‘Freshers’ fame Mitali Mayekar has won millions of hearts with her fabulous acting skills. Mitali comes across really well on Television and Films, but this time Mitali is coming across Thaneites in a different way.

Pinkathon is going to debut in Thane on March 19^th 2017, and along with the dignitaries MilindSoman andSonali Kulkarni, Mitali is going to represent the youth. She has pledged her whole-hearted support to help make this premier run at Balkum Thane a huge success.

Mitali is absolutely excited to be a part of Pinkathon and to share this excitement with her fans, she has shared her pictures with Milind Soman and Sonali Kulkarni on social media platforms.Mitali also appealed Thaneites to lend their support and encourage such kind of initiative.

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• Review :   Astu – So Be It
• Producer : Mohan Agashe and Sheelaa Rao
• Directer : Sumitra Bhave and Sunil Sukhtankar
• StarCast : Mohan Agashe, Iravati Harshe, Milind Soman, Nachiket Purnapatre, Amruta Subhash, Devika Daftardar
• Writer : Sumitra Bhave
• Music : Saket Kanetkar and Dhananjay Kharwandikar
• Genre : Drama
• Review By : Rasik Tirodkar

Rating : * * * *

Astu Marathi Movie Review :

Astu is a deeply moving film with a lot of depth and meaning. And it manages to achieve all this in a rather modest manner, without being showy. In short, it is the kind of quality cinema that you have come to expect from the director duo of Sumitra Bhave-Sunil Sukhtankar.

The film is a lot more than what is apparent just on the surface. At the most obvious level it is about the downward spiral of a patient suffering from the dreadful disease of Alzheimer’s or Dementia and how it affects the people close to him. My own grandfather suffered from this disease, so I can vouch for the fact that portrayal of dementia in the film is researched, sensitive and accurate. Due to their disorientation, Alzheimer’s patients many times get lost. Research says that as high as three out of five such patients are likely to get lost.

Sumitra Bhave’s beautifully written screenplay uses this fact to heighten the drama and then through it explore a lot of themes and questions, giving the film a lot of depth. Bhave’s work on the screenplay here is truly exceptional. It is probably the most layered and nuanced screenplay after Ankhon Dekhi, in the recent past.

Dr. Shastri (Mohan Agashe) is a highly respected Sanskrit scholar living in Pune. An erstwhile Principal of a research institute, he is now afflicted with Alzheimer’s. In the beginning of the film, we see him getting lost in the bustling market of Laxmi Road of Pune, when he is accompanying his daughter (Iravati Harshe) to the market. Dr. Shastri, played by the veteran actor Agashe, gets fascinated by an elephant in the street and consequently gets diverged from his daughter. Astu then goes on to explore various philosophies in the rest of the duration of the film as we see his older daughter Mrs. Ira Pathak’s struggle to find her lost Father, and at the same time Dr. Shastri finding refuge with the family of the mahout of the elephant he is fascinated with.

Astu is enriched with a lot of ideas that force you to think. One of the recurring themes in the film is how we literate minds are quick to think and analyse. We don’t easily accept things. And this attitude isn’t of any help as a caregiver to a patient suffering from a disease with no cure like dementia.The slow deterioration of the mind of a person so close to you seems difficult to believe and accept at first. Ira does the same when her father first starts showing symptoms of the disease. In the beginning, she isn’t ready to accept that her father – a Sanskrit scholar who can, from memory,recite verses from ancient scriptures – can’t remember events that have happened a few days back or even just a few hours ago.This is contrasted with how the illiterate Channamma (AmrutaSubhash) readily accepts the strange old man wandering long out of his home and cannot even seem to remember his own name or address. It doesn’t take her long to realise that the senile old man has actually become like a baby. ‘He has become a God’, she says and takes care of him like her own child. This is most emphasised in that particularly superb scene wherein Channammais singing the most beautiful lullaby and as the camera pans we see her putting to sleep the massive elephant, Channamma’s little daughter and Dr. Shastri, all of whom she treats like her own children. Channammaa is possibly a nomad from the villages at the border of Maharashtra and Karnataka as she speaks a mix of Kannada and Marathi. It is to Amruta Subhash‘s credit that she manages to bring alive the character and create such an impact in a fairly short screen time. Kannada native speakers have also accepted the authenticity of her diction and language. Her costume and make up that includes the tattoos all over her body go to show how much Bhave-Sukhtankar care about detailing in their film.

