By : Keyur Seta

With out-of-the-box content and an uncompromising manner of story telling, Marathi cinema has been gaining a lot of appreciation over the last 5-6 years or so. So, obviously, it becomes difficult to choose Top 5 half-yearly and Top 10 yearly films every year.

But 2015 was threatening to be a dry year for Marathi films with a series of patchy films during a period. Thankfully though, it only remained a threat as the films released during the end of the first half of the year made up for the bad period in between.

Here is the list of the Top 5 Marathi films of the first half of 2015:-

Welcome Zindagi

Director:Umesh Ghadge
Cast: Swapnil Joshi, Amruta Khanvilkar

The film boasts of a content that is not only interesting but also moving. This ensures that half of its battle is won. Of course, the film has its share of minus points that cannot be ignored. But they don’t become much of a bother due to its entertaining nature and the final message, which is to love your life with whatever you have. Swapnil Joshi once again provides a lovable act.

Read the full review HERE.

Nagrik

Director: Jaypraad Desai
Cast: Sachin Khedekar, Milind Soman, Devika Daftardar, Dilip Prabhavalkar, Rajesh Sharma, Dr Shriram Lagoo

Nagrik shows that a tried and tested subject ceases to be one if treated completely in an out-of-the-box manner. It explores the not-so-novel subject of an honest protagonist pitted against a corrupt system in an unconventionally intense manner. A non-verbal sequence displaying the irony of Mumbai sums up Jaypraad Desai’s uncompromising stamp. Sachin Khedekar’s dedicated act also helps the cause.

Read the full review HERE.

Lokmanya – Ek Yugpurush

Director: Om Raut
Cast: Subodh Bhave, Chinmay Mandlekar, Sameer Sanjay Vidwans, Priya Bapat

There have been numerous biopics on Indian freedom fighters. Although Lokmanya – Ek Yugpurush is also one, it follows a modern method of storytelling and presentation, making it more appealing to the youth. This is also achieved by the parallel present day track about a journalist. But despite the modernism, the film does complete justice to the late freedom fighter and revolutionary Lokmanya Tilak. It is filled with overwhelming and appealing moments. But the film wouldn’t have achieved such greatness without Subodh Bhave’s excellent performance.

Read the full review HERE.

Killa

Director: Avinash Arun
Cast: Archit Deodhar, Amruta Subhash, Parth Bhalerao

Ki`lla is a triumphant directorial debut by Avinash Arun; on par with Mahesh Limaye last year in Yellow. It is a co-incidence that both of them are cinematographers-turned-directors. Killa continues Marathi cinema’s stint with rural films about a child or children. But it certainly shouldn’t be labeled as yet another film of the genre. It is a heart-warming, coming-of-age saga that is filled with moments that will touch you deeply, making it one of the top Marathi films of recent years. Its camerawork also deserves special mention for the visual treat is provides. Archit Deodhar and Amruta Subhash excel in their acts but Parth Bhalerao too becomes a scene-stealer with a hilariously skillful act, at such a small age.

Read the full review HERE.

Court

Director: Chaitanya Tamhane
Cast: Vira Sathidar, Vivek Gomber, Pradeep Joshi, Geetanjali Kulkarni

As per the name, Court is about a court case. But it certainly isn’t like those filmi courts we have been witnessing since decades. In fact, it portrays the working style of Indian courts in a never-seen-before and dedicatedly realistic manner. It proves that an utterly raw and realistic presentation can also be intensely gripping. But this doesn’t mean that the film is a serious affair. It becomes entertaining through some high dose of realistic and dark humor. Its greatness also lies in its undercurrent of irony related to the characters. And like every great film, it has some outstanding performances, especially from the lead actor Vira Sathidar.

Read the full review HERE.

(Note: The top 3 films in the list aren’t much ahead of one another.)

The post Top 5 Marathi Films of First Half of 2015 appeared first on MarathiStars.

• 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.

The post Review: Nagrik – An intense ride appeared first on MarathiStars.

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

The post Nagrik (Marathi Movie) Theatrical Trailer appeared first on MarathiStars.

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.

The post Dilip Prabhavalkar to portray minister in Nagrik appeared first on MarathiStars.

• 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:

The post Nagrik (2015) appeared first on MarathiStars.

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.

The post “Nagrik’ gets 14 Nominations in Prabhat film Puraskar 2015′! appeared first on MarathiStars.

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.

The post Five Nominations for ‘Nagrik’, including State Award for Best Photography! appeared first on MarathiStars.