• Movie : Bonus | बोनस
• Producer : Arjun Singgh Baran & Kartik Nishandar, Govind Ubhe, Sandesh Patil, Ratish Patil and M. Anupama
• Writer-Director : Saurabh Bhave
• Star Cast : Gashmeer Mahajani, Pooja Sawant, Dr. Mohan Agashe, Jaywant Wadkar, Purna Nand, Makarand Sathe & others 

Viewpoint: Most importantly ‘Bonus’ succeeds in capturing the heartland of Mumbai in it’s truest form. Mumbai in this film feels alive unlike in Many other recent Marathi films! And along with that the film has a solid protagonist about whom we are concerned throughout his journey in the film.

What Works? 

• By feeling alive I mean the way Mumbai is captured in this film shies away from any artificial exaggeration. The life in chawls around Mumbai is not always as impossible and gruesome as some films before had depicted. Neither is it all hunky-dory all the time. While the protagonist in the film finds this life challenging we are never seeing any melodramatic exaggeration of his hardships. From a visual point of view too the film stays neutral and authentic.
• Gashmeer Mahajani had played this unlikable sophisticated outsider in his films before, but never did he succeed to this extent. In this film we despise him at the beginning but slowly also start sympathizing with him and eventually feeling that there’s nothing majorly wrong with him as he comes off age through the experiences he has in a world different from the world he was born and brought up in.
• Another major aspect in making this Mumbai more authentic are a number of other characters who seem taken out directly from the real world. Whether it’s an real estate agent who shows our protagonist a house under his measly allotted budget who then tells the owner of the house that he’ll take his commission whenever he is needs any money, but drools over fried Bombay ducks that the woman (owner) prepares. Then there is the husband of that woman who had been a convicted murderer and is back after finishing his sentence, who shares his experience of doing plumbing chores inside the Yerawada jail!
• While the film is about social and economic differences in our society, it doesn’t hit us hard in a way that is disturbing and difficult to digest, it rather chooses a different path where all it asks from us is a bit of compassion towards people living a harder life.
• The humour in the first half truly keeps us glued in curiosity towards the protagonist & his journey and also helps the film settle into it’s lighter, non-melodramatic tone for the rest of the run time!
• From a technical point of view the film understands when to let the background score take over a scene and when to not disrupt the realness of a scene. That again helps the film in maintaining it’s authentic but entertaining tone.

What Fails? 

• There are a few convenient plot points that the film takes for our protagonist which makes our protagonist’s challenge a little less challenging, for example the ease with which he gets a job.
• Not necessarily a big drawback but the way Pooja Sawant’s character was setup in the film felt well gelled with authenticity of the film but later her transition into a love interest for our protagonist seemed a unnecessary.

Final Verdict: ‘Bonus’ represents the new Marathi cinema that is both mainstream and audience friendly and is also thought provoking and well crafted. It’s high time that Marathi audiences start valuing our Marathi films more and watching them in theatres is the only way to do that.

The post Bonus Movie Review: Captures the Essence of Mumbai Authentically! appeared first on MarathiStars.

After a series of the hit Marathi films in the last few years, producers Arjun Singgh Baran and Kartk D Nishandar in association with Lion Crown Entertainment, Govind Ubhe, N.Anupama and Kanchan Patil are all set to hit the silver screen with one more Marathi film BONUS , which will be released Maharashtra on February 28, 2020. Presented by Lion Crown entertainment and GSEAMS, Written and Directed by Saurabh Bhave, the film will have Gashmeer Mahajani and Pooja Sawant in lead roles. The poster of the film released today.

The poster of the Bonus gives us a slight hint of what to expect. Featuring Gashmeer Mahajani and Pooja Sawant, the poster has a backdrop of the vibrant and colourful Koliwada with the lead actors standing in a romantic pose. What stands out is the suitcase in Gashmeer’s hand. The poster has raised curiosity about the film and the chemistry between Gashmeer and Pooja who are pairing up on the big screen for the first time.

