Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival with Star is Mumbai’s beloved film festival that showcases the best of Indian and foreign films to the passionate film lovers of Mumbai! The festival is now in it’s 21st year! And like every year they are again screening Marathi films under their various sections!

in India Story section three Marathi films are being showcased. ‘Chivati’ directed by Rajkumar Tangade is about generations of a closely-knit, humorous community of sugarcane labourers who have been migrating yearly in search of work. ‘Y’ directed by Dr. Ajit Wadikar and starring popular actress Mukta Barve, is a collage of four different, interconnected stories that address sex-selective abortion and female foeticide. And the third film in this section being ‘A Thing of Magic’ directed by Nithin Anil which is about a struggling harmonium player, who aspires to join a local drama troupe.

In the ‘Marathi Talkies’ section three Marathi films are to be featured. ‘Dithi’, the much awaited multi-starrer film about the ‘Warkari’ sect directed by Sumitra Bhave stars the likes of Kishor Kadam, Dr. Mohan Agashe, Amruta Subhash, Dilip Prabhavalkar, Girish Kulkarni, Anjali Patil, Shashank Shende & others. The section also features ‘Bhonga’ by the national award winning director Shivaji Lotan Patil. Mahesh Manjrekar’s ‘Panghrun’ which is a period drama film about a widow starring Manjrekar’s daughter Sai Manjrekar will also be a part of the ‘Marathi Talkies’ section in the festival!

‘About Love’ is another Marathi film that is part of MAMI this year! A documentary film directed by Archana Phadke about the three generations of her family inside their ancestral home – the 102-year-old Phadke Building in downtown Mumbai. Mining their daily routines and rituals, ‘About Love’ deconstructs the dynamics of one eccentric household, studies its gender dynamics and brings unexpected revelations for a daughter rediscovering her family from behind the lens.

The post Jio MAMI 21st Mumbai Film Festival with Star to Screen 7 Marathi Films This Year! appeared first on MarathiStars.

• Review: Dhappa (2019)
• Cast: Akash Kamble, Sharavi Kulkarni, Akshay Yadav, Sharv Vadhavekar, Shrihari Abhyankar, Dipali Borkar, Abhijit Shinde, Neel Deshpande, Vrushali Kulkarni, Iravati Harshe, Sunil Barve, Girish Kulkarni, Shrikant Yadav, Umesh Jagtap, Jyoti Subhash & Chandrakant Kale.
• Director: Nipun Dharmadhikari
• Writer: Girish Kulkarni

Quick Viewpoint: On Paper ‘Dhappa’ might sound like a bland message driven film. While in reality too the film has a very vital message to give, but beyond that it has built it’s own little world so beautifully & playfully that we are throughout hooked with it’s sweetness that lasts longer even after the film is over.

What Works? 

• Nipun Dharmadhikari the director of the film, whose first released film was ‘Baapjanma‘ actually made his debut as a film director with ‘Dhappa’. He has been directing plays for many years & that experience must have certainly shaped even the film director in him. The reason for pointing out all of this is the fact that the whole ensemble of children in this film are so masterfully directed! None of the kids ever appear fake on camera even for a moment! Even the adult renown actors in the film are functioning at a different wavelength here than their usual performances, a wavelength which matches the tone of the film which doesn’t believe in any extremities!
• As said earlier the film succeeds mainly because of it’s world, which is so directly connected to the real world & yet it is distant from it. In a way it thinks a bit wishfully while dealing with real world conflicts! This approach is what sets this film apart from films that could be similar in structure.
• In ‘Baapjanma’ there was a major sequence of an dying old man capturing moments from his son & daughter living in his house through secretly fitted hidden cameras. Here you see someone documenting the little moments that happen when children & their teacher set up a play & perform in front of their colony. The point is that Nipun’s fascination with capturing life in an unassumingly unpolished yet intimate way is evident! There’s something so positively unartistic about it in a non-pretentious way that makes us call it ‘simplistic’!
• Girish Kulkarni’s writing is also totally different from other films produced under the banner of ‘Arbhaat’. Many a times Girish Kulkarni & Umesh Kulkarni’s films can be slightly inaccessible to the general audiences. ‘Dhappa‘ isn’t that film! It would appeal to varied audiences in an equally effective way!
• Finally last but not the least the message! The message doesn’t separate itself like the ‘moral’ of the story is easily separated from a children’s story. The film can’t happen without the message being underlined & that defines how it is essentially the film itself! But what exactly is it? I would recommend you watch the film for it! But yes I could say the message is extremely timely when thought about our current social & political situation.

