The Marathi film ‘Highway’ directed by Umesh Vinayak Kulkarni and Produced under the banner of Arbhaat Films has won the “Best Director” and the “Best Film” award at the 16^th New York Film Festival.

The festival organised by the Indo-American Arts Council was held in New York from 7^th to 14^th May 2016. It is one of the Oldest and most Prestigious Indian film festival in the U.S. There were a selective 40 films in the fray and ‘Highway’ stood out amongst all and won both the awards. The panel consisted of a 13 member jury who has worked in Indian & American film industry.

The best director award was presented by Saeed Mirza & Syed Akbaruddin and the best film was presented by Sulman Rushdie. This has added one more feather in Arbhaat film’s cap which always produces films representing social concerns with cinematic excellence.For Umesh Kulkarni,this is his 4^th film,after Valu Vihir and Deool which has gained International recognition.

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• Review : Highway (2015)
• Director: Umesh Vinayak Kulkarni
• Producers: Arbhaat Films and Kharapoos Films
• Writer: Girish Kulkarni
• Cast: Girish Kulkarni, Renuka Shahane Rana, Huma Qureshi, Sunil Barve, Vrushali Kulkarni, Mukta Barve, Tisca Chopra, Kishore Kadam
• Music: Amit Trivedi
• Genre: Drama
• Review By : Keyur Seta

Rating : 2.5/5

Review:

Audiences are broadly categorized either as ‘masses’ or ‘classes’, based on their preferences. But over the years another sub-category under ‘classes’ has evolved called ‘festival audience’. Umesh Vinayak Kulkarni’s Highway falls under this category. The film is strictly for those who are fine with watching something thoroughly experimental.

Highway features a road journey from Mumbai to Pune involving the following characters:-

• A good-natured but hot-headed NRI (Girish Kulkarni) visiting his ailing father in Pune in a cab. He has a tussle with the driver. Later on, he provides a lift to a man injured in an accident (Vidyadhar Joshi) and his wife (Renuka Shahane Rana).
• A couple (Sunil Barve and Vrushali Kulkarni) whose marriage is on the verge of a breakdown.
•  A TV actress (Huma Qureshi) visiting Pune to take part in a political event. She is traveling with the party’s karyakarta (Shrikant Yadav).

• A middle-aged married woman (Tisca Chopra) is excited for a fun time in Pune with a gigolo [male prostitute (Mayur Khandge)], who is traveling with her.
•  A bar dancer (Mukta Barve) traveling with her aunt. The passenger sitting next to her is having a tough time because of her. A bird seller is also their fellow traveler.
• A south Indian ruffian (Nagraj Manjule) and his aides take a lift in a truck. They are carrying something suspicious.
• A man (Kishore Kadam), traveling in a taxi, is physically and mentally abused by his wife throughout the journey while their fellow passenger looks on in disgust.
• A father on a bus with his deaf and mute child.
• A family relocating from Mumbai to Pune with their belongings in a tempo.

Initially, it appears as if the first half is a build-up for the main story. Journey of the aforementioned characters is shown randomly one after the other without any link between them. However, it doesn’t trigger boredom at all due to the fast-paced conversations, constant humor, which is real and subtle, and your expectation for some story development in the second half.

But that doesn’t happen. Post-interval you realize that there is no basic plot as such or something that knits together all tales. No doubt, various questions raised that make you ponder over certain things. But it isn’t enough, more so with a high length of 137 minutes. A film of such genre needs to be narrated in a duration well under 120 minutes.

Technical aspects play a large role in making the film watchable. The film is smartly edited. It isn’t easy for an editor in such genre of films. Sudhakar Reddy’s camerawork complements the subject. The use of shaky hand-held camera adds to the realism. Amit Trivedi’s tunes are melodious.

The performances keep you interested. Girish Kulkarni is the best of the lot. He has displayed his amazing talent while playing a complicated character. Renuka Shahane Rana too gives an adorable performance. Sunil Barve and Vrushali Kulkarni perfectly fit their respective characters.

Huma Qureshi and Tisca Chopra, making their Marathi debuts, succeed in speaking through expressions. Both of them only speak Hindi though, as per their characters. Mukta Barve, Kishore Kadam and the actress playing his wife also chip in with fine acts. The rest of the actors too display their goodness.

