• Review : Deool Band (2015)
• Directors: Pravin Tarde and Pranit Kulkarni
• Producers: Vatavruksha Entertainment
• Writers: Pravin Tarde and Pranit Kulkarni
• Cast : Gashmeer Mahajani, Mohan Joshi, Mohan Agashe,Girija Joshi, Nivedita Saraf
• Review By: Keyur Seta

Rating : 1.5/5

Review:

Turning an atheist into a theist requires conviction, more than anything else. Unfortunately, this is not the only issue with Deool Banda. In trying to be over-ambitiously religious and entertaining at the same time, the film ends up making fun of itself and that too through a duration of 3 hours and 5 minutes.

It revolves around the scientist Dr Raghav Shastri (Gashmeer Mahajani), who is an NRI living in the US. He visits India, with his wife and daughter, to add value to ISRO’s (Indian Space Research Organization) security systems that track terror activities. Raghav is a strict atheist, who is against Swami Samartha due to personal reasons.

Due to security reasons, he is given accommodation in a normal housing society. He is annoyed to know that the society has a Swami Samartha temple, which is thronged by residents throughout the day. Simultaneously, Raghav is having a tough time with ISRO members, whom he considers good-for-nothing.

Frankly speaking, Deool Banda has nothing working for itself. It looks as if the makers were so eager to spread the worship of Swami Samartha that they completely forgot about a proper storyline and a convincing narration. Merely speaking great things about Swami Samartha and playing his songs isn’t enough.

The film doesn’t stop at that. Swami Samartha is also an important character. So, one would expect him to spread his message and wisdom. But almost all the time, he just makes fun of the protagonist through one-liners and PJs. However, in a way, this is the only aspect that makes the film somewhat watchable as it produces both intentional and unintentional laughter.

There is more unintentional laughter in store through the following points:-

• The title is established in a shockingly silly manner. The protagonist wishes to take revenge on the society members by getting the temple closed. So, he calls up the head of ISRO, who puts forth the request to the Prime Minister of India (!!!). The temple is sealed within 20 minutes and, on top of that, a couple of cops stand on guard around it. Seriously? How dumb can you expect the audience to be?
• The members of this housing society are continuously seen worshiping Swami Samartha whenever they appear. The makers have simply crossed the line between being religious and being religious fanatic.
• A resident wakes up the protagonist daily as early as 5 am more than once and urges him to attend the aarti despite knowing that he is an atheist. The protagonist, who gets irritated and angry at every little thing, hardly reacts to this.
• Raghav stays on the 10^th  floor. Yet he is able to hear loud noises of the aarti even after shutting all windows, although there is no use of any kind of speaker or microphone.
• There is a certain Mr Deshpande in ISRO. He is supposed to be funny but turns out to be completely the opposite. Worse, the protagonist recalls his antics later on in detail while laughing uncontrollably. But apart from him, nobody else is laughing.
• The protagonist and the audience are forcefully made to visit a series of holy places through some flimsy reasons. This is the major reason for such an enormous length.
• The behavior and reactions of characters throughout the film is questionable and weird.

Many more points can be added but they aren’t to avoid spoilers. A couple of religious songs do go well with the subject. There is nothing noteworthy in the camerawork. The background score is too loud, especially during an important scene where you are forced to cover your ears.

The biggest plus point is Gashmeer Mahajani. He succeeds in proving that apart from good looks, more importantly, he also possesses some serious acting talent. Mohan Joshi provides entertainment as Swami Samartha. Girija Joshi is average in the role of a routine wife of an ambitious husband. Nivedita Saraf appears over-religious. But not as much as Pravin Tarde, who turns out to be a fanatic. Mohan Agashe is decent.

Overall:

Deool Band tries too hard to put across a message without any sort of conviction. It might attract a decent crowd due to the subject of Swami Samartha. But there isn’t much hope at the box office.

The post Review: Deool Band – Humorously unconvincing appeared first on MarathiStars.

Mohan Joshi is one of the leading character actors who have made their high places in the Marathi and Hindi film industry. Now his latest film ‘Deool Band’ is all set for release and we spoke to the rugged actor about his new film. Here is what he has said.

What is the film ‘Deool Bandh’ all about?

It is about science versus religion. The syndrome about the believers and the non- believers of God. The film tries to explore the pros and cons of religion and the various opinions about them in the common masses.

What is your character in the film?

I play Swami Samarth, a great saint of the previous centuries who had a great following among the masses and was supposed to be a miracle maker. There are still people who worship him and believe in him.

How did you prepare for the role?

I went entirely by the directors conviction as no one has seen the saint nor any material is available about him but he was supposed to be very short tempered and I have inculcated this trait in the character.