Another theme that is touched upon in the film is the conflict between emotion and rationale. Ira – the older daughter – thinks more from her heart and cannot get herself to put her father in an asylum that she even visits once to have a look. The younger daughter Rahi, a professor at IIT Bombay, is a staunch rationalist and says that their father wouldn’t have been lost if he was put into such facility. The film is careful to not take sides here and merely presents a set of contrasting ideas that are right in their own way; putting dementia stricken person in an asylum might seem insensitive, but it also ensures that they are given the necessary all-day care that is so crucial andwhich a family would not be able to give due to time and other constraints. IravatiHarshe, as the older daughter who is married and has a girl of her own, is a revelation. I have seen her only acting in ads before and don’t really recollect any significant performance of hers in any other film. But the way she acts out the complex character who is torn between deciding the best for her father or her family, and choosing between her heart and her mind, makes it clear that the deep reserves of her talent were unexploited for long. Her casting may be inspired, but not that of MilindSoman. He suited well in his double role in Bhave-Sukhtankar’s last film Sanhita, but seems miscast here with his awkward Marathi diction. He plays Ira’s husband Dr. Pathak who is a pediatric. It is interesting to observe that Dr. Pathak more readily accepts and understands Ira’s father’s condition and adopts a lot more patient approach;being a doctor dealing with children, patience and acceptance comes more naturally to him.

The elephant that is used in the film also has its own solid reasons. One being Sanskrit scholar Dr. Shastri’s love for Kalidas’s play Meghdhoot which translates to an ‘elephant in the clouds’. Another being the vast reserves of memory that an elephant is supposed to have. A man with fast deteriorating memory wishing to ride an elephant gifted with huge reserves of it, lends the film a poetic touch apart from elevating it with more substance.There is also quite a lot of Vedic wisdom in the film, which thanks to the high quality subtitles (for a change!), I was able to follow.

Astu while dealing with all these themes doesn’t at all feel like a film with heavy doses of philosophy and that is the skill of the directors. The film is rather modest in nature. The empathetic gaze of the filmmakers falls on every frame of the film. They seem to have a lot of faith in humanism. The film is full of poignant moments that touch your heart. Having been a caregiver to my dementia stricken grandfather, i could personally relate a lot to the film and there were quite a few scenes when my eyes would become moist. Mohan Agashe, as expected of him, very skillfully portrays the slow downward spiral of a dementia patient. The relaxed and peaceful demeanor when his memory still hasn’t begun to cheat him; the shock and fear of not recollecting something very obvious when the disease is slowly and unknowingly creeping up on him; and a man totally gone into the hands of dementia – Dr. Agashe’s performance is quite touching and very convincing!

As I have seen my grand father suffering from Alzimer very closely, I can sincerely appreciate the hard work undertaken by the team of directors and the actors to recreate an Alzimerpatients image with the caregivers on a celluoid. 

The film’s unassuming nature might make it difficult to notice the technical excellence, but shooting with an elephant on a very busy street is a mighty challenge in itself which the makers of the film have excelled. The framing of the indoor scenes or the outdoor shots with the elephant, all are well done. The background score lends the film a kind of beautiful tranquility.

Now, i do have a few minor issues with the film. It is a rather poignant moment, when, after being tended to like a child, Dr. Shastri calls Channamma‘aai’ or mother the first time. But when the same idea of Dr. Shastri calling out to Channamma as his mother is repeated towards the end, it came across as a bit emotionally manipulative to me. Also, there doesn’t seem to be much urgency in Ira’s actions the moment she realises that her very ill father has wandered away. It is only after a little while that she becomes tensed. A woman who is usually shown to be so sensitive, would have got worried sick from the moment it dawns upon her that her father has gone missing under her watch. But, like i have mentioned before, these are minor issues that don’t harm the film much.As a whole,Astu is a highly accomplished piece of work.

