• Review : Vitthala Shappath (2016) 
• Producer : Sairaj Kank, Prafull P Ajmera, Sukesh Sawardekar and Joahn Nadar
• Director : Chandrakant Pawar
• Star Cast : Mangesh Desai, Anuradha Rajadhyaksha, Krutika Gaikwad, Ketan Pawar, Anshuman Vichare, Uday Sabnis, Vidyadhar Joshi and Sanjay Khapre
• Story : Chandrakant Pawar
• Music : Chinar Mahesh
• Review By : Abhay Salvi

Rating : 1/5

Vitthala Shappath Marathi Movie Review :

Vitthala Shappath is a film that fails on so many levels that it is impossible to remember all of them. To start with the most basic flaw is the hero itself. It seems like Marathi audiences should now develop the habit of accepting incompetent actors as their heroes & heroines. However if you still have an appetite for watching good acting you could be rewarded by one or two known seasoned actors in the supporting cast.

In case of Vitthala Shappath Mangesh Desai is that reward. No matter how unapologetically pointless the plot of the film is Mangesh Desai manages to be in the skin of his character throughout. I was reminded of veteran actor-singer Vasantrao Deshpande’s little part in the cult classic Ashtavinayak. Mangesh Desai portrays a gold hearted father to our incompetent hero, though Desai’s purpose in the conflict is equally pointless as the film.  

The most unbearable parts in the film represent a very strong south Indian influence. No not just the songs, & our incompetent hero’s antics, but also the backdrop of land mafia & the political connections. In one of the songs at the background we can notice the poster of Ankush Chaudhari starrer Guru. Guru was unfortunately among the first Marathi films in the mainstream that started employing the south formula in our films. However the audiences have never shown any adulation towards the formula in Marathi especially because our audiences are already consuming the same through different multimedia mediums. Even Hindi cinema learned its lesson & put a halt on manufacturing south formula films at an alarming pace (yes they were at one point). 

Vitthala Shappath’s another primary failure is that it doesn’t try one bit to get anywhere near the real devotion of Vitthal devotees. A Vitthal devotee has enough Vitthal in himself, that he would never be in a state to fight a war just for building a Vitthal temple. Even if we forgive this error, this whole phenomenon isn’t even strong enough on an emotional level. Yes even Mangesh Desai’s honest performance isn’t good enough to establish the emotional connect. Maybe (just maybe) if this film was riding completely on Desai’s shoulders it had a better chance to make that connect.

Another good actor has been wasted in ‘Vitthala Shappath’. Sanjay Khapre as a good hearted drunk lawyer. Honestly I could see a lot of scope for Khapre’s character to be the driving force in the second half. His character of the lawyer who is supposed to save our (incompetent) hero gets a decent amount of screen time to be established. But the shocking part is that we never see how he actually saves the hero. Yes the film skips the whole court battle part, with ubrittled confidence.

The music & background of this film matches the chaotic atmosphere of the film with utter dedication. This film has been credited with a number of writers but for many montage sequences it avoids using dialogues suggesting us as if they didn’t really exist in the first place & hence the montage were improvised instead. 

The film ends on a laughable sad end that again is a poor attempt to reinforce the conflict of the film. I couldn’t really figure out why did the film hints the climax in the opening scene of the film. Not that we care, but let’s assume if an audience is really bothered about the hero & heroine’s future, they must have already predicted it, while making the exercise of going through the runtime pointless. 

Overall:

You have to be a die-hard fan of Mangesh Desai to sit through ‘Vitthala Shappath’ & be mildly satisfied by it.   

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• Movie : Vitthala Shappath (2016) | विठ्ठला शपथ
• Producer : Sairaj Kank, Prafull P Ajmera, Sukesh Sawardekar and Joahn Nadar
• Directer : Chandrakant Pawar
• Studio : Gurudarshan Films
• Star Cast : Mangesh Desai, Anuradha Rajadhyaksha, Krutika Gaikwad, Ketan Pawar, Anshuman Vichare, Uday Sabnis, Vidyadhar Joshi and Sanjay Khapre
• Story : Chandrakant Pawar
• Screenplay : Chandrakant Pawar
• Music : Chinar Mahesh
• Lyrics : Kshitij Patwardhan and Mangesh Kangane
• Dialogues : Kaustubh Savarkar and Bhanudas Panmand
• Director of Photography : Sandy
• Choreography : Umesh Jadhav
• Art Director : Vasu Patil
• Editor : Ashish Mhatre and Apurva Motiwale Sahai
• Publicity Design : Milind Matkar
• Genre  : Drama
• Release Date : 15th September 2017