Overall:

Highway is an experimental product only suited for the festival audience.

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Highway– one of the most anticipated films of 2015 will be released on 28 August all over Maharashtra. The date of the release was postponed from 24 July to the last week of August due to some technical delays in the post-production. The film is first road movie in Marathi and encompasses journey of several people on a busy highway.

Highway is written by Girish Kulkarni- who has also acted in the film and directed by critically acclaimed director Umesh Kulkarni. The film encompasses the journey of various people from different socio-economic backgrounds on Mumbai Pune Express Highway. The main attraction of this movie has been its huge starcast which includes some stalwarts from Marathi films and theatre. The star cast includes Girish Kulkarni, Renuka Shahane, Sunil Barve, Mukta Barve, Satish Alekar, Kishor Kadam, Chaaya Kadam, Nagraj Manjule, Nandkishor Chaughule, Vidyadhar Joshi, Mayur Khandge, Shreekant Yadav, Umesh Jagtap, Shubham, Shakuntala Nagarkar et al. The film also marks Marathi debut of Tisca Chopra and Huma Qureshi.

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Highway- Ek Selfie Aarpar, a highly anticipated movie directed by Umesh Kulkarni will not be hitting theaters this Friday. The movie was supposed to release on 24 July, however due to some technical difficulties, this release has been postponed- said a release from the producers. The date for the release has not yet been declared but most probably the film will be released in next month.

Producer Vinay Ganu commented that, though technical work was in full swing, our writer-director want the perfect work for this project without any compromises, we have respected their sentiments and honour their wish by postponing the release.

Highway is written by Girish Kulkarni- who has also acted in the film and directed by critically acclaimed director Umesh Kulkarni. The film encompasses the journey of various people from different socio-economic backgrounds on Mumbai Pune Express Highway. The main attraction of this movie has been its huge starcast which includes some stalwarts from Marathi films and theatre. The starcast includes Girish Kulkarni, Renuka Shahane, Sunil Barve, Mukta Barve, Satish Alekar, Kishor Kadam, Chaaya Kadam, Nagraj Manjule, Nandkishor Chaughule, Vidyadhar Joshi, Mayur Khandge, Shreekant Yadav, Umesh Jagtap, Shubham, Shakuntala Nagarkar et al. The film also marks Marathi debut of Tisca Chopra and Huma Qureshi.

The post Highway Relese postponed appeared first on MarathiStars.

Umesh Vinayak Kulkarni, the noted director of films like Girni and Deool, is now looking ahead to his next film Highway. The national award winning filmmaker reveals that it is for the first time that he has shot the film on the digital camera, instead of using his much-preferred 35mm camera. Well, that was not only challenge for Umesh. As the film is mostly shot in various cars, getting a perfect shot and managing crew in the small car with actors was a challenge for Umesh.

“Most of these cars could barely accommodate six to seven people along with the heavy camera equipment. So, apart from the three or in some cases four actors, there would be the DOP and his assistant and since it was shot in sync sound, there were the sound recordists too. So, we tried almost all positions of gymnastics, but I would end up with my head out of the vehicle and as a result, I could not see what the actors were doing. I had to completely rely on their judgment. So, a shot was okayed only if the actors gave me a thumbs up.” As the cast of Highway consists of finest talents across Marathi cinema, Umesh could have trusted there performances blindly.

The post Umesh’s unique problem while shooting for Highway appeared first on MarathiStars.

The theatrical trailer of Highway Ek Selfie Aarpar does one thing perfectly. It makes you interested in watching this film. The trailer is very fast-paced, accurate and very interesting.

Highway Ek Selfie Aarpar is a film directed by Umesh Kulkarni and produced by Aarbhat Kalakruti and Kharapoos Films. The film stars Girish Kulkarni, Renuka Shahane, Sunil Barve, Mukta Barve, Huma Satish Alekar, Kishor Kadam, Chhaya Kadam, Nagraj Manjule, Nandkishor Chaughule, Vidyadhar Joshi, Mayur Khandge, Shreekant Yadav, Umesh Jagtap, Shubhan, Shakuntala Nagarakar, Poornanand Vandekar, Nipun Dharmadhikari Devendra Gaikwad, Savita Prabhune, Makrand saptarshi. The film also marks Marathi debut of Hindi film actresses Tisca Chopra and Huma Qureshi.
The film will be releasing on 24 July all over Maharashtra.

