Review: Mulshi Pattern (2018)
Cast: Om Bhutkar, Mohan Joshi, Upendra Limaye, Kshitish Date, Savita Malpekar, Mahesh Manjrekar & Pravin Tarde
Director: Pravin Tarde

Quick Viewpoint: The Gangster film genre isn’t explored that often in Marathi cinema. ‘Mulshi Pattern’ succeeds in getting quite a few traits of this genre right, especially the film has an everlasting emotional impact! 

What Fails? 

• The non-linear pattern of the film seems forceful & unnecessary. And while using this pattern the film jumps through the narrative every now & then. The film misses many narrative transitions, & distillates many peak points in the narrative casually.
• The film is in too much love with its characters. The whole narrative at many instances feels like manipulated for the convenience of increasing a character’s impact.
• While using many known traits of the ‘gangster’ genre it doesn’t discover any new possibilities on its own. While the social backdrop of farmers selling their lands is used well & has an emotional impact it doesn’t change the actual ‘gangster’ narrative of the film which lacks freshness.
• While the film is technically smooth. It could have been more rustic in the way in capturing action scenes. For example, too much use of slow motion spoils the impact of a chase scene!
• There’s a track of a teenage boy in the film who is closer to the hero (gangster) of the film played by Om Bhutkar. This whole track seems to be ripped off from another gangster film, a Hindi film named ‘Allah Ke Bandey’ starring Sherman Joshi in lead.

What Works? 

• The film has many elaborate scenes that are specifically designed to create an emotional impact on the audiences. There’s a gimmicky staginess in it. Though in a harmless way! In fact, those moments stay in our memory for a long time after the film is over!
• Om Bhutkar’s performance is one of the year’s finest & the most emotionally effective performance in Marathi of recent times! For the first time, he got the opportunity to shine in a full-fledged lead role in a well marketed commercial film & he has grabbed the opportunity with both hands.
• The chemistry between Om Bhutkar & Mohan Joshi, who plays his father, the role of an old man who is facing the consequences of the actions he once took (of selling the land).
• In fact, the father-son bond works really well in the film, that too in both perspectives; of the son & of the father.
• The dialogues of the film might not become iconic straight away iconic but they are certainly effective & suit the genre of the film & in keeping the audience’s interest throughout.
• There’s a legit audience for this kind of violent gangster films, but very few such films are made in Marathi. ‘Mulshi Pattern’ took it forward from where Mahesh Manjrekar’s ‘Lalbaug Parel’ & Abhijeet Panse’s ‘Rege’ left few years ago!

Final Verdict: ‘Mulshi Pattern’ is a must watch for the audiences who enjoy gangster films & it also gives an emotional impact that might work for any kind of audiences.

Rating: 3/5

The post Mulshi Pattern Quick Review: An Emotionally Effective ‘Gangster’ Film appeared first on MarathiStars.

The much-awaited trailer of Pravin Tarde directorial ‘Mulshi Pattern’ is finally out! And in very less time it has gone viral on social media. The reason for such a great response from the audiences is the subject of ‘Land Mafia’ & how selling land has changed the lives of our people & have made them poor.

The film has a tremendous star cast in the form of Om Bhutkar, Kshitish Date, Upendra Limaye, Mohan Joshi, Mahesh Manjrekar & of course the director himself Pravin Tarde. The action scenes seen in the trailer of the film feel so perfect & larger than life. The conflict of the film seems to relate with the audience emotionally!

‘Mulshi Pattern’ hits theatres on 23rd November. This November has already been super successful for Marathi cinema & now ‘Mulshi Pattern’ promises to continue Marathi cinema’s golden phase! This film’s success can open up another genre for Marathi cinema.

The post Mulshi Pattern Trailer: Pravin Tarde’s Hard Hitting Social Drama appeared first on MarathiStars.

• Review : Naal (2018)
• Cast: Nagraj Manjule, Devika Daftardar, Shrinivas Pokale, Om Bhutkar & Deepti Devi
• Director: Sudhakar Reddy Yakkanti

Quick Viewpoint: After the super success of ‘Sairat’ Nagraj Manjule (as actor & producer) & Sudhakar Reddy Yakkanti (cinematographer & director) have again collaborated through ‘Naal’, though in different roles! And in my opinion they have altogether given a complete cinematic experience that also connects emotionally with the audiences taking Marathi cinema to new heights!

What Fails?

• Absolutely nothing fails here!!

What Works?

• Naal dwells on the meaning of motherhood. While doing so it keeps the audiences with the boy & not with the mother. Letting us understand what the boy is going through! And how he perceives his mother & motherhood in a larger way!