What Fails?

• Nothing really fails in ‘Dhappa’ but either consciously or unconsciously the structure of the film is similar to ‘Chillar Party’. But then one can say even Chillar Party’s structure wasn’t completely original.

Final Verdict: ‘Dhappa‘ won a national award for the best film on ‘National Integration’ a value that has been slightly on the backseat in our society & in our mainstream films! For rediscovering that alone, ‘Dhappa’ is a must watch!

Rating: 4/5

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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.

Sometimes no matter what one needs to be doing the right thing. Even if you are a bunch of kids are supposed to take on the big bad world of the grown-ups! That’s what the message one can take away after watching the trailer of the national award-winning Nipun Dharmadhikari directorial ‘Dhappa’!

Written by Girish Kulkarni (& also starring him, probably in a cameo) & produced by ‘Arbhaat Films’ Dhappa comes from a team that has given numerous great films to Marathi cinema. However, this is their first venture into the children film genre. It’s always one of the trickiest genres both in terms of the idea & concept & while executing the film with the kids.

Nipun Dharmadhikari made his debut as a director with ‘Baapjanma‘ last year & now his second film is on a completely different subject! The kids in the film look very bright & seem to have performed really well. While Marathi cinema has made many teenage love stories in recent times, ‘Dhappa’ promises to bring back the old school style children film in the mainstream of Marathi cinema. The film releases on 1st of February.

The post Dhappa Trailer: Doing the Right Thing appeared first on MarathiStars.

• Movie : Dhappa (2019) | धप्पा
• Producer : Sumatilal Shah
• Director : Nipun Dharmadhikari
• Studio : Wishberry Films and Ink Tales
• Star Cast :
  • Akash Kamble as Suhrad Sharangpani
  • Sharavi Kulkarni as Sharavi
  • Akshay Yadav as Chetan Patil
  • Sharv Vadhavekar as Mihir
  • Shrihari Abhyankar as Rutvik
  • Dipali Borkar as Dipali
  • Abhijit Shinde as Dasharath Suryvanshi
  • Neel Deshpande as Aditya
  • Vrushali Kulkarni as Anuradha Devdhar
  • Iravati Harshe as Vrunda Sharangpani
  • Sunil Barve as Makarand Devdhar
  • Girish Kulkarni as Prabhakar Sharangpani
  • Shrikant Yadav as Patil
  • Umesh Jagtap as Bhau
  • Jyoti Subhash as Mohite Aaji
  • Chadrakant Kale as Soman Kaka
• Story : Girish Pandurang Kulkarni
• Screenplay and Dialogues :
• Singers : Avani Bhat, Rugvaed Inamdar, SHalmali Kholgade and Lakshya Bhatanagar
• Lyrics : Vaibhav Joshi
• Sound Recordist : Anil Radhakrishnan
• Sound Design : Anthony B Jayaruban
• Music : Gandhaar
• Background Music : Gandhaar
• Cinematography (DOP) : Swapnil Sonawane
• Editor : Suchitra Sathe
• Costume : Kalyani Kulkarni-Gugle
• Presenter : Arbhaat Films
• Production Design : Satyajit Deshpande
• Co-Producer : Girish Pandurang Kulkarni and Umesh Vinayak Kulkarni
• Visual Promotions : Just Right Studioz NX
• Stills : Abhijeet Chaudhari
• Genre : Drama
• Release Date : 1st February 2019

Synopsis : A motley bunch of children living in an urban housing society join hands to rise beyond discrimination and religious bigotry to do what is right. Winner of the National Award for Best Film on National Integration, Dhappa is an uplifting tale that is of great relevance in contemporary times.

Dhappa Marathi Movie Poster/Photos :

Dhappa Marathi Movie Trailer :

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Certain film production banners have a reputation that builds over the years after giving us one after the other brilliant films! ‘Arbhaat Films’ is one such banner. Films like ‘Vihir’, ‘Deool’, ‘Valu’, ‘Masala’, ‘Highway‘, ‘Pune 52‘ have been made under this banner. The main backbone of this team being Umesh Vinayak Kulkarni & Girish Pandurang Kulkarni!

Another reputed name has joined ‘Arbhaat’ with this new film about children. The social media star Nipun Dharmadhikari! His second film as a director ‘Dhappa’ after the critical success of ‘Baapjanma‘ is all set to release in the new year on 1st February 2019! The release date of the film was officially released online.

