Film Medium Spicy that promises to spin a web around urban relationships is surely building an exciting ensemble in its journey. The film is already looking like one of the biggest ensembles of the year boasting of actors like Lalit Prabhakar, Sai Tamhankar and Parna Pethe in lead roles along with Sagar Deshmukh, veteran actors, Neena Kulkarni and Ravindra Mankani supporting the main cast. The makers have now announced the addition of Neha Joshi and Pushkaraj Chirputkar to the team. With Mohit Takalkar helming the directorial and Vidhi Kasliwal producing the film under her banner Landmarc Films, Medium Spicy seems to be getting more and more mouth-watering by the day and we can’t wait for its release already!

Neha is considered one of the most talented actresses in Marathi cinema and has made a mark for herself with films like Farzand, Zenda, Poshter Boyz and Nashibvaan for which she got the State Award for Best supporting actress last year while Pushkaraj who was loved by the audience for his character ‘Ashu’ in the Marathi Sitcom Dil Dosti Duniyadari, who also went on to win a Zee Marathi award for the same in 2015, has done several successful Marathi films in the last couple of years including Mantr for which he received a State Award nomination.

Confirmed Vidhi, “We are thrilled to offer such a bouquet of talented actors to our audience. It’s amazing to see how each one of them has loved the script as much as we did when we decided to start the film and they have completely submitted themselves to the vision that Mohit has for Medium Spicy. With such a powerhouse of talent, we are hopeful that audiences will like what we have in store for them.”

The post Neha Joshi and Pushkaraj Chirputkar join the ensemble of Medium Spicy appeared first on MarathiStars.

Sony Entertainment is a trustworthy brand in the history of Indian T.V. industry. Almost after 2 decades of their entry into the industry, they are now entering the Marathi entertainment industry. And they had a grand launch party at the lavish JW Marriot hotel. From the meaning behind their logo to the objectives they have in mind were spoken about by Ajay Bhalwankar (Business Head of Sony Marathi).

Popular actor & lyricist Jitendra Joshi was hosting the event & was introducing the shows one by one. From a romantic serial like ‘Julta Julta Jultay Ki’, ‘Duniyadari Filmy Style’ a story of a struggling actor who leaves Mumbai & decides to make a film in his village with the help of his villagers, A story of a weird marriage between a boxer girl & a singer boy titled ‘Saare Tujhyachsathi’. A dance reality show featuring countless celebrities, ‘Maharashtracha Favorite Dancer’ hosted by Pushkaraj Chirputkar & the super judge being Supriya Pilgaonkar!

Jitendra Joshi apart from being the host of the evening also revealed that he himself will be a part of a unique show on the channel titled ‘Garja Maharashtra’. This show will showcase the folk culture & traditions of Maharashtra & the will be a tribute to the legacy of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj & their forts! The show’s telecast will commence from 19^th August at 7 pm with a grand award show, 55^th Maharashtra State Marathi Film Awards! The whole entertainment industry will in this way wish Sony Marathi a successful future.

So don’t forget to tune into Sony Marathi from 19^th of August!

The post Host Jitendra Joshi Makes Sony Marathi Launch Event A Grand Success appeared first on MarathiStars.

• Review : Mantra (2018)
• Producer : Sanjay Katkar
• Director : Harshawardhan
• Writer : Harshwardhan
• Star Cast : Saurabh Gogate, Deepti Devi, Manoj Joshi, Pushkaraj Chirputkar, Shubhankar Ekbote
• Review by : Abhay Salvi

Rating : 3/5

Mantra Movie Review:

Mantra is a film that is weaker in craft & technique at many instances but the lasting impression it makes purely on what it wants to say & how clearly & confidently it says it overpowers it’s weakness when looked in totality, having said that the message or the philosophy that the film abides by could have been organically imbibed into the screenplay of the film.

The film begins with flashback hinting us that something drastic has happened in the life of the protagonist. While in most of recent Marathi films the use of flashback isn’t really justified, here it makes sense & makes us connect with the protagonist. Niranjan (Saurabh Gogate) belonging to a ‘purohit’ family is all set for his CA preparations, his father (Manoj Joshi) & his elder brother (Pushkaraj Chirputkar) aren’t unhappy with his decision of not taking up the ‘purohit’ work. But soon an opportunity lands up in the family which requires one of the priests from within the family (which also includes Niranjan’s uncle) to shift to Germany at a temple that requires a priest.