• Naal captures the essence of childhood curiosity & innocence in a way which was never seen before in a Marathi film.
• Sudhakar Reddy Yakkanti succeeds magnificently in executing film’s each & every aspect. Including acting of the little kid (Shrinivas Pokale) & every other aspect!
• Up until the first half the film reaches the most beautiful form of simplicity. But in the later half it goes places where very few Marathi films manage to go! It creates an everlasting bittersweet emotionally ambiguous atmosphere using the same setting that was explored for a sweet little feel good film!
• It now dwells on life in a larger way creating a symphony between birth & death. It understands the meaninglessness of life yet embraces it with both hands, lovingly! The last Marathi film that I was reminded of that gave a similar experience, was Umesh Kulkarni’s Vihir.
• Though different from films of this kind, it doesn’t question the norms of life & hence it is never about finding answers. Those films don’t provide specific answers either, but they dwell on questions more specifically. In Naal, both the question & the answers are blurred & the film still beautifully acknowledges their existence.

Final Verdict: ‘Naal’ has opened to a great response from the audiences & it succeeds in enthralling them & also encouraging them to interpret cinema on their own. Knowing things on their own, without being spoon feed, which is a rare achievement in our films!

Rating: 5/5

The post Naal Marathi Movie Quick Review: An Emotionally Impactful Masterpiece! appeared first on MarathiStars.

• Movie : Mulshi Pattern (2018) | मुळशी पॅटर्न
• Producer : Abhijit Bhosale and Puneet Balan
• Director : Pravin Vitthal Tarde
• Studio : Abhijit Bhosale Genuine Production LLP and Puneet Balan Entertainment Pvt Ltd
• Star Cast :
  • Pravin Tarde as Nanya Bhai
  • Mahesh Manjrekar as Shirpya
  • Mohan Joshi as Sakha
  • Om Bhutkar as Rahul Patil
  • Sunil Abhyankar as Vakil
  • Ramesh Pardeshi as Pitya Bhai
  • Devendra Gaikwad
  • Ajay Purkar as Shinde Builder
  • Savita Malpekar as Dhurpi
  • Kshitish Date as Ganya
  • Dipti Dhotre as Mangal
  • Malvika Gaikwad as Dipali
  • Abhay Arun Gaikwad as Daya
  • Upendra Limaye as Vitthal
  • Suresh Vishwakarma as Uday
• Story, Screenplay and Dialogues : Pravin Vitthal Tarde
• Concept : NA
• Singer : Adarsh Shinde and Avdhoot Gupte
• Lyrics : Pranit Kulkarni
• Sound : NA
• Sound Design : Tushar Pandit, Sanket Dhotkar, Adwait Walujkar and Ishan Devsthali
• Music and Background Music : Narendra Bhide
• Cinematography (DOP) : Mahesh Limaye
• Editor : Mayur Hardas
• Art Director : Eknath Kadam
• Costume : Manasi Attarde
• Hair Stylist : NA
• Make-up : Mahesh Barate
• Executive Producer : Vishal Chandane
• Creative Producer : Ramesh Pardeshi
• Presenter : Abhijit Bhosale Genuine Production LLP and Kiran Dagde Patil Production
• Choreography : Umesh Jadhav
• Production Administrator : Sudarshan Mhaske
• VFX : NA
• VFX Artist : NA
• Chief Publicity : NA
• Digital Promotions : Khaas Re TV and Loki’s Studios
• Title : NA
• Publicity Design : Loki’s Studios
• Marketing : Vinod Satav and Akash Pendharkar
• Distributor : Anil Thadani (AA Films)
• DI Colorist : NA
• DI Lab : NA
• Genre : Drama
• Release Date : 23rd November 2018

Synopsis : A stark portrayal of the hardships faced by farmers, Mulshi Pattern tackles some of the raging issues of our times. The film lays bare the deep flaws of the system which turns the farmer into a criminal and a social outcast.

Mulshi Pattern Marathi Movie Poster/Photos :

Mulshi Pattern Marathi Movie Teaser :

Mulshi Pattern Marathi Movie Trailer :

The post Mulshi Pattern (2018) – Marathi Movie appeared first on MarathiStars.