Bonus, an award for audacity, is being talked about by the Marathi film audience for its glamorous star cast and the subject handled by the director. Handsome hunk Gashmeer Mahajani, in a very short span of his career, has carved a niche for himself with his recent films Deool Band, Kanha, One Way Ticket and Mala Kahich Problem Nahi.

Pooja, one fo the most beautiful actresses in Marathi to have done many popular films such as Daagdi Chawl, Vrundavan, Poshter Boyz, Lapachhapi, Junglee is in the main role.

The film is directed by well known young directed Saurabh Bhave, who is also been appreciated for his skills in screenplay and writing. He had penned screenplay for many hit Marathi films including Haapus, Taryanche Bait, Hrudayantar, Chumbak among others.

Saurabh Bhave says “Bonus is that extra bit that we all deserve.. Extra bit of money, joy and happiness, But Unfortunately some people are too privileged and some are not. Bonus tries to bring these two worlds together – The world of Haves and Have Nots. He adds that Bonus Is the joyride journey of a boy who in process of providing his worth encounters with the whole new world that changes his life and beliefs upside down… it is story of his coming of age

“As the title suggests, it is about courage, audacity and the path differently treaded.Bonus will be another film which will keep our tradition of powerful story and star cast as witnessed in our previous films,” say Arjun Singgh Baran and Kartk D Nishandar of GSEAMS.

GSEAMS, is a leading company in entertainment sector, had earlier produced Fugay, Tula Kalnaar Nahi, Ranangan, Vicky Velingkar and presented films like Bhikari. GSEAMS is one of the top studios in Maharashtra having its vertical spread across film productions and presentation, TV productions, talent management, movie marketing and promotion and satellite syndication.

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• Movie : Bonus (2020) | बोनस
• Producer : Arjun Singgh Baran & Kartik Nishandar, Govind Ubhe, Sandesh Patil, Ratish Patil and M. Anupama
• Director : Saurabh Bhave
• Studio : Gseams , Lion Crown Entertainment
• Star Cast :
  • Gashmeer Mahajani
  • Pooja Sawant
  • Mohan Aghase
  • Jaywant Wadkar
• Story : Saurabh Bhave
• Screenplay and Dialogues : NA
• Lyrics : Rishikesh Jadhav, Mandar Cholkar, Arvind Mohite
• Sound : NA
• Sound Design : Dinesh Ucchil, Shantanu Akerkar
• Music : Rohan Rohan
• Background Music : NA
• Cinematography (DOP) : Sanjay Memane
• Editor : Devendra Murdeshwar
• Art Director : Abhishek Radkar
• Costume : Sachin Lovalekar
• Make-up : NA
• Presenter : NA
• Choreography : Kruti Mahesh
• Co-Producer : NA
• Production Design : Abhishek Redkar
• Visual Promotions : Worriors Ttouch
• PR : Ginger Media
• Digital Promotions : Pagerole Media
• DI Colorist : Prime Focus
• Genre : Drama
• Release Date : 28 Feb 2020

Synopsis : Bonus is a Marathi movie starring Gashmeer Mahajani and Pooja Sawant in prominent roles. It is a drama written and directed by Saurabh Bhave, with Sanjay Memane as the cinematographer, forming a part of the crew.

Bonus Marathi Movie Poster/Photos :

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• Review : Bus Stop (2017)
• Producer : Shreyash Jadhav, Mrs.Poonam Shende, Mr. Gajendra Patil, Mr.Asso Nihlani
• Director : Sameer Hemant Joshi
• Star Cast : Amruta Khanwilkar, Aniket Vishwasrao, Hemant Dhome, Siddharth Chandekar, Pooja Sawant, Rasika Sunil, Akshay Waghmare, Madhura Deshpande
• Story : Sameer Hemant Joshi
• Screenplay & Dialogue : Shanta gokhale
• Music : Saurabh, Jasraj and Hrushikesh
• Review By : Abhay Salvi

Rating : 1/5

Bus Stop Marathi Movie Review :

How do I put this? There are certain films that are simply pointless. They are not even irritatingly bad. You just can’t enjoy such films in any possible way. This multi-starrer mishap belongs to that category of films. A few months back we had another ‘disaster’ in the college romance genre ‘F.U.’ while F.U. was equally bad it was also ambitiously ridiculous, so ridiculous that you might end up enjoying the nonsense it keeps hitting you with. In case of ‘Bus Stop’ you are simply bored.