Tell us something about your young co-star Gashmeer Mahajani?

He is very talented and tough looking and dances well and emotes well. Of course he is the son of ex-star Ravindra Mahajani and I am sure he will make his father proud. He is a good choreographer also.

Tell us something about the director duo.

Yes. The directors Praveen Tarde and Pranit Kulkarni are no doubt good directors and know their craft and are well versed in story telling and the technique of film-making . I am sure they will go far.

What about acting in Hindi cinema?

I have stopped acting in Hindi cinema for the last 10-12 years and will concentrate on Marathi film industry.

The post Interview : Mohan Joshi Plays Swami Samarth in ‘Deool Band’! appeared first on MarathiStars.

The story of ‘Deool Band’ revolves around an atheist played by Gashmeer Mahajani and his fight to shut down the temple. He is a complete nonbeliever in god and has a strong dislike for religious people.

Mahajani is seen on a spree to stop all the devotional activities. One fine day, the god himself comes up, and gives a 360 degree turn to the life of the protagonist.

Starcast of the movie includes some of the finest actors like Girija Joshi, Mohan Agashe, Nivedita Saraf, Shweta Shinde, Satish Alekar, Kiran Yadnyopavit, Sharvari Jamenis, Sunil Abhyankar, Pravin Tarde, Snehal Tarde, Ramesh Pardeshi, Devendra Gaikwad, Deepak Karanjikar, & Arya Ghare.

Directed by Pravin Vitthal Tarde & Pranit Kulkarni the movie is all set to hit the theatres on July 31st, 2015.

The post Deool Band (Marathi Movie) Trailer appeared first on MarathiStars.

Legendary Marathi actor-director Mahesh Manjrekar launched theatrical trailer of Mohan Joshi starrer ‘Deool Band’. The film stars Mohan Joshi as Swami Samarth, along with Gashmeer Mahajani, Nivedita Saraf, Girija Joshi. Produced by Jayashree Kailash Wani and Julie Kailash Wani of Vatvruksha Entertainment, the film marks the directorial debut of duo Pravin Tarade and Pranit Kulkarni. Based on Swami’s philosophies, the film deals with Science versus spirituality and beyond science and is slated to release on 31st July.
Shot across more than five states the film is a pure commercial entertainer.

The theatrical trailer gives the audience a glimpse of all the elements of the film. The Music and Background score compliments the visuals crafted by Narendra Bhide. The trailer also highlights the songs choreographed by the well-known choreographer Umesh Jadhav, and gives a glimpse of the dramatic transformation, both in character and situations which Gashmeer and Mohan Joshi go through. The film features Mohan Joshi in a never seen before calm, confident and humorous side of Swami Samarth’s Avatar.

Other credits include Dialogues: and Original story: Pravin Tarde, Director of Photography: Prashant B. Misle, Editor: Mayur Hardas, Music: Narendra Bhide, Lyrics: Pranit Kulkarni and Executive Producer: Club 11

The post Mahesh Manjrekar unveils Theatrical trailer of Deool Band appeared first on MarathiStars.

Music duo Ajay-Atul today launched the music of Pravin Tarade and Pranit Kulkarni’s highly anticipated Marathi film ‘Deool Band’ in an event in Pune. Produced by Jayshree Kailas Wani and Juili Kailas Wani under the Vatvruksha Entertainment banner, the film has Mohan Joshi essaying the role of Swami Samarth, features the return of Nivedita Joshi to Marathi cinema after a considerable gap and also has Gashmeer Mahajani in a leading role. The film is slated to hit the silver screen on 31st July 2015.

Held at the Siddhi Banquet Hall, the ‘Deool Band’ music launch was a star studded night with Marathi industry in attendance. In addition to Mohan Joshi, Nivedita Joshi, producers Jayshree Kailas Wani and Juili Kailas Wani, director duo of Pravin Tarade and Pranit Kulkarni, and singers Suresh Wadkar, Adarsh Shinde and Vibhavari Apte, Marathi film industry figureheads and the complete lead cast of ‘Deool Band’, amongst others, were also present.

The Highlight of the event though was when Ajay Gogavale and other singers performed live on the songs mesmerizing the audiences. Shot across Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka Deool Banda is based on teachings of Swami Samarth.

Composed by Narendra Bhide, Deool Band’s soundtrack is being released through Vatvruksha Vatvruksha Entertainment and features industry’s most popular singers Suresh Wadkar, Shankar Mahadevan, Adarsh Shinde, Vibhavari Apte and Ajay Gogavale. The films lyrics have been written by Pranit Kulkarni.

The post Ajay-Atul launch Music of Marathi film ‘Deool Band’ appeared first on MarathiStars.

