• Review : Youngraad (2018)
• Producer : Vitthal Patil, Gautam Gupta, Gaurav Gupta and Madhu Mantena
• Director : Makarand Mane
• Screenplay : Makarand Mane, Shashank Shende and Aziz Madari
• Star Cast : Chaitanya Devre, Saurabh Padvi, Shiv Wagh, Jeevan Karalkar, Shashank Shende, Savita Prabhune & Sharad Kelkar
• Review by : Abhay Salvi

Rating : 3/5

Youngraad Review (Marathi Movie):

Directed by Makarand Mane of ‘Ringan’ fame & backed by ‘Phantom Films’ the iconic indie film studio of Bollywood (& Overall Indian cinema), ‘Youngraad’ is a film that is solid on many levels starting from the casting, to the use of craft (technical), use of background score & the overall direction of the film. What it also manages to do well is inhibiting the ‘Sairat’ influence in a positive way. But the film has issues with the narrative, which hamper the overall takeout for the audiences.

The film begins with a flashback clarifying the protagonist of the film as someone who has got over a dreadful phase in his life & has now grown to be a wiser person. The problem with this device is that it takes away some of the ‘thrill’ in a film that had some traits of a crime thriller. The story revolves around four school going mid teenagers living in the city of Nasik. The first half mostly depicts their friendship through different incidents & the romantic track of the main hero of the film!

The romantic track clearly has a ‘Sairat’ influence but in a very healthy way. It makes us believe whatever it depicts. This in fact is Youngraad’s biggest strength. It never takes away the believability. Except a jail sequence in the second half which also stars Sharad Kelkar in an unnecessarily filmy mode.

As the trailer reveals these four friends start working for a local goon who is soon venturing into politics. This transition of normal fun loving kids to goons of an aspiring politician is almost very easy but still convincing. Then due to some circumstances they decide to leave all this & become clean. This conflict of the film arrives almost at the interval point. The second half then takes a completely new turn. Now this transition both from the narrative point of view & the character transitions aren’t smooth. The film develops quite a few problems in the second half. The biggest being the track of our protagonist in prison. The believability suffers here. However, even in these moments the performance of the lead actor keeps us interested.

Once the protagonist is out from prison the film deals with the aftermath in a bit formulaic way. But it let’s the protagonist dwell around the proceedings deliberately purposeless. We see him roaming around the sub-urban city clueless & with a grim on his face. These little sad moments involving the protagonist & his friends make the second half interesting. There are many errors & plot points left abruptly in the second half, but because of the film’s emotional connect we are affected by the film.

After ‘Ringan’ director Makarand Mane approached a completely new story & partially succeeded in creating another moving film experience. But more work on the writing of the film could’ve taken ‘Youngraad’ to similar heights of ‘Ringan’. However one could easily notice that as a director Mane has still improved his craft, especially the way he has used visual language in ‘Youngraad’. The young actors of the film have given good performances especially the lead actor. Shashank Shende & Savita Prabhune are probably the only well versed actors in the cast & they too have given superb performances. Savita Prabhune has been seen in very few films but she is impressive in all of them, last she was seen in ‘Jaudya Na Balasaheb’.

Overall:

In terms of the commercial value ‘Youngraad’ has everything that today’s youth Marathi audiences would connect with. Including humor & beautifully composed & shot songs. It shouldn’t go unnoticed just because it hasn’t been promoted well!

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• Movie : Youngraad (2018) | यंग्राड
• Producer : Vitthal Patil, Gautam Gupta, Gaurav Gupta and Madhu Mantena
• Director : Makarand Mane
• Studio : Phantom Films, Vitthal Patil Productions and Futureworks
• Star Cast :
  • Chaitanya Devre
  • Saurabh Padvi
  • Shiv Wagh
  • Jeevan Karalkar
  • Shashank Shende
  • Vitthal Patil
  • Shantanu Gangane
  • Savita Prabhune
  • Sharad Kelkar
• Story : Makarand Mane
• Screenplay : Makarand Mane, Shashank Shende and Aziz Madari
• Dialogues : Bhushan Patil
• Lyrics : Kshitij Patwardhan, Datta Patil and Maghlub
• Music Composer : Hriday Gattani and Gandhar
• Sound Design : Arvind Vijaykumar
• Re-Recording Mixer : Rhitwik Raj Pathak
• Original Score : Mannan Munjal
• Cinematography (DOP) : Hari Nair
• Editor : Aashay Gatade
• Art Director : Prasad Arun Rahane
• Costume : Mausami Shaikh
• Make-Up : Santosh Sambhaji Gilbile
• Choreography : Vitthal Patil
• Executive Producer : Shantanu Gangane
• Visual Promotion : Just Right Studioz
• Publicity Design : Sachin Suresh Gurav
• Genre : Drama
• Release Date : 6th July 2018

Synopsis : Four best friends from Nashik always have each other’s backs be it getting into fights or setting up a friend with his dream girl. But having a wrong idol in such impressionable years lands them into a web of troubles that drastically affects their lives and brings them to a point where everything that they thought they knew about life disappears into oblivion and forces them to embark on a journey to redefine who they are.