There is factually no conflict to the story! Rather there is no story, just a bunch of overgrown college students fooling around the campus. Maharashtra’s most loved writer/performer Pu La Deshpande once said when older people make movies about the youth they end up making miserable movies. The same is the case with ‘Bus Stop’, the writing has no real understanding of what today’s youth are really about. But forget that the film doesn’t even manage to put together whatever it thinks it knows, even though what it knows is nothing!

It’s such a pity to watch actors like Siddharth Chandekar, Aniket Vishwasrao, Amruta Khanwilkar, Pooja Sawant, Sanjay Mone, Avinash Narkar, Vidyadhar Joshi & Sharad Ponkshe being wasted. Especially Siddharth’s performance, he almost portrays his disinterest of doing this film. Uday Tikekar & Hemant Dhome play characters which they’ve been playing for a long time now, they are a fine example of typecasting in Marathi.

Many a times we feel the makers just stumbled upon the title ‘Bus Stop’ & then to justify it shifted few scenes at a ‘Bus Stop’. But one thing’s for sure the trailer did suggest us that the parents will have a perspective in this film. And they do! Vidyadhar Joshi’s character who plays father to Pooja Sawant is probably the only interesting character. His confusion of whether to give his child utmost freedom or whether to curb it like his friends, could’ve been evolved. But the film almost restlessly makes him a caricaturish filmy father!

Since the film doesn’t work on the most basic stage of having a plot, conflict. The casting mistakes are actually secondary. But in general Marathi cinema needs to understand that we are unlike Bollywood! Bollywood can afford to cast older ‘stars’ in younger roles, because the point is they are ‘stars’. We don’t really have stars! We have actors. And secondly Marathi cinema has been manufacturing teenage films for a while now, in which actual teenagers play teenage characters. Hence the audiences too are not used to watching older actors in younger roles.

We didn’t really notice but technically the film is definitely decent, but then it doesn’t change anything. Among the actors as said above Siddharth looks completely disinterested, the same is the case with Aniket Vishwasrao to some extent. Hemant Dhome’s caricaturish funny guy fails terribly. His relationship with Sharad Ponkshe (his father who owns a Vada Pav shop) could’ve been funnier had it been developed in a better way. Among the girls Amruta Khanwilkar & Pooja Sawant do their bit in whatever scope their parts provide them.

The songs too are forgettable or plain boring just as the film. One of the songs is a clear rip-off of ‘Ratta Maar’ song from Karan Johar’s ‘The Student of the Year’. During the runtime of this film I genuinely wished, why can’t these makers randomly select a foreign college movie & blindfoldedly make a copy of it! But then I feel even that isn’t an easy

Overall:

‘Bus Stop’ supposedly had the ‘youth’ as their target audience. But if you dared to watch this film, I assure you, you’ll feel like a ‘Target’ on which this film is all set to make its ‘Target Practise’.

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During the promotions of Vishal Furia directed ‘Lapachhapi’ popular singer Vaishali Samant described a song which she sang for the film as the only breather in this horror film. The song was nothing but ‘Dil Khulas’ & it has been out on social media for some time now. As Vaishali Samant said this song truly is a source of positivity & will give the audience a breather in an otherwise intense horror film.

Pooja Sawant & Vikram Gaikwad are seen in a different happy mood in this song awaiting the birth of their child. They don’t seem to have a hint of what ‘horror’ lies in their path ahead, but we do!

The lyrics of this song are written by Prashant Ingole. It is composed by Shreyas Puranik & is sung by one of Marathi’s prominent singer Vaishali Samant. Lapachhapi releases all over Maharashtra on 14th July, don’t miss it.