The elder brother has an inferiority complex about English or any foreign language & culture, he isn’t ready to move to Germany. This uncle is already interested but then Niranjan shows interest & since the requirement was of a young (& a physically fit person to adapt easily to the climate) priest, Niranjan’s father Shridhar Pant approves him! But only after confronting him about his sudden change of plan!

Now majority of the film’s ‘point’ relies on the characterization of ‘Shridhar Pant’ his values, his calmness & his studios nature about religion & spirituality. He is almost a ‘Gandhi-like’ figure of this field. Is he believable? To me he was! No matter how rare, there are people like him in all facets of life! People who are honest in their work & who search for ‘satisfaction’ in every little deed they do. Manoj Joshi gets to play an exact opposite version of a priest from what he played in ‘Dashkriya’! And he is very much effective here!

Moving onto Niranjan, he has enrolled into a German speaking class every evening accompanied by his best friend ‘Sunny’ (Shubhankar Ekbote), son of a politician. In the morning under his father’s guidance Niranjan is learning all the rituals which he needs to be aware of to function as a priest in Germany. Now enters the female lead of the film, Antara Joshi played by Deepti Devi, (she too is in the German speaking class) a hardcore atheist who has just got over a break up. Now Antara is a progressive modern day woman who smokes cigarettes, & has blacklisted every religion, religious practices, etc as she had been through a tragedy! Well, Antara is just as cliché as she could be, yet there’s a moment in the film in the climax where she becomes more than just a caricature & makes a healthy contribution in making the ‘point’ of the film.

While I can’t reveal what the film says about theism vs atheism or what it’s point is regarding ‘religion’ & the people who practice it professionally like the mentioned priests, I would still say that the film says something very fundamental! The purpose of religion & the idea of god had a fundamental purpose in our lives, one that gives us inner peace & is very much personal. But does the film say that religion is irreplaceable? Or it says that it’s all up to us? That’s for you to know!

Overall:

‘Mantra’ could have trimmed it’s length a bit, avoiding few scenes set in the German speaking class or from the Niranjan-Sunny track. The film could have been dubbed better. At many instances it’s evident that we are not hearing the actual voice from the scene. Sparing these flaws ‘Mantra’ needs to be seen in today’s religiously polluted atmosphere to find some clarity about the subject & it’s practical influence on our lives.

The post Mantra Review: Clarity of Thought – About God & Spirituality appeared first on MarathiStars.

Produced by ‘Dreambook Prductions’, ‘Vedarth Creations’ & written-directed by Harshwardhan upcoming Marathi film ‘Mantra’ is soon releasing in theatres. The film’s music & teaser launch event was successfully held in Mumbai recently.

This film deals with a unique subject of a young man who becomes a priest by default following his father’s footsteps but when a girl enters his life who doesn’t believe in all this, the hero too starts questioning himself. A unique spiritual conflict is handled in ‘Mantra’. The film stars Saurabh Gogate & Deepti Devi in lead & along with them it also stars Pushkaraj Chirputkar, Manoj Joshi, Siddheshwar Zadbuke, Sunil Abhyankar, Dhiresh Joshi, Rajesh Katkar, & others.

The music for ‘Mantra’ is composed by Avinash-Vishwajeet. The film has three songs in Sanskrit poetry! Popular singers like Ajay Gogavale, Avadhoot Gupte, Rohit Raut, Dhawal Chandwadkar & Vishwajeet Joshi have sung for the film. ‘Mantra’ is set to release all over Maharashtra on 13^th April!

The post Deepti Devi Starrer ‘Mantr’ Music & Teaser Launched appeared first on MarathiStars.