Overall:

A poignant film, with a lot of depth and meaning, and exceptional performances from Mohan Agashe, IravatiHarshe and Amruta Subhash make Astu the best marathi film to release this year as yet, in my books. Bhave-Sukhtankar meet the high standards they have created for themselves. Must watch!

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Astu has traveled to numerous film festivals in the country and abroad and has also won a lot of acclaim everywhere. It had got a limited release earlier in Pune, but now the film is all set to release on a big scale in the whole of Maharashtra.

Astu is about a Sanskrit scholar named Chakrapanti Shastri. He suffers from Azheimers disease and is disconnected with the world around him. The disease renders him totally dependable on his elder daughter who acts as his caregiver. The film then movingly explores the father-daughter relationship. It stars Dr. Mohan Agashe, Amruta Subhash, Iravati Harshe, Devika Daftardar and Milind Soman among others.

Veteran actor Dr. Mohan Agashe has earned universal praise for his portrayal of a once Sanskrit scholar’s slow descend into the dreadful disease that is Alzheimer’s.AmrutaSubhash has won a National Award for her performance in the film.

Sumitra Bhave and Sunil Sukhatankar are one of the most respected filmmakers in Maharashtra and have consistently made good films for a couple of decades now. Given that Astu is directed by them, the expectations are reasonably high. The film has been produced by Sheela Rao and Mohan Agashe and is slated to release on July 15th, 2016.

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• Review : Nagrik (2015)
• Director : Jaypraad Desai
• Producers : Sacchi Entertainment
• Writer : Mahesh Keluskar and Jaypraad Desai
• Cast : Sachin Khedekar, Milind Soman, Devika Daftardar, Dilip Prabhavalkar, Rajesh Sharma, Dr Shriram Lagoo
• Music : Tubby-Parik and Sambhaji Bhagat
• Genre : Political Drama
• Review By : Keyur Seta

Rating: 3.5/5

Review:

An honest and fearless protagonist stranded in a grossly corrupt system is not a novel subject. But a tried and tested subject ceases to be one if treated completely in an out-of-the-box or unconventional manner. It is this treatment that makes Nagrik an impressive, hard-hitting and intense socio-political saga.

The film revolves around the idealistic, fearless and honest-to-the-core newspaper journalist Shyam Jagdale (Sachin Khedekar). He is known for his column Nagrik, where he exposes corrupt practices. His recent column exposes the utterly corrupt and ruthless politician Vikas Patil’s (Milind Soman) idea of orchestrating communal riots. However, this doesn’t go well with his new editor with lose morals.

As the editor is more interested in generating revenue, Jagdale isn’t allowed to publish any more of such stories. Hence, Patil continues his shoddy practices for political gains as a helpless Jagdale looks on. He soon realizes that Patil is just a cog in the entire corrupt machinery.What’s worse is that Jagdale’s personal life is also far from perfect. Will things ever change within his house and outside?

Nagrik doesn’t follow a conventional storyline. It is more of an attempt of providing a glimpse into the filthy world of corrupt politics and the murky underbelly of Mumbai in a completely no-holds-barred manner. Due to some skillful efforts of the writer and director, the film succeeds in its attempt. The viewer is sucked into a truly intense world, which stays on with him/ her long after the completion of the film.

The practice of generating a hard-hitting effect through visuals, expressions and silences isn’t explored much in Indian films. Off late though, the trend if catching up where a particular scene says a lot without saying much. Nagrik continues the trend very successfully. This results in a number of sequences and incidents that hit you hard without the use of clichéd lines. There is a long non-verbal sequence in the second half portraying the irony of the life in Mumbai, which is the highlight of the film.

However, Nagrik, has its share of downfalls. After a point of time in the second half, the proceedings tend to lose grip when nothing much is happening in terms of story development. Few incidents, in this half, are questionable. Also, the climax isn’t as hard-hitting or something that provides a kick. Thankfully, these issues don’t do much in overriding the plusses.

Sambhaji Bhagat’s folk songs played in the background go well with the situation and add up to the effect. From the rest of the tracks, ‘Bola Vithal’ is impressive. The camerawork goes with the intense theme. The background score also adds to the intensity. But majority of the times, they have decided against using any background music and it works that way.