• Review : Lathe Joshi (2018)
• Producer : Sonali Joshi and Mangesh Joshi
• Presenter : Amol Kagne Studios, Laxman Eknathrao Kagne and Amol Laxman Kagne
• Director : Mangesh Joshi
• Screenplay : Mangesh Joshi
• Star Cast : Chittaranjan Giri, Ashwini Giri, Om Bhutkar, Seva Chauhan & Shrikant Yadav
• Review by : Abhay Salvi

Rating : 4.5/5

Lathe Joshi Review (Marathi Movie):

Lathe Joshi starts with a pin drop silence introducing Mr. Joshi & his ‘Lathe’ machine at work. Joshi’s boss calls for him & in the next scene we see Joshi & his fellow lathe workers sitting calmly, without discussing a bit about what happened in the boss’s cabin. Yet the message reaches us clearly. Their skill isn’t required any longer. Almost without a word spoken ‘Lathe Joshi’ tells what the film is all about & how it will approach the subject throughout the film.

‘Lathe Joshi’ lies strongly on it’s title character. His characteristics also define the treatment of the film. Mr. Joshi isn’t keen on confrontations, sometimes he seems to exist on such minimalist scale that the surroundings over power his existence. There are many scenes in the film where we see other characters not even noticing that he is there in the same space. Chittaranjan Giri’s performance is as unconventionally plain as it can get! A conventional actor with a conventional performance would have taken away much of the uniqueness from the film. One needs to understand that Joshi represents the subject of the film in & out, but the film still doesn’t exploit the character for the subject’s purpose, it makes us believe in Joshi throughout.

The film deals with the changing (or rather changed) times. Times that are scrapping out human skill, craft as redundant in the today’s highly productive & business oriented world. Every one of us has experienced this change. The idea of having an individual impact in your work place is dying out. In the larger context it applies to every employee who went through this change. We see a younger colleague of Joshi, Mr. Shinde (Shrikant Yadav) who has managed to change with the changing times leaving behind Joshi & others who couldn’t.

In Joshi’s own family his son Dinu (Om Bhutkar) & his wife (Ashwini Giri) represent this change. And Joshi’s old blind mother represents the further transition Joshi himself would go through if he doesn’t change! The change required has very little to do with learning a newer skill which could suit the new age (as Joshi’s son repairs computers) it has more to do with the principles behind the work. Joshi’s work was his identity, his old bedridden boss proudly calls him an artist. Joshi worked for that, for his boss to embrace his skill, his art! His son represents a completely different work ethic. So does his wife (who works as a small time caterer).

Both Joshi’s son & wife are working for the outcomes alone. Eating at a fancy restaurant, buying a car, & so on. Their work is just a mean to reach new destinations every day. Unlike Joshi who’s journey & destination both were in his work. As plain as all this might sound, throughout in ‘Lathe Joshi’ there are countless humorous moments! Mainly involving Joshi’s old mother & her obsession with Television (she can’t see but she can hear!). Television too is a tool of this new world. Filled with advertisements & shows that would inspire you to keep copping up with the constantly evolving world! Dinu (Joshi’s son) keeps creating small quarrels between his grandmother & mother to keep his grandmother ‘interested’. That’s all there’s left in an old person’s life who isn’t part of the rat race in today’s world! This also is Joshi’s own future.

Mangesh Joshi the director of the film deserves credit for actualizing this film without any compromises. And of course for it’s inception in the first place too! His entire technical team too deserves credit. And of course the actors! One can’t stop but mention Chaitanya Tamhane’s ‘Court’, that was the last Marathi film that truly explored the art of subtlety to it’s fullest, ‘Lathe Joshi’ too does that with great focus.

Overall:

‘Lathe Joshi’ is a film that would work for an audience who wishes to be served ‘quality’ over the ‘quantity’ of usual idea of ‘entertainment’. It’s a film that is destined be talked about for years to come, for how rare the subject it chose to the treatment & the perfection it achieved in it’s execution!

The post Lathe Joshi Review (Marathi Movie ): Rarest of Rare Masterpiece! appeared first on MarathiStars.

• Movie : Lathe Joshi (2018) | लेथ जोशी
• Producer : Sonali Joshi and Mangesh Joshi
• Director : Mangesh Joshi
• Studio : Pravah Nirmitee Production and Dawn Studios
• Star Cast :
  • Chittaranjan Giri as Lathe Joshi
  • Ashwini Giri as Wife
  • Seva Chauhan as Mother
  • Om Bhutkar as Son
• Writer : Mangesh Joshi
• Sound Design : Piyush Shah
• Background Music: Sarang Kulkarni
• Cinematography (DOP) : Satyajeet Shobha Shriram
• Editor : Makrand Dambhare
• Art Director : Prashant Bidkar
• Costume : Seema Arolkar
• Presenter : Amol Kagne Studios, Laxman Eknathrao Kagne and Amol Laxman Kagne
• Associate Producer : Narendra Bhide, Nitin Vaidya and Leela Talkies
• Executive Producer : Mandar Deshpande and Nitin Ambale
• Distributor : Ankit Chandiramani
• Digital Marketing : Loki’s Studio
• Visual Promotion : Sameer Shaikh and Akash Gawli
• Publicity Stills : Shashank Bhalerao
• Publicity Design : Milind Matkar
• Chief Assistant Director : Pradeepkishor Shruti
• Genre : Drama
• Release Date : 13th July 2018