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• Review : Lapachhapi (2017)
• Producer : Jitendra Patil & Aroona B Bhat
• Director : Vishal Furia
• Star Cast : Pooja Sawant, Usha Naik, Vikram Gaikwad, Anil Gawas
• Writer : Vishal Furia
• Music : Ranjan Patnaik, Tony Basumatary, Utkarsh Dhotekar & Shreyas Puranik 
• Review By : Abhay Salvi

Rating : 3/5

Lapachapi Marathi Movie Review :

First & foremost ‘Horror’ is a genre that has been ignored in Marathi cinema since ages, especially in the recent years when the basic technical skills have improved of our films. Surprisingly our community of Marathi people have always been attracted towards horror through our folk tales & literature. There’s a decent following of writers who have been writing in this genre. So, director Vishal Furia deserves credit for attempting a Marathi horror film & getting many things right! 

The story begins when a young couple Tushar & Neha (Pooja Sawant & Vikram Gaikwad) decide to take shelter at their driver’s village. Tushar had been beaten up & he wishes to protect his pregnant wife from any undesirable incident. The film doesn’t feel the need to establish or explain the ‘danger’ other than through dialogues. So, then Tushar & Neha start living in a mysterious old house for a few days surrounded by nothing but sugarcane fields!

The driver’s wife played by senior actress Usha Naik takes care of their basic needs. Then the story slowly introduces the ‘horror’ parts with irregular impact. The second half is more regular & scarier. Though the twists & turns are pretty obvious they still engross you. The film unnecessarily mixes up two conflicts, rather two issues! One that makes sense but the other loses on logic feels forcefully imbibed into the scheme of things.

This film falls in the category of “could have been much better, but still not bad!”. The most important error is a confusing plot. The film has a convenient ‘compact’ feel in terms of budget & locations but plot wise it becomes a little too ambitious. The confusion isn’t deliberate it exists because the film tries to justify everything & fails to back it up with logic. Certain films especially in horror or mystery genre deliberately flaunt a confusing plot & keep it ambiguous, but then they focus on other aspects of presenting a specific philosophy or simply mocking the existence of a well rounded plot. Lapachhapi had no such intentions in any possible way.

Then it is Pooja Sawant’s performance, there is a sense of repetition in the way she expresses or maybe it’s her limitations. She definitely tried to be better, but this role needed a more matured actress. Usha Naik’s character could have been the twist in the plot & could’ve added to the suspense of the film. Instead it becomes obvious. There are other characters which bring in more impact to the film but discussing them would be a spoiler.  

The strongest aspect of ‘Lapachhapi’ is certainly its background score & sound design. This film could have lost most of what it achieves if it had a ‘scary for scary’s sake’ background. However the background can’t be called realistic. As many a times, the visuals fail to justify certain sounds & we accept that as a liberty taken on the director’s part. The most important reason why we’ve given this film ‘3 stars’ is because it achieves a mystic nature in an important sequence in the second half. The illusions are masterfully crafted & Pooja seems above average at least in them. If this film had more such sequences the result would have been different. Nevertheless this is Vishal Furia’s debut film & in the future we can expect him to improve his craft as a storyteller. 

Overall:

Lapachhapi definitely deserves a watch from audiences who cherish ‘horror’ genre. But we would also advice to not carry tonnes of expectations. This is without a doubt the most decent attempt at ‘horror’ in Marathi cinema’s recent history. Actually we can’t even remember a single decent Marathi ‘horror’ film made before.

The post Lapachhapi Review: A Convincing ‘Horror’ Film! appeared first on MarathiStars.

Ever since the trailer of ‘Lapachhapi’ has been posted on social media, it has gone viral. And the thrill of horror film has grasped one & all. This film was shot in a thrilling manner too. In a sugarcane field, away from livelihood this film’s team shot the film & had to face many obstacles.