Some dedicated performances also play a major role. Sachin Khedekar brilliantly brings out the right frustration and vulnerability. Having said this, he scores well during witty confrontational scenes with Soman. But Milind Soman too makes a solid impact. He is outstanding as a ruthless, corrupt but at the same time, calm-headed politician. Dilip Prabhavalkar isn’t behind, as is expected from a quality veteran, as another corrupt politician.

Dr. Shriram Lagoo, another thespian, displays his talent in a difficult role of an ex-politician agonized by the sorry state of affairs. The film can also boast of some high quality performances from Devika Daftardar, Rajesh Sharma (Bollywood actor making his Marathi film debut), Neena Kulkarni, Sulabha Deshpande, Madhav Abhyankar and Rajkumar Tangade.

Overall:

Nagrik is a hard-hitting realistic socio-political saga that is recommended for the lovers of sensible cinema. It is expected to do fairly well at the box office provided it receives positive word-of-mouth.

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The official theatrical trailer for Award winning Nagrik has been released on youtube. The trailer depicts a hard-hitting storyline of an honest journalist and his struggle against corrupt system. The film stars Sachin Khedekar, Dr Shriram Lagoo, Milind Soman, Dilip Prabhavalkar, Neena Kulkarni, Devika Daftardar, Rajesh Sharma, Madhav Abhyankar, Sulabha Deshpande. The film is directed by Jayaprad Desai, and dialogues are by Mahesh Keluskar. The film is produced by Sacchi Entertainment.

The film shows Sachin Khedekar as a journalist and Milind Soman as a shrewd politician. The look of Milind Soman has already started getting attention from female members of the audience. Nagrik has been Officially selected in India’s prestigious MAMI Festival and grabbed Best social film award plus four more Maharashtra State awards including Best Social film and Best Social film director.

The film is slated to release on 12th June 2015

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It is needless to say Dilip Prabhavalkar is an actor of highest caliber. Every character he has portrayed has become popular due to his acting. He is back in the role of a Travel and Tourism minister in “Nagrik” The film is directed by Jayprad Desai and releases on 12 June.

Prabhavalkar has already started receiving laurels for this politician. He said, “This role was especially very interesting for me because a true politician can never be a true friend. My rol focused on the inner nature of this person who can stoop to any level to fulfill his goal. The director made it sure that this role is just not any typecast politician role and gave it a different yet believable dimension.” Prabhavalkar is very much impressed by today’s generation of film makers. “The younger generation has many beautiful ideas in their heads. As an actor I have to keep reinventing myself. These film makers are working hard not only in execution but also on research and preparations. Working with them is a challenge. I really admire directors like Jayprad. These people make me proud about today’s cinema.”

Nagrik stars Sachin Khedekar, Dr. Shreeram Lagoo, Sulabha Deshpande, Milind Soman, Madhav Abhyankar, Rajesh Sharma, Rajkumar Tangde, Nitin Bhajan. Cinematography is by Devendra Golatkar. The film is written by Mahesh Keluskar. The other crew includes—Editor: Gorakshanath Khande, Sound designing: Rasool Pokutty and Amrit Pritam, Makeup: Vikram Gaikwad, Art Direction: Sukant Panigrahi, Choreography: Subhash Nakashe, Music and Background Music: Tabbi-Parik. Lyrics: Shahir Sambhaji Bhagat, Singers: Shankar Mahadevan, Sukhvindar Singh.

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• Movie : Nagrik (2015) नागरिक
• Producer : Sachin Chavan, Arti Chavan
• Directer : Jaypraad Desai
• Studio : Sacchi Entertainment
• Star Cast : Sachin Khedekar, Dr. Shriram Lagoo, Dilip Prabhavalkar, Milind Soman, Devika Daftardar, Rajesh Sharma, Neena Kulkarni, Rajkumar Tangde, Sambhaji Bhagat, Sulabha Deshpande, Madhav Abhyankar
• Writers : Mahesh Keluskar, Jaypraad Desai
• Music : Tubby-Parik , Sambhaji Bhagat
• Lyrics : Shahir – Sambhaji Bhagat
• Singers : Sachin Khedekar, Shankar Mahadevan, Sukhwinder Singh, Sambhaji Bhagat
• Dialogues : Mahesh Keluskar
• Cinematography : Devendra Golatkar
• Editor: Gorakshanath Khande
• Sound designing : Rasool Pokutty and Amrit Pritam
• Makeup: Vikram Gaikwad
• Art Direction : Sukant Panigrahi
• Background Music : Tabbi-Parik.
• Genre : Socio-Political Drama
• Release Date : 12 June  2015