Synopsis : Machines making workers obsolete may still look like a futuristic concept, but comes true in Joshi’s life. Joshi, known as Lathe Joshi for his skilled work on lathe machine, is left jobless when the owner of the workshop has to close the business as it is incurring the loss. Lathe Joshi finds losing lathe work as losing his identity & refuses to give in to the changing times of globalization in the form of automation. But he comes to face it, even in his home, with his wife doing a catering business, his son running an electronic repair shop in the house & even with his mother, who resolves to chant 500,000 times using a chant machine. The numbers become significant over the skills. Joshi finds himself as a mere witness of the coming time when a skilled worker might become a museum exhibit.

Lathe Joshi Marathi Movie Poster/Still Photos :

Lathe Joshi Marathi Movie Trailer :

The post Lathe Joshi (2018) – Marathi Movie appeared first on MarathiStars.

Mangesh Joshi directorial & presented by Amol Kagne Studios, ‘Lathe Joshi‘ is an award-winning Marathi film that has impressed the audiences worldwide in different film festivals. Now it’s set to release in theaters on 13th of July. The trailer of the film is now out & gives a nice idea about the film’s subject.

In today’s continuously changing world ‘Lathe Joshi‘ tells the tale of an ordinary Lathe Machine worker ‘Joshi’ who struggles to keep up with the changing times. His mind is still invested in an old machine like ‘Lathe’. The world has moved on, it doesn’t need such old Lathe machines & neither does it need a Lathe worker.

Joshi’s son & wife have readily adapted to the change, but Joshi himself finds ‘upgrading’ difficult. He seems dumbfounded & clueless. Even spirituality has adapted to changing times, as we see Joshi’s mother taking the blessing of a distant goddess through the internet. Joshi’s boss looks at Joshi as an artist, & not just a worker. Joshi feels good about it. Maybe this implies that in the race of ‘upgrading’ we’ve lost the ‘art’ in our life!

The post Lathe Joshi Trailer: Are You Ready to Upgrade? appeared first on MarathiStars.

The modernization & technical advancement of today’s times also has affected the worker class around the world. Along with that every skill & the attachment with the tools that these workers used are all disappearing in time. This is a constant process. Mangesh Joshi directorial ‘Lathe Joshi’ tells the story of one such worker who is at the center of this change.

Amol Kagne & Lakshman Kagne are presenting this film under their banner ‘Amol Kagne Studios’ & the film is produced by ‘Pravah Productions’ & ‘Don Studios’. The film stars Chittaranjan Giri, Ashwini Giri, Uttara Baokar, Om Bhutkar in lead roles. The poster of the film was recently revealed & since then the excitement for the film among serious filmgoers is on the peak!

‘Lathe Joshi’ has been a part of around 20 International film festivals & has won 12 International awards at these festivals. The audiences have been awaiting this film from a long time ever since the positive reactions came out from Maharashtra’s premiere film festivals MAMI & PIFF. The film releases on 13^th July at a theatre near you!

The post Highly Awaited Lathe Joshi Poster Out; Releasing on 13th July appeared first on MarathiStars.

Zee Studio has further solidified its reputation as a studio that not only belts out one massive hit film after another but also supports meaningful and artistic ventures like its latest movie Nude. The Ravi Jadhav film, which has already won high praise in India, has now even bagged top honors at the prestigious New York Indian Film Festival by bagging the Best Film and Best Actress (Kalyanee Mulay) there.

Kalyanee Mulay’s performance as the mother who poses as a nude model for students of an art college, to fund her son’s education has been universally acclaimed. Critics have also praised the film’s message of giving dignity to the profession of nude modeling. The breathtaking visuals, mellifluous background score and performances by the rest of the cast are the other aspects for which the film received applause. And to top it all, Nude is also a success at the box office.

On this occasion, a rather pleased and satisfied business head of Zee Studios, Mangesh Kulkarni, said,“We are ecstatic with the kind of response our film Nude got to post it’s screening at NYIFF and especially proud for it to have bagged both Best Film and Best Actress awards. The award does not belong only to Nude but to everyone who dares to tell extraordinary stories through cinema”.

