Category Archives: My Reviews

Dhyanimani (2017)

My Reviews, ,

Dhyanimani is an expression which means deeply embedded in one’s thoughts, mind, and heart. It describes something you are constantly aware of, remembering, or preoccupied with, even subconsciously. That is the complexity of the human mind and it is difficult to predict its behaviour and reaction to a given situation. This can have a prolonged effect on a person as he/she is unable to distinguish the difference between reality and imagination. The Marathi film Dhyanimani explores a similar theme about human psychology. It also talks about societal pressures that may lead to undesirable consequences.

Dhyanimani is a seemingly simple story of a happy family but all is not “normal.” The film has a limited star cast of Mahesh Manjrekar, Ashwini Bhave, Abhijeet Khandkekar and Mrunmayee Deshpande. Mahesh Manjrekar had produced the play with the same name in the 1990s and adapted it as a movie years later in 2017. Prashant Dalvi is the writer and Chandrakant Kulkarni has directed the film.

The Plot

The story begins with a young couple staying in Mumbai. Dr. Sameer Karandikar (Abhijeet Khandkekar) is a clinical psychologist working at the university. His wife is Aparna (Mrunmayee Deshpande), a microbiology research student. Aparna is not in a good mood. Her pregnancy test result has come out positive. Apparently, the couple have married at a young age and are not ready to welcome a child so early in their married life.

She calls Sameer to give him the unexpected “good” news. Things settle down after they talk at home and share the news with Sameer’s father Vinayak Karandikar (Madhav Abhyankar). Aparna calms down and accepts the situation. They are ready to welcome the bundle of joy in their house. Sameer proposes they go on a short trip for a change of scene and Aparna agrees.

But they cannot go far from Mumbai due to their commitments. Sameer’s father proposes they should go to Roha in Konkan, and stay at a resort that he is aware of. The resort in charge is one of Karandikar’s old students Sadanand alias Sada Pathak (Mahesh Manjrekar). Sada’s wife is Shalini (Ashwini Bhave), who also was Karandikar’s student. Both have a lot of respect for Karandikar Sir and treat him like their father. They have a 12-13 year old son Mohit. Shalini regularly writes to Karandikar keeping him updated about all the happenings in their life. Sameer and Aparna have heard a lot about Sada and Shalini though they have never met. They agree to go to the resort without any prior intimation to the Pathaks.

The couple head to Roha by train and arrive in the morning. The setting moves to the resort guest house where Sada and Shalini reside. Shalini is serving breakfast to Sada. There is routine family talk. Mohit has gone on a school trip and will be back in the evening. Shalini seems to be a housewife whose world is centred around her husband and son. Sada gets irritated by her constant chattering. She reminds Sada that Mohit needs a new uniform, he is growing so fast. They will go this Friday to the market. Shalini keeps talking about Mohit this and Mohit that and Sada asks her to calm down. Apparently, the Pathaks are not very well off and Sada has to keep an eye on the house budget.

Finishing breakfast, Sada is about to leave for work when the bell rings. They see the strangers at the door and look at each other questioningly. Sameer and Aparna greet them. Sada and Shalini don’t recognize them but matters are cleared, and they are welcomed happily. Sameer asks Sada to arrange for a room in their resort. But Shalini tells them that he is Karandikar Sir’s son and like family, the couple will stay with the Pathaks in the guesthouse. Sada seems to be not very comfortable with the suggestion but he agrees and leaves for work.

As the couple settles down, Shalini has a long conversation with Sameer over tea. He informs her that he is not a medical doctor. He is a doctor of  psychology. She says she had studied psychology as a subject during her graduation. She talks about Mohit and child psychology.  She mentions that Sada seems to be having a psychological problem. He is constantly worrying about his work, boss, career progression and so on. She fears Mohit will develop a complex like him. Sameer asks her not to worry, such tensions are normal.

Sameer and Aparna decide to spend the day exploring the area. Before leaving they ask Shalini what gift should they get for Mohit. Shalini responds that is not required as he has so many toys and other stuff. She inadvertently mentions that Mohit was talking about a table tennis bat, Sameer thanks her for solving his query!

The young couple have an enjoyable day. They return to the guest house in the evening to find a worried looking Shalini waiting at the entrance. She informs that Sada and Mohit have not come back. Sada comes home and Shalini pesters him to go to the school and find out what has happened. Sada pacifies her and goes immediately. Sameer offers to come with him but Sada asks him not to worry. He will be back soon.

In the meantime Shalini has become hyper and tells Sameer and Aparna about how one of their neighbour’s son didn’t come back after he met with an accident during a school trip. Sameer tries to calm her down. It’s almost 11.00 pm. She asks them to go and sleep. She will wait for Sada and Mohit to come and serve dinner.

Sada comes home alone. He tells her that the bus is yet to return. There are senior students in the bus and there is no cause for worry. But Shalini is in a foul mood. She keeps talking as the lights go off suddenly because of a power cut. It’s 11.30 pm when Mohit reaches home. Sameer and Aparna hear Shalini shouting at Mohit. She is angry because he wants to go to a karate camp the next day. She admonishes him for not spending time at home. His behaviour is not acceptable. The dialogue continues as she serves him dinner.

