaunse Desh Chala’. The background track ‘Vande Mataram’ appears overemphasizing.

Omkar Govardhan gets his act as the central character right. But his character shouldn’t have been so dull. Neha Mahajan once again proves her mettle. She surely has a long way to go. Pooja Sawant gives a fine act while playing two diverse characters. Vikram Gokhale, Kishore Kadam and Adinath Kothare provide proper support.

Overall:

Nilkanth Master is an average saga that doesn’t impress much due to its basic tale. The film will find it difficult to score well at the box office.

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