Synopsis:

Vitthala Shappath Marathi Movie Poster / Still Photos :

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‘Vitthala Shappath’ is an upcoming Marathi film that is soon set to release in theatres. The new song ‘Jhakkas Chokra’ from the film has been out recently & it is getting good response on social media. The song reflects the new colourful style of dance numbers in Marathi.

This dance number is sung by Pravin Kunwar & is composed by the young sensational composers Chinar-Mahesh. The lyrics of this song are written by popular lyricist in Marathi today Mangesh Kangane. The video of this song reminds of the south Indian flavour that is loved by all audiences in India today.

This ‘Jhakkas Chokra Song’ intrigues us about the film. The film stars Mangesh Desai, Anuradha Rajadhyaksha, Krutika Gaikwad, Ketan Pawar, Anshuman Vichare, Uday Sabnis, Vidyadhar Joshi and Sanjay Khapre & is directed by Chandrakant Pawar. Other songs of the film will also be out soon which are sung by popular singers like Swapnil Bandodkar, Anandi Joshi, Adarsh Shinde & Rahul Deshpande.

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Recently the music launch event of upcoming Marathi movie ‘Vitthala Shappath ’ was held in a grand way in the presence of many dignitaries. The vent was a success thanks to the experiences shared by the musical team of the film & skits performed by the artists of the film. Director Chandrakant Pawar believes the audiences will enjoy the songs of ‘Vithala Shapath’.

‘Vithala Shapath’ is produced by Gurudarshan Films & Pahel Production L.L.P & is set to release on 15th September. The film will project the relation between lord Vithal & his devotees. Songs of this film complement the story of the film. These songs are penned by popular lyricists Kshitij Patwardhan & Mangesh Kangne & the music is composed by Chinar-Mahesh.

The soundtrack of ‘Vithala Shapath’ includes various songs of different genres in the voices of popular singers like Rahul Deshpande, Adarsh Shinde, Anandi Joshi & Swapnil Bandodkar. The film too stars veterans like Mangesh Desai, Uday Sabnis, Vidyadhar Joshi, Sanjay Khapre, Anshuman Vichare, Vijay Nikam & other actors like Anuradha Rajadhyaksha Ketan Pawar, Pranav Raorane among others.

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• Review : Ringan (2017) 
• Producer : Vitthal Patil, Ganesh Phuke, Mahesh Yewale, Yogesh Nikam, Makrand Mane, Vidhi Kasliwal
• Director : Makrand Mane
• Star Cast :Shashank Shende, Master Sahil Joshi, Suhas Sirsat, Kalyanee Mulay, Vijay Salve, Umesh Jagtap, Shantanu Gangane, Abhay Mahajan, Vitthal Patil, Ketan Pawar, Shyam Savaji
  Govind Bhatlavande, Dattatray Jagtap, Prashant Tapasvi, Omkar Mane
• Writer : Makrand Mane
• Music : Rohit Nagbhide
• Review By : Abhay Salvi

Rating : 4.5/5

Ringan Marathi Movie Review :

‘Ringan’ means a circle. In the context of this film ‘the circle of life’. And in this circle of life at regular intervals there is darkness & then there’s light. However as a wise wizard once said, “Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, when one only remembers to turn on the light.”

What Makarand Mane (director) succeeds in doing is to motivate oneself to look out for the light. A film that is so relevant to the current disastrous state of our farmer could have gone either ways. One way that was previously taken by a film like ‘Gabhricha Paus’. That way was effective in an opposite way. A depressing end is not necessarily, a depressing message. The marketing strategy of team ‘Ringan’ has strictly been that this film is presenting a solution!

Also Read : Shashank Shende Exclusive Interview 

But in my understanding the solution isn’t that simple & hence the positivity that could drive oneself towards finding a solution is what the film actually gives the audience, instead of the solution itself. Beyond this very local context of the film, beneath there’s a universal theme to it. The father-son bond is not new in universal cinema, but ‘Ringan’ is probably the best depiction of the same in the recent history of Indian Cinema.