Sameer tells Aparna that it’s better to meet Mohit now and give him the gift. They will not meet him tomorrow once he leaves for the camp. Aparna agrees. They step out in the darkness to go towards the dining table. Shalini’s non-stop jabbering is on. The lights come back suddenly and they are shocked at what they are seeing. Shalini is alone at the dining table. She is talking to thin air. Reality strikes. Mohit does not exist and lives in Shalini’s imagination.

Aparna and Sameer are too shocked to react and go back to their room. The next morning they step out early and discuss the matter. So, Shalini herself is the “psychological” case in the house. In an intense scene, Sameer confronts her directly but is taken aback at the way she counters his argument. She has been living with this lie or hallucination for years and Mohit has become a part of her life.

Later, a desperate Sada tells the truth to them. The Pathaks were childless for many years. The doctors diagnosed that Shalini can never become a mother due to a medical condition. The revelation sent her into a severe shock. The impact was so serious that she gave “birth” to an imaginary child and brought him home. Sada was obviously furious and left the house for a couple of days. When he returned, Shalini made him accept the reality. He promised never to leave her again and that he will always care for herself and their son Mohit. So, this is how the “three” of them have been living happily all these years.

Sada is fine with the arrangement as he has accepted Shalini’s condition. More importantly, she is happy. But Sameer points out that it is dangerous to live like this. Shalini needs to be treated and the illusion needs to be broken. He is happy to attempt it with Sada’s help.

Will Sada agree? More importantly, what is Shalini’s reaction as Mohit is indeed her heart and soul. Can she stay alive without his existence in her life?

The Music

The film has one song Ashi Kashi Vedi Maya written by Sandeep Khare with music by Ajit Parab. It appears as a male version in Ajit Parab’s voice and later a female solo in Madhura Datar’s voice.

My Thoughts

Dhyanimani is a case of missed opportunities. The plot has great potential with the sudden twist and suspense embedded in it. The story works as a play but it’s film version is disappointing. There are many loose ends and instances of lazy writing. Main issue is the lack of reference to and usage of technology as the film is set in 2017 when mobile phones and social media were prevalent in daily life. Many plot points that would have worked in the context of the play are not convincing in the movie.

An example is when Mohit does not return home, their is no clear suggestion to call the school, the teachers or other parents. (A single mobile call would have solved the problem!) Of course, making this suggestion would have put Shalini and Sada in a spot but such plot holes need to be addressed properly. The suspense build up is good but you feel it could have been better.

Mahesh Manjrekar is good in parts. Maybe some other actor would have been better suited to the character. Somehow his chemistry with Ashwini Bhave does not impress much. Abhijeet Khandkekar and Mrunmayee are adequate. Abhijeet plays a psychologist but his expertise is under utilized. He seems to give up easily when it comes to dealing with Shalini. Ashwini Bhave is impressive in the emotional scenes and the scene where she “deals” with Dr Sameer when he questions her about Mohit. But overall, she is loud and over the top. Her dialogue delivery and tone is unnecessarily artificial from the beginning. Her constant chattering starts to irritate you. A subdued and controlled character would have helped to generate that normal atmosphere before the shocking revelation is made. You don’t connect with the character. As a result, the impact when you know the truth about Mohit and Shalini’s condition is significantly reduced.

A more thoughtful approach would have made it a better film with better results.

Vaastav (1999)

My Reviews,

Its Sanjay Dutt’s birthday this week on 29 July. As he turns an year older, we revisit one of his iconic films – Vaastav: The Reality. Sanjay Dutt plays Raghu, a simple guy turned gangster. He gets sucked into the unforgiving underworld that turns his life into hell. He is given opportunities to return to normal life but that decision is not easy.

Sanjay Dutt won the Filmfare Best Actor Award for his impressive performance. This was Mahesh Manjrekar’s directorial debut in Hindi cinema and he made an engaging and memorable film. He is credited for the story, screenplay and direction. The film did decent business inspiring a sequel Hathyar (2002).

The Plot

The film begins with a scene depicting the funeral rites of the gangster hero. His son asks his grandmother about his father. She responds and narrates the story of her son and his transition from a simple to a bad man.

Raghunath Namdeo Shivalkar called “Raghu” (Sanjay Dutt) is the name of the hero. He stays with his family in a chawl in Mumbai. His father is Namdeo (Shivaji Satam) and mother is Shanta (Rima). He has an elder brother Vijay (Mohnish Behl) who is a graduate and searching for a job. Raghu has been trying to clear the matriculation exam in multiple attempts. His parents and brother keep reminding him to concentrate on his studies. It is evident he has no inclination towards it. It will be enough if he manages to complete his school education successfully.

Vijay is in love with his neighbour’s daughter Pooja (Ektaa) but cannot marry her until he gets a job and settles down.

Raghu likes to spend time chatting with his friends, eating, drinking and playing carrom on the terrace. His closest friend and neighbour is played by Sanjay Narvekar who goes by the nickname Dedh Footiya because of his short height. Dedh Footiya is also unemployed. His parents are played by Usha Nadkarni and Kishor Nandlaskar. His father is a mill worker who stays home as the mill has shut down. His mother is forced to work as a maid and is the only source of income in their house.