• Movie : Deool Band
• Producers : Mrs. Jayashree Kailas Wani, Juili Kailas Wani
• Director : Pravin Vitthal Tarde & Pranit Kulkarni
• Studio : Vatavruksha Entertainment
• StarCast : Gashmeer Mahajani, Girija Joshi, Mohan Agashe, Nivedita Saraf, Shweta Shinde, Satish Alekar, Kiran Yadnyopavit, Sharvari Jamenis, Sunil Abhyankar, Pravin Tarde, Snehal Tarde, Ramesh Pardeshi, Devendra Gaikwad, Deepak Karanjikar, & Arya Ghare
• Story and Dialogues : Pravin Vitthal Tarde
• Screenplay : Pravin Vitthal Tarde and Pranit Kulkarni
• Music: Narendra Bhide, Rohit Nagbhide
• Lyrics : Pranit Kulkarni
• Photography : Prashant Misale
• Make up : Mahesh Barate
• Costumes : Sonniya Sahasrabudhe
• Art : Siddharth Tatuskar
• Executive Producer : Club 11
• Genre : Drama and Thriller
• Release Date : July 31, 2015

Plot : The story of a scientist who does not believe in God.

Deool Band Marathi Movie Photos :

The post Deool Band Marathi Movie appeared first on MarathiStars.

• Review : Salaam (2014)
• Director : Kiran Yadnyopavit
• Producer : Calyx Media and Entertainment
• Writer : Kiran Yadnyopavit
• Cast : Vivek Chabukswar,  Abhishek Bharate, Girish Kulkarni, Kishore Kadam, Atisha Naik, Jyoti Chandekar
• Music : Rahul Ranade
• Genre : Drama
• Review By : Keyur Seta

Rating : * * *½

Story Outline:

In a picturesque village in Maharashtra lives Raghunath aka Raghya (Vivek Chabukswar), studying in seventh standard. His father (Girish Kulkarni) works with Mumbai police as a constable; he visits his family in between. Shankar aka Sada (Abhishek Bharate) is Raghya’s classmate and close friend. His father is an officer with the Indian Army.

Sada believes his father’s profession is more prestigious than Raghya’s father while Raghya feels vice-versa. Once, their school teacher (Kishore Kadam) hands over a voluntary task of collecting funds for a noble cause to the students. This exercise becomes the turning point in the friendship of Raghya and Sada.

Review:

Kiran Yadnyopavit’s Taryanche Bait was about an obsessive desire of a child and his relation with his father. Although the storyline of his latest offering Salaam is entirely different, it also focuses on a fixated longing of a kid and his relation with someone, this time a friend. The similarities don’t end here as Salaam, just like Taryanche Bait, turns out to be a delightfully moving experience.

The film doesn’t follow a conventional storytelling method. Through the experiences and routine lives of the character, a plot emerges in the background. But this doesn’t test your patience whatsoever. Instead, you are treated to a series of pleasurable moments as the characters go about their business. The beautiful and utterly peaceful locations add to the delight. The effort to pay tribute to army officer and policemen in between is also laudable.

In the latter part of the second half, however, there comes a point when not only is your patience is tested but you are also left a bit confused by the turn of events. Thankfully, all your doubts are cleared by a soul-stirring climax that pleases you no ends! The simple manner in which Yadnyopavit has presented a pleasing message by just using the visual medium proves he is here to stay for long.

The scenic locations appear more beautiful through cinematographer Abhijit Abde’s lens. From Rahul Ranade’s music, the song ‘Timbacktoo’ is worth mentioning. His background score too goes well with the proceedings. But repeating a particular background tune too many times could have been avoided.

The performances of two kids play a large role in creating an impact. Vivek Chabukswar is excellent as Raghya! It is incredible how he can display such varied emotions at such a young age. Abhishek Bharate, as Sada, isn’t far behind either in a supporting role. Girish Kulkarni leaves a mark in a lovable cameo. Kishore Kadam too deserves a similar praise.

Atisha Naik, as Raghya’s mother, and Jyoti Chandekar, as his grandmother, also chip in with good performances. There are some well-enacted cameos also from Pravin Tarde, Shashank Shende, Savita Prabhune, Suhas Shirsat, Sanjay Khapre and few others.

Overall :

Salaam is a gem of a film that deserves a salaam. But it is sad to see such lack of proper hype for such a good effort. Hence, it will struggle at the box office.

The post Review : Salaam (2014) appeared first on MarathiStars.

‘Salaam’ Marathi Movie
Music Director – Rahul Ranade
Singer – Avdhoot Gupte
Lyrics – Vaibhav Joshi
Producer – Dr. Gaurav Somani
Director – Kiran Yadnyopavit

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