After winning the national award for Best Marathi film two years ago, ‘Ringan’ has waited for it’s time & fortunately or unfortunately it’s releasing in times where we’ve just went through a huge farmer’s strike. But the ‘light’ part is that there’s ‘Waari’ atmosphere all over Maharashtra. Just like ‘Elizabeth Ekadashi’ Pandharpur is an essential part of this film. In one of the dialogues the lead character says to an old man, you & me we’re here because we believe there’s god in Pandharpur! And then the journey suggests us that for finding the god within one must work towards it. Miracles don’t occur on their own, one must create one’s own miracle!

Shashank Shende is absolutely brilliant in the film. His silence speaks louder than his words, & those magical eyes! The little kid Sahil Joshi is a true find. He compliments Shende beautifully. Abhay Mahajan too does the ‘good guy’ part soulfully. Kalyanee Mulye is seen in a surprising role & has done justice to it. Most of the film was shot with a hidden cam & many a times you can actually sense normal people present at that place in the frame. The film has been shot beautifully & the editing too is top notch. The background score too needs a mention. The songs & background are so immersed in one another that it’s difficult to recognize them separately.

Ringan is an extremely rare ‘complete’ film that can interest all kinds of audience. It also proves that to make a good film ‘budget’ can never be an issue. The Marathi audiences too have consistently proved that they are not expecting lavish sets, locations or prosperity to be seen in Marathi films. There are lot of other Hindi & South films that can serve them that, in Marathi they look out for a human connection & ‘Ringan’ makes a connection instantly.

With nothing exciting to watch among the Hindi releases ‘Ringan’ has a bright chance of pulling a good amount of audiences. Earlier in the month we had ‘Muramba’ which proved Marathi audiences definitely have a great taste for good content.  

Overall:

Ringan is a must watch! It’s probably the best Marathi film made in years! The best aspect of it is that even after being universal in theme & approach the heart of it is very ‘Marathi’!

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Shashank Shende starrer ‘Ringan’ is releasing on 30^th June & on this occasion we made Shashank Shende open up about Ringan, Marathi cinema, Majid Majidi & life in general!

Ringan is shot in Pandharpur. Do you think Ringan would have been a different film, if it was shot in a different city?

Yes it would have been a different film, because ‘Pandharpur’ is a character in this film. The film has been consciously placed in Pandharpur & not accidently. Pandharpur is Maharashtra’s most holy place. Every needy person comes at Pandharpur to meet Vitthal.

Many audiences have already seen the film at different film festivals, what are their reactions?

The major reaction that I observed at almost all places where the people saw this film was that within 5-10 minutes of the film’s runtime the audiences don’t feel that they are watching a film! The fourth wall between the screen & the audiences was broken. They felt as if they are actually a part of the process & it’s all happening in their presence.

Sahil Joshi, who plays your child in the film, is without a mother in the film. In real life Sahil’s father has passed away, how did you prepare him for this role?

Firstly, Sahil came with someone else for the auditions. He wasn’t really there for the auditions. But when Makarand (Makrand Mane, director of Ringan) saw him, he asked Sahil if he would like to work in the film, and he said yes. Very soon Sahil was locked in for the role & the rest of the process started. Sahil was part of the reading process, improvisations & all. Then when the film was shot for around 20 days in Pandharpur, Sahil didn’t have anyone from his relatives. He lived with us, with the whole team. He is actually from Talegaon Dabhade & his performance is too sweet in the film!

Sir, is there any resemblance of your personal journey so far to the journey that your character goes through in this film?

I think there’s a ‘Ringan’ in everyone’s life. We start from a point & then at a point a circle is completed. We start from zero & reach 100. My character’s journey too is similar. Throughout his journey he goes through many experiences, many emotions & that applies to all of us. But we don’t realize it when we are going through this whole journey. This personal journey gives us the essential maturity.

Though the journey of your character in this film is filled with sorrow & obstacles, there’s still an uplifting, positive approach to the film!