The film has garnered love at many international film festivals & has also been awarded the national award for the best feature film on national integration. Marathi cinema has been constantly evolving with every good film, & ‘Dhappa’ promises to be another important film in this great phase of Marathi cinema. The film is written by Girish Pandurang Kulkarni & along with ‘Arbhaat’ the film is presented by ‘Wishberry Films’ & ‘Ink Tales’

The post Dhappa Movie Teaser: The Much Awaited Children’s Film Releases on 1st February appeared first on MarathiStars.

Following the success of the prequel ‘Boyz 2‘ has garnered equal amount of love from the audiences. In the first weekend of it’s releases it has already earned 5.11 Crore Rupees! On the opening Friday ‘Boyz 2’ made 1.30 Crores (Which is a big number for a Marathi film) & then on Saturday the film earned 1.61 Crores & on Sunday it made 2.20 Crores! It means the collections are only increasing day by day! The ‘Boyz 2’ team is ecstatic & will be celebrating their success.

Starring the young trio of Parth Bhalerao, Sumant Shinde & Prateek Lad the ‘Boyz’ franchise seems to have connected really well with the audiences & especially the youth audiences! Though the film was certified ‘A’ by the censor boards, the audiences have responded in great numbers.

The film tells the story of three boys who are juniors in the college & who keep challenging their seniors. The audiences have seemed to enjoy the humour & the action of the film. The music of the film too seems to be a hit among the audiences as many incidents have been reported where the audiences have danced in the theatre to it’s song!

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The ‘Boyz’ have returned with ‘Boyz 2’ with a fresh new story! Last time these ‘Boyz’ ruled over the box office & defeated other films but now someone from the film itself is set to rule over the boyz, the bold, hot & beautiful actress Shubhangi Tambale!

Shubhangi was seen in a serial called ‘Balpan Dega Deva’ which also featured senior actor Vikram Gokhale. She is making her film debut with ‘Boyz 2’! About her character she says, ‘In the world of college in the story, a girl enters that makes the whole college crazy about her. Her name is Swati Shinde. Swati because of her beauty & hotness makes every boy in the college follow her everywhere. She is the heartbeat of the college & the audiences will get to see what happens when she enters the world of ‘Boyz’!

Shubhangi further adds, “Boyz was already a craze among Maharashtra’s youth. To make one’s debut with this franchise is a very happy moment for any artist! ‘Boldness’ is a characteristic of my role & I have tried my best to portray the part convincingly!”

Just like the franchise we are sure the audiences will shower the same amount of love towards debutant Shubhangi Tambale!

The post ‘Boyz’ vs the Bold and Hot Shubhangi Tambale appeared first on MarathiStars.

As the release of the much awaited sequel of Boyz is near we had a chat with the ‘Boyz 2’ team which includes the director of the film Vishal Devrukhkar & the three young Marathi Stars; Sumant Shinde, Pratik Lad & Parth Bhalerao!

The Dialogues of ‘Boyz’ 1 became hugely popular among the audiences. They became a part of their language. What about the dialogues of ‘Boyz 2’? Do you think they too would become iconic?

Vishal Devrukhkar (Director): Yes it’s true. The audiences loved the dialogues! And as the trailer of ‘Boyz 2’ suggests this time too, the dialogues are equally funny! Whatever you’ve seen in the trailer, the film has plenty of that stuff!

Parth (Bhalerao) tell us your favourite dialogue from ‘Boyz 2’!

Parth Bhalerao: To say the truth I liked the whole script! I can’t reveal much before the release, but one of my favourite dialogues that is also featured in the trailer is ‘Height Choti Ahe Pan Fight Mothi Ahe’!

How did you decide the backdrop of College/Hostel for ‘Boyz 2’?

Vishal Devrukhkar (Director): At first we didn’t have the sequel in mind. But that suddenly the sequel was announced. The first thought that came to our mind was to set the story in college. But at same time we were against that thought as there are so many films set in college. After thinking more about it, we came up with the narrative, where socially maniac Boyz are standing against a rich kid with loads of attitude! Then the story revolved around this orbit.

Has anyone of you lived in a hostel? Tell us about your memories!

Sumant Shinde: Yes I have lived in a hostel! But for very less time! I was sent to hostel when I was in 2^nd Standard! My sister was in 5^th & I felt it’s unfair to a kid of my age to live in hostel. I used to cry everyday & all my hostel mates were elder than me. Then in Diwali vacations I saw a film with family which was ‘Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna’. And after watching that film I said the same to my parents that Mummy Papa ‘Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna’. Then the very next day I was home & my hostel life ended very quickly!