Youngraad Marathi Movie Poster/Photos :

Youngraad Marathi Movie Teaser/Trailer :

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Makarand Mane, the national award-winning director of ‘Ringan’ is coming up with yet another different movie ‘Youngraad’, the trailer of which was released recently. Produced jointly by Vitthal Patil (Vitthal Patil Production), Gautam Gupta, Gaurav Gupta (Future Works Media Ltd.), and Madhu Mentena ( Phantom Films ), ‘Youngraad’ stars four young actors in the lead, Chaitanya Deore, Saurabh Padvi, Shiv Wagh & Jeevan Karalkar. It also features leading actors including Sharad Kelkar, Savita Prabbhune, Shireen Patil, Monika Chaudhari, Shashank Shende, Vitthal Patil and Shantanu Gangane.

The story has been penned by Makarand Mane, who is also the screenplay writer along with Shashank Shende and Aziz Madari.  Young Hriday Gattani and Gandhaar are its music composers, for which lyrics have been penned by Kshitij Patwardhan, Datta Patil and Maghlub Poonawala. The four songs have been sung by Shankar Mahadevan, Divya Kumar, Shasha Tirupati and Hriday Gattani

‘Youngraad’ is a slang used to define vagrant boys in Nashik, the Dakshin Kashi (Southern Banaras) of India. Be it getting into fights or setting up a friend with his dream girl, these four friends have always got each other’s backs. But having a wrong idol in such impressionable years lands these four boys into a web of troubles that drastically affects their lives and brings them to a point where everything that they thought they knew about life disappears into oblivion and forces them to embark on a journey to redefine who they are.

The trailer of the film was recently launched at an event in Mumbai. This rustic hard-hitting story of four friends releases in theatres all over Maharashtra from 6th of July.

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There are very few production houses that create an iconic status for themselves in so much less time, ‘Phantom’ productions is one of them. Formed by directors like Anurag Kashyap, Vikramaditya Motwane & Vikas Bahl to make the kind of cinema they believe in. They have made successful films like ‘Queen’, ‘Udta Punjab’, ‘Lootera’, ‘Masaan’ & many more in Hindi.

Now they have a grand entry into Marathi cinema with Makarand Mane directorial ‘Youngraad’. Youngraad means those boys who are wasting their lives roaming around & doing nothing. It’s a word from Nashik where the story of the film is based. The story of four boys who have wrongs idols in their lives & because of that they end up getting into trouble & then they start introspecting upon their life.

The director of this film previously made national award-winning film ‘Ringan’ & is also directing the next film of Rinku Rajguru of ‘Sairat’ fame which is titled as ‘Kagar’. Along with Phantom, the film is also backed by ‘Future Works Media’ & ‘Vitthal Patil Productions’ & is set to release all over Maharashtra on 6^th of July!

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• Review : Ringan (2017) 
• Producer : Vitthal Patil, Ganesh Phuke, Mahesh Yewale, Yogesh Nikam, Makrand Mane, Vidhi Kasliwal
• Director : Makrand Mane
• Star Cast :Shashank Shende, Master Sahil Joshi, Suhas Sirsat, Kalyanee Mulay, Vijay Salve, Umesh Jagtap, Shantanu Gangane, Abhay Mahajan, Vitthal Patil, Ketan Pawar, Shyam Savaji
  Govind Bhatlavande, Dattatray Jagtap, Prashant Tapasvi, Omkar Mane
• Writer : Makrand Mane
• Music : Rohit Nagbhide
• Review By : Abhay Salvi

Rating : 4.5/5

Ringan Marathi Movie Review :

‘Ringan’ means a circle. In the context of this film ‘the circle of life’. And in this circle of life at regular intervals there is darkness & then there’s light. However as a wise wizard once said, “Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, when one only remembers to turn on the light.”

What Makarand Mane (director) succeeds in doing is to motivate oneself to look out for the light. A film that is so relevant to the current disastrous state of our farmer could have gone either ways. One way that was previously taken by a film like ‘Gabhricha Paus’. That way was effective in an opposite way. A depressing end is not necessarily, a depressing message. The marketing strategy of team ‘Ringan’ has strictly been that this film is presenting a solution!

Also Read : Shashank Shende Exclusive Interview 

But in my understanding the solution isn’t that simple & hence the positivity that could drive oneself towards finding a solution is what the film actually gives the audience, instead of the solution itself. Beyond this very local context of the film, beneath there’s a universal theme to it. The father-son bond is not new in universal cinema, but ‘Ringan’ is probably the best depiction of the same in the recent history of Indian Cinema.