• Movie : Mantr (2018) | मंत्र
• Producer : Sanjay Katkar
• Directer : Devendra Shinde (Harshwardhan)
• Studio : Dreambook Productions in association with Vedarth Creations
• StarCast :
  • Saurabh Gogate as Niranjan
  • Deepti Devi as Antara
  • Manoj Joshi as Shridhar Pant
  • Pushkaraj Churputkar as Kashinath
  • Siddheshwar Zadbuke as Ambavane
  • Shubhankar Ekbote as Sunny
  • Sujay Jadhav as David
  • Vrushali Katkar as Niranjan’s Aai
  • Dhiresh Joshi as Rangnath kaka
  • Sunil Abhyankar as Mrdamle. Nadkarni
  • Anuradha Marathe as Niranjan’s Aaji
  • Shubhangi Damle as Antara’s Aaji
  • Amruta Joshi as Antara’s Sister
  • Vishwajit Joshi as Mr. Raste
• Story and Screenplay : Devendra Shinde (Harshwardhan)
• Music : Avinash-Vishwajeet
• Lyrics : Vishwajeet Joshi
• Cinematography : Pran Shirodkar
• Art and Executive Producer : Rajneesh Kalawant
• Production Manager : Supriya Tamhane and Chetan Birla
• Editor and VFX : Sachin Pandit
• Costumes : Jui Suhas
• Distribution : AP Communications
• Genre : Drama
• Release Date : 13th April 2018

Synopsis :    A young boy from a family of Purohits (Preacher) is not keen to take up the family profession, but due to friend’s advice, he accepts purohit’s job in Germany. Here, his brain dominates the heart and mind which later in the story meets him in a German language class as Antara. Antara, hates Purohits, religious/spiritual leaders for a valid reason. The boy thinks that she is an atheist and hides his real identity as he starts loving her. She proves him that the God is created to threaten people and Purohits do not have anything substantial to sell to their clients. His friends play a role in the story proving how religion is made for politics and his uncle is also a reason for him to believe that the temples are just means of earnings for Purohits. Then his father, a very honest believer, is the only person who can help the boy complete the journey of realisation by answering questions about God, religion and temples. The explanation of his father is decoded for the boy through the experience created by Antara.

Mantr Marathi Poster/Photos :

Mantr Marathi Movie Teaser/Trailer :

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

• Review :  Baapjanma (2017)
• Producer : Sumatilal Shah
• Director : Nipun Dharmadhikari
• Star Cast : Sachin Khedekar, Pushkaraj Chirputkar, Sharvari Lohokare, Satyajeet Patwardhan, Akarsh Khurana
• Story : Nipun Dharmadhikari
• Music : Gandhaar
• Review By : Abhay Salvi

Rating : 4.5/5

निपुण धर्माधिकारी लिखित दिग्दर्शित ‘बापजन्म’ चित्रपट तुम्हाला तुमच्या बाबांची दुसरी बाजू जाणून घेण्यास प्रवृत्त करेल! कसा? वाचा आमचा सविस्तर रिव्ह्यू-

Baapjanma Marathi Movie Review :

Nipun Dharmadhikari’s debut film as a director ‘Baapjanma’ is a treat to audiences of all tastes. He has so beautifully incorporated different audience sensibilities to give us a film that can be enjoyed by all. This is what Marathi cinema needs right now more than anything else. This film is conventional in a way that it won’t possibly discover something entirely new, yet there’s a fair amount of novelty to it. 

The trailer of ‘Baapjanma’ gives very little about the actual film. The film wants the audiences to enter the theatre with that little information. The audiences though only realize it when they watch the film. It’s almost a calculative decision by the makers to make the audience perceive one film & later surprise them with something unexpected & refreshing. Out of which one thing I can definitely reveal is that this film is a laugh riot at so many instances! Pushkaraj Chirputkar as Mauli is responsible for most of it. He simply owns his character!

Yes the film is a story about a 60 plus man who has written his will. But the humour as mentioned above doesn’t have the traits of a black comedy. Instead it’s more like harmless light hearted fun. It helps this film to get a certain completeness that Marathi audiences desire for. Sachin Khedekar’s Bhaskar Pandit is a complex character. He isn’t stereotypical in any way & hence he becomes the perfect protagonist for this non-stereotypical story. Among the rest of the characters Madhav Vaze stands out with almost four lines or so throughout the runtime. Last seen in 3 Idiots, this senior actor is actually the little kid who played ‘Shyam’ in 1950s Marathi classic ‘Shyamchi Aai’.