That too is a conscious decision! From the very beginning we wanted to make this film about the goodness in human beings. Yes there are many unfortunate things happening all around but we’ve made an attempt to give a solution to this. We’ve shown in this film that if a human behaves like a human, many of our problems can be solved. And that is the best part about the film. There are no unnecessary songs or other interruptions or even any melodrama. The film goes on smoothly. One thing’s for sure the audiences will feel that they’ve watched something fulfilling.

The basic theme of this film, the father-son relationship or the backdrop of poverty, all of it is very universal. From Bicycle Thieves to countless other films around the world, many films have been made on it. What is it that you think is so universal about it & why all audiences connect with it?

More than poverty this film is more relation-based, the father and his son & the relation between them. Suppose in a scene a father slaps his child. When an audience watches a film like this, they actually get into the actual scenario of what has driven the father to do such an act. Today the father & son relationship has evolved differently. There is no longer a wall between them. Today my child shares a lot of things with me, & I too share a few things with him. All this is because of the emotional strength that has grown along the years. This same is relatable to all audiences & it’s not really intellectual in any way.

Currently in Marathi Cinema we are seeing more & more human stories. What’s your take on the current scenario in Marathi Cinema?

I think most of our stories are relationship-based. I am a little doubtful whether our films are exploring the cinematic aspect of these stories. If I am shown the same thing that I can watch on T.V., then what’s the point?

You mean we aren’t exploring the visual aspect of cinema?

Not simply visual, but a particular thought needs to be explored differently in Cinema. I recently shot for Majid Majidi’s upcoming Irani film ‘Beyond the Clouds’ here in India itself. I realized the same working with him. He stressed to explore different aspects of a particular relation, whether it’s a father-son relation or anything else. I feel to explore more we need to have command over this medium. If you notice most of our recent good films like ‘Fandry’ or ‘Khwada’ or others are a reflection of the past of the director-writer. The next step after this is about ‘crafting’. You take a story & craft it with a start, middle & an end. There are very few craft oriented films in Marathi. The recent ‘Muramba’ did have the craft in some aspects though.       

Yes along with ‘Muramba’ we also have films made by Umesh Kulkarni in Marathi!

Umesh is truly an exception. I think he is the only director in Marathi who has truly understood the language of Cinema. But the rest of us are still pretty much dialogue oriented. In Umesh’s films we can actually see the story unfold through visuals. Hence, Umesh is not bounded simply by Marathi films. He is truly a world class director. Umesh, Majid Majidi & other such filmmakers don’t belong to any language or country. They are all beyond all this boundaries.

How different it was to work with Majid Majidi compared to working with Indian filmmakers?

A lot different! My first shot took around 15 takes! Majid Majidi doesn’t speak any other language but Persian & the mediator was telling something very different from what Majid Majidi actually wanted from me. The cameraman of this film, Anil Mehta told me to work this out differently. Then the three of us we discussed a bit. I asked Majid Majidi to perform & show me what exactly is that he wants from me. And believe me Majid Majidi is as good an actor as good a director he is! Then what I performed satisfied him! We Indians in general react loudly to everything. And we never listen to the person speaking. The process of listening, digesting & then to react on it is hardly understood by us.

Sir, on a final note how do you think Ringan will inspire the audiences?  

I think Ringan is a film that underlines the goodness in human beings. Yes it’s a father-son movie, & its set in Pandharpur but the defining aspect of Ringan is the commentary about the goodness within us!

Interview By : Abhay Salvi

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Ajay Gogavale has given us countless classic songs of different genres. But when it comes to spiritual songs Ajay’s voice becomes even more magical for example ‘Mauli Mauli’ & ‘Moraya Moraya’. Now he has returned with another soulful spiritual song ‘Dev Pahila’ from Landmark Films presents & My Role Motion Pictures produced ‘Ringan’ movie.

‘Ringan’ written & directed by Makarand Mane is a national award winning Marathi film & its story is based in the holy city of Pandharpur. The video of this song too lets us into the happenings of the film & makes us think about Lord Vitthal & his existence. Somewhere deep down this song inspires us to find the lord within ourselves & not outside.

‘Dev Pahila’ song is written by Vaibhav Deshmukh & is composed by Rohit Nagbhide. Another song in this film titled ‘Vitthala’ too stretches the similar spiritual approach which is sung by Adarsh Shinde, written by Dasu Vaidya & composed by Rohit Nagbhide.