Director Ravi Jadhav, who was elated on winning the two big awards, said, “The film has always stood tall against all odds and there is a remarkably rugged renaissance across Marathi cinema. It is a triumph of an art”.

The post Nude bags topmost awards at New York Indian International Film Festival appeared first on MarathiStars.

• Review : Nude (Chitra) (2018)
• Producer : Zee Studios
• Director : Ravi Jadhav
• Screenplay & Dialogues : Ravi Jadhav & Sachin Kundalkar
• Star Cast : Kalyanee Mulye, Chhaya Kadam, Madan Deodhar & Naseeruddin Shah
• Review by : Abhay Salvi

Rating : 4/5

Nude (Chitra) Movie Review:

Nude is a film that needs to be understood in two ways. One that is the ‘literal’ way which is about a middle aged woman ‘Yamuna’ (Kalyanee Mulye) who after being betrayed by her husband lands up in Mumbai with her son & ends up being a nude model for fine art students at J.J. School of Arts (an iconic art college of our country). The other way is more within the lines. The alternate title used smartly in the promotions of the film ‘Chitra’ is a sign for this other allegory. An artist at the college (Om Bhutkar) who becomes a silent companion of Yamuna throughout her journey discovers ‘Chitra’. ‘Chitra’ represents the art work that he creates with the help of Yamuna & also the hidden meaning of ‘Nude’.

‘Chitra’ also represents ‘art’ in totality. ‘Art’ that means different things to different people. An exact same painting could evoke different emotions from beings of the same species. These emotions could bring out the inner most desires of that being. A painting of a woman without clothes would represent the ‘soul’ of humanity to some & to some it would seem sexually explicit. It’s sadly ironic that one couldn’t resist associating the famous Rabindranath Tagore quote told to us by our beloved Pu La Deshpande with ‘Nude’.

Tagore said, every painter watches the sunrise in a different way. Hence there are never too many sunrise portraits, there’s always room for more. In a scene (from Nude) when we first see 5-6 fine art students painting the same woman sitting in front of them, we could associate her with the sun. But then later we could also associate this ‘difference of perspective’ theory on people who get violently offended or sexually excited by ‘art’!

From the very first frame of ‘Nude’ we are enticed by the visuals. It’s like Ravi Jadhav & his marvellous technical team (the cinematographer, editors, & even sound artists) announcing to us loud & clear that their film is about ‘paintings’! Lively moving images (paintings) where the reality is not treated that stark to pull us out from the visual artistry. Yes the film establishes it’s world with great detailing, but makes sure that the film isn’t about the world.

The major portion being based in Mumbai & that too in Mumbai slums the film doesn’t focus on it. The focus is very much intimate. We are with ‘Yamuna’ all the time. Her son (Madan Deodhar) & her aunty (Chhaya Kadam) are important to Yamuna & hence to us. Yet their interaction with us is as much it is with Yamuna. Her aunt is the driving force in Yamuna’s life in the beginning of the film but soon Yamuna is in her own control. Her son is not a completely developed character on it’s own, & has a few logical errors in his arc, yet he delivers the final ‘kick’ in the film. Yes Nude has a fantastically hard hitting climax or a ‘takeout’ scene.

Kalyanee Mulye as Yamuna in the first few scenes appears to be putting up a show. Her mannerisms even appear strangely fake. But soon we ‘get’ her. We accept her rendition of ‘Yamuna’. Those mannerisms no longer feel strange, they feel very real. She gives a sublime performance in all aspects of acting. Her command over a unique rural dialect, her mannerisms, her body language & the way she emotes her inner trauma all of it is outstanding! Chhaya Kadam plays a character similar to what she played in ‘Sairat’ but does it with perfection. Other performances in the film are decent too.

The real heroes of ‘Nude’ (Chitra) are Ravi Jadhav, his technical team & even Sachin Kundalkar who has contributed in the screenplay & dialogues of the film. The long journey for ‘Nude’ is known to us all, but our long wait has been rewarded in every way. ‘Nude’ is a film that pleases our senses & yet gives us a bit unpleasant food for thought. It affects us in a way ‘art’ is supposed to affect!

Overall:

‘Nude’ (Chitra) deserves a watch from every creative soul & from those who adore ‘art’, understand it & imbibe it as a way of life.

The post Nude (Chitra) Review: A Poignant Allegory of ‘Art’ with Breathtaking Visuals! appeared first on MarathiStars.