Last year we had ‘Ventilator’ that reminded us that our fathers are as important as our mothers (I mean in our Films). ‘Baapjanma’ makes even stronger connect on that level; but the film doesn’t necessarily try to make the father in this story relatable to all. Bhaskar Pandit as said before is a complex man & the audiences shouldn’t try to find a straightforward moral of this story regarding fatherhood!

Among the rest of the cast Sharvari Lohokare (Bhaskar Pandit’s daughter) & Satyajeet Patwardhan (Bhaskar Pandit’s son) seem to be perfectly casted. Sharvari Lohokare is one of the underrated actors working in Marathi currently here she makes the most of the opportunity. Patwardhan too enacts his role with good effect, of a son who has much against his father yet deep down he loves his father for the few happy memories.

There are a few moments in ‘Baapjanma’ that defy logic however they never disconnect us from the story. Also because they arrive late in the film & the film has already entertained us thoroughly.

Sachin Khedekar continues his top form as usual. This character had ‘Sachin Khedekar’ written all over it. It must be author backed. Yet Khedekar manages to do it differently, had this film arrived say five years ago that wouldn’t have happened. In the last 2-3 years Sachin Khedekar has transformed himself into a polished actor who projects the minutest of details on screen.

In a scene we see Bhaskar Pandit typing a long message to his son through an online chating medium. We see the son waiting for the message to arrive (as ‘typing’ appears on the messenger), but then Bhaskar Pandit deletes it & the messenger shows ‘offline’. This little scene is the soul of ‘Baapjanma’ for me. Nipun Dharmadhikari has managed to modernize our old emotions. They are as effective as they were earlier but now they are presented in a way that actually exists today!

Overall:

‘Baapjanma’ is a beautiful story told even more beautifully. It doesn’t have a formula to it, it organically reaches a complete form by the end of the film & as audiences we take home the whole story with us than just a moral message!

The post Baapjanma Review: A beautiful story told even more beautifully! appeared first on MarathiStars.

We’ve seen many Indian films made about mothers & motherhood. Very few films try to figure what exactly is it to be a father, that too not an out of proportion filmy style father, but a father we all have in our lives. A father who might have performed all the responsibilities of providing food, shelter, clothing, security to his children & family, but emotionally he has been distant from them.

The trailer of Sachin Khedekar starrer & Nipun Dharmadhikari directorial ‘Baapjanma’ makes us think about all this & the father in our lives. This subject itself is so refreshingly novel. The story of a man who has lived a certain way all his life & suddenly at a point he is made to rethink about everything. As if he’s been given an opportunity to correct his mistakes!

Sachin Khedekar has been in top form recently & this trailer suggests that it would be a sheer treat to watch him play this character!

The post Baapjanma Trailer: The Universal Story of ‘Fatherhood’! appeared first on MarathiStars.

Sachin Khedekar is a veteran actor on Marathi screen for more than 25 years and has many acclaimed films to his credit like ‘Mee Shivajiraje Bhosle Boltoy’, ‘Kaaksparsh’, ‘Aajcha Mazha Divaas’, etc and now his most eagerly awaited film ‘Baapjanm’ is about to release and we caught up with him at the trailer launch of the film .Here is what he has to say.

‘Baapjanm’ sounds like a very strange title?

Yes. But it is relevant to the story of the film. We have often seen films on relationships between a motherand her son, but this film will focus on the relationship between a father and a son and I play the father in the film. He is not an emotional father but a strict disciplinary one.  It focuses on the generation gap that exists between the present generation and the older one. Director Nipun Dharmadhikari who makes his debut with this film has presented the film in a different and effective way.

What is your opinion about the debutant director Nipun Dharmadhikari?

He is young and talented and I have seen him perform and direct in plays staged in Pune and the Purushottam Karandak and he has also acted in a very nice way in the film ‘Highway’. He has a very bright future ahead of him. He shot the film in just 35 days in and around Pune. It was a pleasure working with him.

What is the other cast of the film?

The film also stars Pushkrakj Chirputkar, Sharvari Lohkare, Satyajeet Patwardhan and Akarsh Khurana.

You are gradually moving towards character roles.