After winning the national award for Best Marathi film two years ago, ‘Ringan’ has waited for it’s time & fortunately or unfortunately it’s releasing in times where we’ve just went through a huge farmer’s strike. But the ‘light’ part is that there’s ‘Waari’ atmosphere all over Maharashtra. Just like ‘Elizabeth Ekadashi’ Pandharpur is an essential part of this film. In one of the dialogues the lead character says to an old man, you & me we’re here because we believe there’s god in Pandharpur! And then the journey suggests us that for finding the god within one must work towards it. Miracles don’t occur on their own, one must create one’s own miracle!

Shashank Shende is absolutely brilliant in the film. His silence speaks louder than his words, & those magical eyes! The little kid Sahil Joshi is a true find. He compliments Shende beautifully. Abhay Mahajan too does the ‘good guy’ part soulfully. Kalyanee Mulye is seen in a surprising role & has done justice to it. Most of the film was shot with a hidden cam & many a times you can actually sense normal people present at that place in the frame. The film has been shot beautifully & the editing too is top notch. The background score too needs a mention. The songs & background are so immersed in one another that it’s difficult to recognize them separately.

Ringan is an extremely rare ‘complete’ film that can interest all kinds of audience. It also proves that to make a good film ‘budget’ can never be an issue. The Marathi audiences too have consistently proved that they are not expecting lavish sets, locations or prosperity to be seen in Marathi films. There are lot of other Hindi & South films that can serve them that, in Marathi they look out for a human connection & ‘Ringan’ makes a connection instantly.

With nothing exciting to watch among the Hindi releases ‘Ringan’ has a bright chance of pulling a good amount of audiences. Earlier in the month we had ‘Muramba’ which proved Marathi audiences definitely have a great taste for good content.  

Overall:

Ringan is a must watch! It’s probably the best Marathi film made in years! The best aspect of it is that even after being universal in theme & approach the heart of it is very ‘Marathi’!

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Shashank Shende starrer ‘Ringan’ is releasing on 30^th June & on this occasion we made Shashank Shende open up about Ringan, Marathi cinema, Majid Majidi & life in general!

Ringan is shot in Pandharpur. Do you think Ringan would have been a different film, if it was shot in a different city?

Yes it would have been a different film, because ‘Pandharpur’ is a character in this film. The film has been consciously placed in Pandharpur & not accidently. Pandharpur is Maharashtra’s most holy place. Every needy person comes at Pandharpur to meet Vitthal.

Many audiences have already seen the film at different film festivals, what are their reactions?

The major reaction that I observed at almost all places where the people saw this film was that within 5-10 minutes of the film’s runtime the audiences don’t feel that they are watching a film! The fourth wall between the screen & the audiences was broken. They felt as if they are actually a part of the process & it’s all happening in their presence.

Sahil Joshi, who plays your child in the film, is without a mother in the film. In real life Sahil’s father has passed away, how did you prepare him for this role?

Firstly, Sahil came with someone else for the auditions. He wasn’t really there for the auditions. But when Makarand (Makrand Mane, director of Ringan) saw him, he asked Sahil if he would like to work in the film, and he said yes. Very soon Sahil was locked in for the role & the rest of the process started. Sahil was part of the reading process, improvisations & all. Then when the film was shot for around 20 days in Pandharpur, Sahil didn’t have anyone from his relatives. He lived with us, with the whole team. He is actually from Talegaon Dabhade & his performance is too sweet in the film!

Sir, is there any resemblance of your personal journey so far to the journey that your character goes through in this film?

I think there’s a ‘Ringan’ in everyone’s life. We start from a point & then at a point a circle is completed. We start from zero & reach 100. My character’s journey too is similar. Throughout his journey he goes through many experiences, many emotions & that applies to all of us. But we don’t realize it when we are going through this whole journey. This personal journey gives us the essential maturity.

Though the journey of your character in this film is filled with sorrow & obstacles, there’s still an uplifting, positive approach to the film!

That too is a conscious decision! From the very beginning we wanted to make this film about the goodness in human beings. Yes there are many unfortunate things happening all around but we’ve made an attempt to give a solution to this. We’ve shown in this film that if a human behaves like a human, many of our problems can be solved. And that is the best part about the film. There are no unnecessary songs or other interruptions or even any melodrama. The film goes on smoothly. One thing’s for sure the audiences will feel that they’ve watched something fulfilling.

The basic theme of this film, the father-son relationship or the backdrop of poverty, all of it is very universal. From Bicycle Thieves to countless other films around the world, many films have been made on it. What is it that you think is so universal about it & why all audiences connect with it?