The post Highway Ek Selfie Aarpar (Trailer): A journey of emotions appeared first on MarathiStars.

• Movie : Highway Ek Selfie Aarpar (2015)
• Producor : Vinay Waman Ganu
• Director : Umesh Vinayak Kulkarni
• Studio : Arbhaat Films, Kharapoos Films
• StarCast :Girish Kulkarni, Huma Qureshi, Tisca Chopra, Renuka Shahane Rana, Vidyadhar Joshi, Mukta Barve, Sunil Barve, Mayur Khandge, Shrikant Yadav, Kishore Chaugule, Kishor Kadam, Vrishali Kulkarni, Purva Pawar
• Writer : Girish Kulkarni
• Music : Amit Trivedi
• Lyrics : Vaibhav Joshi
• Screenplay & Dialogue : Girish Kulkarni
• Cinematography : Sudhakar Reddi
• Background Score : Mangesh Dhakde
• Editor : Paresh Kamdar
• Art Director : Prashant Bidkar
• Visual Promotion : Just Right Studioz
• Costumes : Seema Madhukar Arolkar
• Make up : Sanika Gadgil
• Executive Producer : Nitin Prakash Vaidya
• Genre : Road Movie
• Release Date : 24 July 2015

Synopsis : HIGHWAY is a story of a simple, routine Mumbai-Pune journey that our characters begin in separate vehicles. They all come from different walks of life, carrying their own baggage of what they are. Each one is in a hurry to reach their respective destinations.
The journey does not quite end as they expect it to. It provokes some questions that were hidden deep within. Highway is a film of that escape which all of us yearn for. It is an attempt to see our own reflections in today’s time.

Highway Marathi Movie Photos/Poster

Highway Marathi Movie Trailer

The post Highway (2015) appeared first on MarathiStars.

Road movies like Highway, NH10 and ZNMD are becoming a new successful genre in Hindi films. Marathi industry has also done some great road movies recently. Director Umesh Kulkarni and writer Girish Kulkarni has brought a new venture “Highway- Ek selfie Aarpaar”- a film about Mumbai-Pune Express Highway. The film is produced by Aarbhat Kalakruti and Kharapoos Films.

Recently, a music launch and first look was released in a star-studded event. The eminent film personalities from Hindi and Marathi films were present along with the cast and crew of the film. The music was launched by Ajay-atul and Satish Alekar launched first look of this film. Trailer was launched by Jyoti Subhash, Sanjay Chhabriya and Deepak Rajashyaksha. Music for this film has been given by Amit Trivedi and lyrics are by Vaibhav Joshi.
The film deals with travelers of various socio-economic backgrounds on Mumbai-Pune express highway and hw their problems resurfaces in this journey. Girish and Umesh Kulkarni have earlier given National Award winner Deool and critically acclaimed Vihir. This duo’s films are entertaining yet thought provoking and attempting to hit the message across the audience.

The film has an ensemble cast of Girish Kulkarni, Renuka Shahane, Sunil Barve, Mukta Barve, Huma Quereshi, Tisca Chopra, Satish Alekar, Kishor Kadam, Chhaya Kadam, Nagraj Manjule, Nandkishor Chaughule, Vidyadhar Joshi, Mayur Khandge, Shreekant Yadav, Umesh Jagtap, Shubhan, Shakuntala Nagarakar, Poornanand Vandekar, Nipun Dharmadhikari Devendra Gaikwad, Savita Prabhune, Makrand saptarshi, Dheeresh Joshi, Om Bhootkar, Poorva Pawar, Shivkanta Augrangabadkar, Shashank Shende, Shilpa Anaspure, Jayant Gadekar, Aditya Kulkarni, Urmila Nimbalkar, Bhushan Manjule, Saharsh Shukla and introducing Sameer Bhate and Vrushali Kulkarni.
The film will be releasing on 24 July all over Maharashtra

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