Synopsis:
Nagrik is the Marathi feature set against the political backdrop of Maharashtra. It boasts of some of the biggest names from the film business.

Nagrik Marathi Movie Poster / Still Photos :

Nagrik Marathi Movie Official Trailer:

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The film which registered a strong presence in the State Film Awards, “NAGRIK’ produced by Saachi Entertainments and directed by Jayprad Desai has received in 14 nominations in the Prabhat Film Puraskar’s 2015 . The film highlights the conflict between politics and journalism and the effect on common man will release on June 12 all over Maharashtra.
The film which received the Best Social Film in the Maharashtra State Film Awards is written by eminent poet Mahesh Keluskar and director Jayprad Desai has given shape to it and it has received 14 nominations in the Prabhat Film Awards 2015.

The 14 nominations are as follows, Best Film Saatchi Entertainment, Best Director Jayprad Desai, Best Story Mahesh Keluskar. Best Dialogues Mahesh Keluskar , Best Screenplay Mahesh Keluskar and Jayprad Desai, Best BackgroundMusic-Tubby-Parik, BestMakeup- Vikram Gaikwad, Best Art Director- Sukant Panigrahi, Best Cinematography- Devendra Golatkar, Best Edition- Goraksnath Khande , Best Sound Design- Resul Pookuty and Amrut Preetam, Best Villain- Milind Soman, Best Actor- Sachin Khedekar , and Best Actress- Devika Daftardar.

The story is about the conflict between Shyam Jagdale , a journalist played by Sachin Khedekar and a politician Vikas Patil played by Milind Soman and the constant fight between them and there is also a typical politician Manikrao Bhosle played by celebrated veteran Dilip Prabhavalkar who has devoted his life for good governance, and social leader Neelimatai Played by Neena Kulkarni, and the heroine played by Devika Daftardar, along with Rajesh Sharma, Rajkumar Tagde, Nitin Bhajan, but the crowning glory is a fullfledged appearance by thespian Shreeram Lagoo who returns to the screen after a long time and plays a veteran politician called Nana Chitnis. Also a part of the cast is veteran actor Sulabha Deshpande.

The films other attraction is the folk form SHAHIRI sungby folk artiste Sambhaji Bhagat playing himself who brings out the people’s voice through the songs penned and sung by him with additional lyrics by Chandrashekhar Sonkar and music by Tubby- Parik and songs sung by Shankar Mahadevan and Sukhwinder Singh. The sound design is by Oscar fame Ressul Pookuty and production
design is by Sukant Panigrahi. The costumes are by Oscar winner Bhanu Athaiya along with Poornima Oak.

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Only a common man can change the face and fate of society and politics. Facts of society and politics are revealed to the public through the medium of journalism. ‘Nagarik’, a film produced by Aarti Sachin Chavan’s Sachi Entertainment and directed by Jayprad Desai, tries to tell us exactly what a common man feels about this medium.

This film has already bagged the state government’s Best Cinematography Award, and has also been nominated in five other categories, namely Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Dialogues, and Best Lyrics, for the final round. This way, ‘Nagarik’ has been in the news even before its release.

The film ‘Nagarik’ will showcase experiences of a concerned citizen with respect to society and journalism. These are experiences of noted literary Mahesh Keluskar, who has also been nominated in the Best Dialogues category. Films based on journalism are not made frequently. ‘Nagarik’ covers this topic after a long time and its cameraman Devendra Golatkar has already won Best Cinematography award by the state government. Sachin Khedekar and Jayprad Desai have been nominated in the Best Actor and the Best Debutant Director categories respectively. Apart from these, Mahesh Keluskar for Best Dialogues and Sambhaji Bhagat for Best Lyrics are also among the nominees. In this film, a chief political reporter Shyam Jagdale exposes a scam through his column named ‘Nagrik’ (Citizen). The film will portray the consequences and happenings around this expose.