Yes. At my age one can’t expect more and there is a lot of depth in the characters I play and its also an always pivotal role in the film. Marathi films are generally character driven and not hero or heroine oriented. The graph of the actor and the role is very important like my roles in the recently released Kaccha Limboo, etc.

Whats next on the anvil?

I am waiting for a good book adaptation for a film in Marathi as the Marathi culture is full of great authors and I am waiting for some director to approach me with such a role. Also I am acting in Hindi films like Judwaa 2 and Golmaal-4.

Do you find any difference in Marathi and Hindi film industry ?

Basically it’s the same but the atmosphre on a Marathi film set is very friendly and less stressed out and whereas on a Hindi film set, its all chaos and there is a lot of stress and a lot of a noisy atmosphere on the sets.

Please name any five films in Marathi that you are really proud of.

Astitva, Mee Shivaji Raje Bhosle Boltoy, Aajcha Divas Majha , Kaaksparsh and Shikshanachya Aicha Gho.

Any plans of turning director?

No. I  am not temperementally fit to be a director. I am happy being an actor.      

The post Interview : Sachin Khedekar Waxes Eloquent about Baapjanma appeared first on MarathiStars.

• Movie : Baapjanma (2017) | बापजन्म
• Producer : Sumatilal Shah
• Director : Nipun Dharmadhikari
• Studio : Sixteen by Sixty-Four Production, Everest Entertainment, Eros International
• Presented By : Sanjay Chhabria – Everest Entertainment

• Star Cast : 

  • Sachin Khedekar as Bhaskar pandit
  • Pushkaraj Chirputkar as Mauli
  • Sharvari Lohokare as Veena
  • Satyajeet Patwardhan as Vikram
  • Akarsh Khurana as Ashok Khurana
  • Shriram Pendse as Old man 1
  • Ramesh Medhekar as Old man 2
  • Sunil Godbole as Old man 3
  • Sudhir Phatak as Old man 4
• Story : Nipun Dharmadhikari
• Music & Background Score : Gandhaar Sangoram
• Lyrics : Kshitij Patwardhan
• Singer : Deepti Mate (Man Shevantiche Phool), Jaydeep Vaidya (Gandha Ajunahi)
• Sound Design : Akshay Vaidya
• Cinematography (DOP) : Abhijit D. Abde
• Editor : Suchitra Sathe
• Makeup : Dinesh Naik
• Costumes : Sayli Soman
• Marketing : Amit Bhanushali
• Production Design : Satyajeet Patwardhan
• Color: redchillies.color
• Publicity Campaign: Sachin Suresh Gurav
• Visual Promotions : Navprabhat Studio
• Co-Producers : Keyur Godse, Neeraj Biniwale, Amrut Athavale, Nipun Dharmadhikari
• Genre : Drama
• Duration : 134 Mins
• Release Date : 29 September 2017

Synopsis : Bhaskar Pandit is a senior citizen living only with his caretaker Mauli and his dog Tiger. His wife has passed away a few years back and he has a strained relationship with both his children. One day, while going through his journal he realizes that he has been living the exact same routine for many months. With this sudden jolt of realization, he decides to go on a mission to mend the relationship with his children… and he will stop at nothing till he achieves what he wants!

Baapjanma Marathi Movie Photos, Poster :

Bapjanma Marathi Movie Trailer :

The post Baapjanma (2017) – Marathi Movie appeared first on MarathiStars.

Sachin Khedekar has been in sublime form lately his recent release ‘Kachha Limbu’ too is no exception. Nipun Dharmadhikar’s debut film as director ‘Baapjanma’ stars Sachin Khedekar in the lead & the latest teaser of the film promises a brilliant performance from Sachin Khedekar.

Among the rest of the cast only Pushkaraj Chirputkar has been revealed so far through the teaser, we can still hope for a few surprises in the cast. But this teaser tells us exactly what this film is about. It’s about a man who is probably par retirement age & is still living his life with a pre-planned timetable!

This man seems to be living alone along with his servant Mauli (Pushkaraj) & has a habit of writing diary regularly! The plot seems very compact & hence it would be exciting to see how Nipun has developed the screenplay based on it! The teaser ends on a smart note that keeps us intrigued about the film.

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