More than poverty this film is more relation-based, the father and his son & the relation between them. Suppose in a scene a father slaps his child. When an audience watches a film like this, they actually get into the actual scenario of what has driven the father to do such an act. Today the father & son relationship has evolved differently. There is no longer a wall between them. Today my child shares a lot of things with me, & I too share a few things with him. All this is because of the emotional strength that has grown along the years. This same is relatable to all audiences & it’s not really intellectual in any way.

Currently in Marathi Cinema we are seeing more & more human stories. What’s your take on the current scenario in Marathi Cinema?

I think most of our stories are relationship-based. I am a little doubtful whether our films are exploring the cinematic aspect of these stories. If I am shown the same thing that I can watch on T.V., then what’s the point?

You mean we aren’t exploring the visual aspect of cinema?

Not simply visual, but a particular thought needs to be explored differently in Cinema. I recently shot for Majid Majidi’s upcoming Irani film ‘Beyond the Clouds’ here in India itself. I realized the same working with him. He stressed to explore different aspects of a particular relation, whether it’s a father-son relation or anything else. I feel to explore more we need to have command over this medium. If you notice most of our recent good films like ‘Fandry’ or ‘Khwada’ or others are a reflection of the past of the director-writer. The next step after this is about ‘crafting’. You take a story & craft it with a start, middle & an end. There are very few craft oriented films in Marathi. The recent ‘Muramba’ did have the craft in some aspects though.       

Yes along with ‘Muramba’ we also have films made by Umesh Kulkarni in Marathi!

Umesh is truly an exception. I think he is the only director in Marathi who has truly understood the language of Cinema. But the rest of us are still pretty much dialogue oriented. In Umesh’s films we can actually see the story unfold through visuals. Hence, Umesh is not bounded simply by Marathi films. He is truly a world class director. Umesh, Majid Majidi & other such filmmakers don’t belong to any language or country. They are all beyond all this boundaries.

How different it was to work with Majid Majidi compared to working with Indian filmmakers?

A lot different! My first shot took around 15 takes! Majid Majidi doesn’t speak any other language but Persian & the mediator was telling something very different from what Majid Majidi actually wanted from me. The cameraman of this film, Anil Mehta told me to work this out differently. Then the three of us we discussed a bit. I asked Majid Majidi to perform & show me what exactly is that he wants from me. And believe me Majid Majidi is as good an actor as good a director he is! Then what I performed satisfied him! We Indians in general react loudly to everything. And we never listen to the person speaking. The process of listening, digesting & then to react on it is hardly understood by us.

Sir, on a final note how do you think Ringan will inspire the audiences?  

I think Ringan is a film that underlines the goodness in human beings. Yes it’s a father-son movie, & its set in Pandharpur but the defining aspect of Ringan is the commentary about the goodness within us!

Interview By : Abhay Salvi

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• Movie : Ringan (2017)| रिंगण
• Producer : Vitthal Patil, Ganesh Phuke, Mahesh Yewale, Yogesh Nikam, Makrand Mane, Vidhi Kasliwal
• Director : Makrand Mane
• Studio : Landmarc Films, My Role Motion Pictures Production
• StarCast :
  • Shashank Shende
  • Sahil Joshi
  • Kaltyanee Mulaye
  • Abhay Mahajan
  • Ketan Pawar
  • Umesh Jagtap
  • Shantanu Gangane
  • Vitthal Patil
  • Shyam Savaji
  • Govind Bhatlawande
  • Dattatray Jagtap
  • Prashant Tapasvi
  • Omkar Mane
• Writer : Makrand Mane
• Screenplay & Dialogues : Mahesh Manjrekar & Abhijeet Deshpande
• Music : Rohit Nagbhide
• Lyrics : Dasu Vaidya. Shashank Shende, Vaibhav Deshmukh
• Singers : Ajay Gogawale, Adarsh Shinde, Niranjan Pedgaonkar, Gandhaar
• Sound Designer : Mahavir Sabannavar
• Background Music : Gandhar
• Cinematography (DOP) :  Abhijit D. Adbe
• Editor : Suchitra Sathe
• Art Director : Mahesh Kore
• Costumes :  Sonniya Sahasrabuddhe
• Make-Up : Santosh Gilbile
• Executive-producer :  Sanjay Dawra
• Genre :  Coming of Age Drama
• Duration : 106min
• Release Date : 30 June 2017

Synopsis :It is the heart-warming journey of father and son; the endearing pursuit of a 7-year old boy to find his dead mother, innocently mistaking her to be at God’s abode and the tireless plight of his father, a farmer stuck in the vicious circle of drought and debt. With no one else to turn to, they travel to Pandharpur, God’s abode, where each thinks they will find what they seek. But this search tests their harmony, morality, integrity and faith. Will this physical and emotional quest help them find a way to mend their bond? And will the underdog father and son redeem themselves to find a way out of this cycle of misfortune and emerge victorious?

Ringan Marathi Movie Photos, Poster :

Ringan Marathi Movie Teaser Trailer :

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