Along with Sachin Khedekar, the cast for “Nagarik’ includes Dilip Prabhavalkar, famous super-model turned actor Milind Soman, senior actor Dr. Shriram Lagoo, Sulabha Deshpande, Devika Daftardar, Neena Kulkarni, Madhav Abhyankar, Rajesh Sharma, Rajkumar Tangde, and Nitin Bhajan. The film ‘Nagarik’, revolving around a political reporter of a daily newspaper, has lately become talk of the town.

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• Review :   Astu – So Be It
• Producer : Mohan Agashe and Sheelaa Rao
• Directer : Sumitra Bhave and Sunil Sukhtankar
• StarCast : Mohan Agashe, Iravati Harshe, Milind Soman, Nachiket Purnapatre, Amruta Subhash, Devika Daftardar
• Writer : Sumitra Bhave
• Music : Saket Kanetkar and Dhananjay Kharwandikar
• Genre : Drama
• Review By : Keyur Seta

Rating :

* * * *

Story Outline :

The film revolves around a retired college principal and widower Dr. Shastri aka Appa (Mohan Agashe). He is highly respected for his wisdom and deep knowledge about the Vedas. But lately he has also become known for being handicapped with Alzheimer’s disease, which makes him forget anything, including the names of his own family members.

Appa’s daughter (Iravati Harshe) is married to Dr. Madhav (Milind Soman). Once she takes Appa to his old house. On the way, she leaves him in a car for few minutes as she needs to visit a shop. But in that short duration, Appa goes missing.

Review :

There are innumerable films that speak a lot. But there are very few that say a lot of things without saying anything. Directors Sumitra Bhave and Sunil Sukhtankar’s Astu – So Be It is one of those rare films. On the surface, it appears as a lost-and-found saga but deep inside it brings to forth many layers that force you to think about it long after you leave the cinema hall.

Astu has Bhave and Sukhtankar’s stamp of uncompromising attitude all over when it comes to the utterly realistic manner in which the film is shot. This helps a lot in creating an intense atmosphere that helps the audience get involved in the proceedings. But of course, it is the watertight script, for most of the duration, which also largely helps its cause. The intelligent manner in which flashback is used deserves special mention.

But the bigger achievement is the message given with regards to the attitude of people from starkly opposite strata of society towards people with a condition like Alzheimer’s. One of the rich layers is also the equation of relationships. The film also manages to say a lot more through some sub-plots, moving images, conversations and conflict between characters. It will account to spoilers if they are listed here.

The only problem with Astu is its duration. The film should have ended much before and shouldn’t have been dragged during the ending moments. Thankfully though, the overwhelming climax won’t let these points bother you much.

There is no scope for songs as such. But a couple of tracks used in the background gel very well with the situations, especially the one in a South Indian language. Milind Jog’s camerawork creatively captures even the simplest of scenes. The idea of using a hand-held camera on a number of occasions adds to the intensity. The editing is fine but there could have been more use of scissors.

It is Mohan Agashe’s act that helps the film to rise at such a level. The veteran actor is simply outstanding in a role that can be hugely challenging for any actor. You just can’t help but applaud when he shows signs of Alzheimer’s and speaks with his expressions. But despite such a towering performance by the main lead, Iravati Harshe manages to super impress with a dedicated act.

Milind Soman plays his part well. There is some issue with his Marathi pronunciation though. Nachiket Purnapatre too is wonderful in a difficult role. Despite arriving in the latter part, Amruta Subhash leaves behind a tremendous impact through her brilliant portrayal of a tribal woman. Ila Bhate and Devika Daftardar too shine in extended cameos.

Overall:

Astu –So Be It is a must watch for the lovers of sensible cinema. It is sad that such a film is unable to get a proper release. Needless to say, it needs some tremendous word-of-mouth from all those who have been fortunate enough to have seen it.

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