Listen all Songs From Movie Ringan

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Makarand Mane directorial ‘Ringan’ movie won the prestigious national award for the best film in Marathi last year. Since then the film has been honored at loved at different film festivals. And now Vidhi Kasliwal’s ‘Landmarc Films’ has backed the film which is set to release on 30th June.

The new trailer of the film was recently revealed on social media. The film is set in the holy land of Pandharpur & is mainly about the journey of a poor farmer & his son who are trying to make the ends meet. The trailer also suggests that the child doesn’t have a mother & is searching his mother in Pandharpur.

Along with Shashank Shende (who plays the father) & the child artist Sahil Joshi the film also stars Kaltyanee Mulaye, Abhay Mahajan & Ketan Pawar in pivotal roles. It’s important that the audiences don’t ignore such already felicitated & honored Marathi films & hence make sure you don’t miss ‘Ringan’ which releases on 30th June in theatres all over Maharashtra.

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• Movie : Ringan (2017)| रिंगण
• Producer : Vitthal Patil, Ganesh Phuke, Mahesh Yewale, Yogesh Nikam, Makrand Mane, Vidhi Kasliwal
• Director : Makrand Mane
• Studio : Landmarc Films, My Role Motion Pictures Production
• StarCast :
  • Shashank Shende
  • Sahil Joshi
  • Kaltyanee Mulaye
  • Abhay Mahajan
  • Ketan Pawar
  • Umesh Jagtap
  • Shantanu Gangane
  • Vitthal Patil
  • Shyam Savaji
  • Govind Bhatlawande
  • Dattatray Jagtap
  • Prashant Tapasvi
  • Omkar Mane
• Writer : Makrand Mane
• Screenplay & Dialogues : Mahesh Manjrekar & Abhijeet Deshpande
• Music : Rohit Nagbhide
• Lyrics : Dasu Vaidya. Shashank Shende, Vaibhav Deshmukh
• Singers : Ajay Gogawale, Adarsh Shinde, Niranjan Pedgaonkar, Gandhaar
• Sound Designer : Mahavir Sabannavar
• Background Music : Gandhar
• Cinematography (DOP) :  Abhijit D. Adbe
• Editor : Suchitra Sathe
• Art Director : Mahesh Kore
• Costumes :  Sonniya Sahasrabuddhe
• Make-Up : Santosh Gilbile
• Executive-producer :  Sanjay Dawra
• Genre :  Coming of Age Drama
• Duration : 106min
• Release Date : 30 June 2017

Synopsis :It is the heart-warming journey of father and son; the endearing pursuit of a 7-year old boy to find his dead mother, innocently mistaking her to be at God’s abode and the tireless plight of his father, a farmer stuck in the vicious circle of drought and debt. With no one else to turn to, they travel to Pandharpur, God’s abode, where each thinks they will find what they seek. But this search tests their harmony, morality, integrity and faith. Will this physical and emotional quest help them find a way to mend their bond? And will the underdog father and son redeem themselves to find a way out of this cycle of misfortune and emerge victorious?

Ringan Marathi Movie Photos, Poster :

Ringan Marathi Movie Teaser Trailer :

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We have seen many Hollywood actors whose method acting stories are romanticized by film writer & fans but a similar approach in our films is ignored by all. Recently a few passionate artists proved that even Marathi artists can give their heart & soul to the role & performance.

Popular comic actor Bharat Ganeshpure & young actress Aishwariya Tupe were filming an intense argument scen in Dr. Sudhir Nikam directorial ‘Khopa’ Marathi film, when suddenly Bharat Ganeshpure & the director Dr. Sudhir Nikam decided that to bring realism in the scene Aishwariya has to slap Bharat Ganeshpure.

At first Aishwariya was hesistant to slap Bharat Sir as he is one of the most loved & respected actors in Marathi but then both the director & Bharat Ganeshpure himself convinced the actress to do the needful to bring the impact in the scene! And Aishwariya did it, but after that she was under lots of mental stress & took lots of time to come out of it.

‘Khopa’ is film that gives a social message & also stars Yatin Karyekar & Vikram Gokhale in important roles.

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