What exactly is the meaning of ‘Goti Soda Batli Foda’?

Vishal Devrukhkar (Director): Here the ‘Goti’ stands for ‘Tension’! So the real meaning of this dialogue is to leave tension & move on! Today’s youth are always in some kind of stress, they need to move on & enjoy a bit!

We all are watching Parth from years! Tell us about the other two ‘Boyz’ & how you found them!

Vishal Devrukhkar (Director): Sumant though is our producer’s son he was initially rejected. We had casted another boy in his role. But in the last moment that other boy backed out from the film. Then we decided to give Sumant a chance. We postponed the shoot & Sumant went through a rigorous training for over 6 months! Since he was from convent he had to work on his Marathi grammar & everything. His sister Kashmera helped him a lot in the process!

And about Prateek (Pratik Lad), I saw him in a short film titled ‘Dhanya’. In the very first shot of the film I saw his eyes & found my character in him! Then when he came to Mumbai for auditions I was confident by just looking at him! Though his audition too was very good!

What is the secret of Parth’s evergreen looks! He’s been playing roles of children from years & still he fits every part!

Vishal Devrukhkar (Director): It’s true we all wonder about it! But on a serious note he is a very dedicated actor! Though he was a senior to Prateek & Sumant, he didn’t have any attitude against them. He started from scratch for this character alongside his co-actors! He also did the workshop with both of them & did everything that they did! We do give him respect for his body of work, but he himself never behaves rudely even when he has worked Amitabh Bachchan!

And about his looks I think it’s a god given gift that he can look young for a long time! And he has used it to his benefit!

Along with the humour the audiences also loved the emotional Mother-Son track of ‘Boyz’. The trailer of ‘Boyz 2’ doesn’t hint about any emotional track but is there any surprise?

Vishal Devrukhkar (Director): The reason the emotional track isn’t featured in the trailer is because people would think this is a emotional film. But yes my films will always have an emotional angle, but all of that is presented along with humour as a comedy film! So yes in ‘Boyz 2’ too there is drama!

Girish Kulkarni is a part of this film! Tell us about his association with the film!

Vishal Devrukhkar (Director): He plays the character of a newly rich politician who is the trustee of the college & also the father of the main villain of the film! He has an attitude of spoiling his kid & he lets him do whatever he wants! While writing this character itself I thought someone big has to play this part! So then I decided to approach Girish Kulkarni. We met & we talked for hours, he heard the script & he also heard my story, my life’s story! Then he decided to play this cameo more because of my life’s story than the film’s story!

Finally tell us do you think ‘Boyz 2’ can be seen by the entire family together?

Vishal Devrukhkar (Director): Yes they should watch it together. Because somewhere the film captures the problems of teenage kids! The kids who are transforming from mid teenagers to late teenagers! We think if parents watch this film with their teenage kids, they might understand the problems of their kids better & might work together with their kids to find solution to these problems. And I don’t feel my film is obscene. There are two meanings to everything & it’s up to the viewpoint of the audiences!

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In the first ‘Boyz’ film we saw the glamour queen Sunny Leone dancing on the hit number ‘Kutha Kutha Jayacha Honeymoon La’! The item song was a huge hit & promoted the film in a bigger way. And hence it isn’t a surprise that ‘Boyz 2’ which is set to release on 5^th of October also has an item song! Composed by Avadhoot Gupte ‘Todfod’ is a hatke new item song from ‘Boyz 2’ that has already become viral on the social media.

The lyrics of this song are penned by the dialogue writer of the film, Hrishikesh Koli, whereas the song is sung by Ganesh Chandanshive, Mugdha Karhade & Prasanjit Kosambi. The major attraction of this song more than the item girl is the versatile actor Girish Kulkarni! He seems to be in an altogether different mood in this song!

‘Boyz 2’ tells the story of our boys who are now in college & the film is directed by the same director who made the first part Vishal Devrukhkar. The lead stars Sumant Shinde, Parth Bhalerao & Prateek Lad are reprising their roles from the first part & this time they look in top form! Presented by Eros International, Everest Entertainment, Avadhoot Gupte, a ‘Supreme Motion Pictures’ release, ‘Boyz 2’ is produced by Lalsaheb Shinde, Rajendra Shinde, & Sanjay Chhabria!

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