The old house used in the film has been there for years & without humans living in it. And since the sugarcane field was far from the village, the villagers used to throw away snakes which were caught in the village. And these snakes caused lot of problems while the shooting of the film. Many a times, actress Pooja Sawant had to give her scene with a fear of snakes in her mind, even she hurt herself while shooting but kept going on.

Moreover Pooja who never sleeps alone, she is always accompanied by her mother purposefully stayed alone in that house to get into the character. Her character is of a pregnant woman & who has to stay alone in that house facing many obstacles. Lapachhapi directed by Vishal Furia is set to release on 14th July & is set to create a new milestone in ‘horror’ genre of Marathi cinema.

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The upcoming Marathi film ‘Bus Stop’ is a one of a kind Multi-starrer. The film stars Amruta Khanvilkar, Siddharth Chandekar, Aniket Vishwasrao, Pooja Sawant, Hemant Dhome, Rasika Sunil, Akshay Waghmare, Sharad Ponkshe, Vidyadhar Joshi, Arun Tikekar, Sanjay Mone & others.

Presented by ‘Ganraj Associates’ & produced by popular Marathi rapper Shreyash Jadhav ‘Bus Stop’ is directed by Sameer Hemant Joshi & is releasing on 21^st July. The music of this film was recently launched.

Just like the film the music of this film represents a fresh youthful flavour. Tracks like ‘Move On’, ‘Aapla Romance’, ‘Ghoka Nahi Tar Hoil Dhoka’ & ‘Tujhya Savlila’ are connecting with the youth! The music for this film is given by current musical icons the trio of Hrishikesh-Saurabh-Jasraj & Aditya Bedekar. The lyrics of these songs are written by Vaibhav Joshi, Kshitij Patwardhan & Yogesh Damle. Singers like Rohit Raut, Priyanka Barve, Shruti Athavle, Rupale Moghe, Sagar Phadke & Jasraj Joshi have lend their voices to these songs.

This film deals with a moral clash that occurs between the older & the younger generations! Along with Shreyash Jadhav producers Poonam Shende, Gajendra Patil & Aasu Nihilani have contributed in making this film.

The post The Youthful Music of Bus Stop Has Four Young Music Directors! appeared first on MarathiStars.

Vaibhav Tatwawadi & Pooja Sawant starrer ‘Bhetali Tu Punha‘ is one of the most awaited Marathi movies of this season. Directed by the ‘Dagdi Chaal’ fame Chandrakant Kanse, the trailer of this film presents Vaibhav & Pooja in an altogether new avatar.

Falling in love is a special experience in its own but when it happens on a train journey with a stranger it becomes even more special. Many Hindi films like ‘Jab We Met’ & ‘Chennai Express’ have dealt with these themes before. In Marathi, ‘Bhetali Tu Punha’ seems to be the first attempt on such lines.

Another interesting aspect about the trailer & the film is that it focuses on falling on love at second sight. Pooja Sawant‘s character shows different traits in the trailer itself. What is it that changes her? Or she doesn’t change, instead Vaibhav’s perspective changes? All these questions will soon be answered when ‘Bhetali Tu Punha’ releases in theatres on 28th July!

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‘Bhetali Tu Punha’ is an highly awaited Marathi film from the director of ‘Dagadi Chaal’ & starring Vaibhav Tatwawadi & Pooja Sawant. The new song ‘Jaanu Jaanu’ from the film was recently posted on social media. And it has already got great response. The catchy tune by composers Chinar & Mahesh, the voices of Siddharth Mahadevan & Anandi Joshi truly make this song refreshing to the ears.

The lead cast of this film Vaibhav & Pooja look absolutely stunning in this video. They complement each other so beautifully. The choreography, art direction, costume design & even the cinematography of this song altogether adds to the celebratory mood of this song. The funky lyrics of ‘Jaanu Jaanu’ are written by Mangesh Kangane.

Chandrakant Kanse directorial ‘Bhetali Tu Punha’ is set to release on 28th July all over Maharashtra. The film tells the story of falling in love at second sight! The trailer has made all the audience intrigued about this romantic comedy.

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