The other friends are played by well known actors like Bharat Jadhav, Makarand Anaspure, Nilesh Divekar, Atul Kale, Mangesh Satpute and Satish Rajwade who were fairly new when the film was released.

Also living in the chawl is Kishore Kadam (Deepak Tijori) who has recently become a police sub inspector. He tries to help Raghu and his friends whenever they are in trouble.

Raghu’s parents are shown to be quite practical. Knowing their son’s disinterest in studies, they ask him to start some business. Raghu says he can open a pav bhaji stall but for that a capital of Rs 40,000 is required. He is confident of success. His father agrees to arrange the amount from his provident fund. Soon, Raghu sets up a pav bhaji stall with his friends. They sing a song Kad chhota aur pet bada hai, paisewala seth khada hai.

The business is successful. Raghu’s parents are happy. Dedh Footiya’s parents are also relieved that their son is working hard and earning money. There is a grand celebration in the chawl on account of the annual Janmashtami / Govinda festival. Raghu and his friends participate singing Har taraf hai ye shor aaya Gokul ka chor. All is fine until one night an incident occurs at the food stall.

A man refuses to pay the bill and insults Dedh Footiya when he approaches him for the payment. The man boasts that he is Munna, the brother of well known gangster Fracture Bandya (Jack Gaud). Things are about to escalate when Raghu steps in and pulls back Dedh Footiya and apologizes to Munna.

The next night is a repeat. Munna arrives with his friends for a free meal. This time they intentionally call Dedh Footiya and beat and abuse him. Dedh Footiya retaliates. Things become unpleasant and Raghu hits Munna with the heavy iron tava. Munna apparently dies. Dedh Footiya crushes Munna’s friend with a stone. Both friends are shocked with what has happened.

Circumstances force Raghu and Dedh Footiya to abscond from the scene. Kishore hides them initially as their parents come to meet them. The parents are equally shocked. They discuss that Raghu and Dedh Footiya should surrender but realise that this may not be the best solution. The local police are hand in glove with the influential Fracture Bandya and will follow his instructions. The police cannot be trusted. Kishore tells them to remain in hiding until he can think of something.

The local corrupt inspector Rane (Sunil Shende) visits the chawl and threatens the families with serious consequences if they try to hide anything and help the absconding friends.

Kishore suggests them to go to Vitthal Kania (Ashish Vidyarthi), a gangster and Fracture Bandya’s enemy. They tell Vitthal that they want to surrender to the police. But he reiterates that the police are corrupt and they will not receive justice. He welcomes them to stay with him until the matter cools down.

Fracture Bandya is not amused. He, along with Chhota Fracture (Ganesh Yadav) goes to Suleiman Bhai (Paresh Rawal) who works as a negotiator between gangsters. Fracture Bandya demands Rs 20 lakhs from Vitthal Kania in return of sparing the life of Raghu and Dedh Footiya.

Vitthal Kania is reluctant to go ahead with this proposal. Fracture Bandya used to work for him but had back stabbed him and set up his own shop some 5 years ago. He doesn’t trust the man. But Suleiman convinces him and the mandawali (settlement) date and venue is decided.

Unfortunately things don’t go as planned. Raghu ends up killing Fracture Bandya. Raghu is totally broken and wants to give himself up to the police. He cannot carry on like this. But Vitthal Kania calms him down and convinces him that what he did was right. He offers him liqour and welcomes him into his gang. Raghu becomes Raghu bhai. Extortion, killings are business as usual for him.

Later, Vitthal Kania gets killed by Chhota Fracture. The revenge drama continues. Raghu gets introduced to the state home minister Baban Rao Kadam (Mohan Joshi). He is a corrupt politician who makes use of gangsters like Raghu to fill his own pockets.

So, Raghu becomes a dreaded gangster. His family and Kishore try to convince him to give up this destructive path. But that is easier said than done. Raghu has to live with his insecurities and inner conflicts. In between all this, he gets introduced to Sonia (Namrata Shirodkar), a prostitute. He marries her when he learns she is expecting his child. They enjoy a honeymoon in Switzerland courtesy of the home minister. (They sing a duet Meri duniya hai tujh mein kahi). Sonia hopes to bring some normalcy and stability in Raghu’s life. They have a son called Rohit.

All this leads to the climax where Raghu looks for a way to relieve himself from all the pain and suffering that he is undergoing. It seems death may be the only solution. The death scene involving Shanta and Raghu is highy impacting and an emotional high point of the film.

The Music

The songs are written by Sameer and composed by Jatin Lalit. They suit the mood of the movie. Kumar Sanu, Vinod Rathod, Kavita Krishnamurthy, Atul Kale and Sonu Nigam lend their voices to the earlier mentioned songs. The Ganpati aarti Shendur laal chadhayo is composed by Rahul Ranade and sung by Ravindra Sathe.

Kashmira Shah performs an item number Jawani se ab jung hone lagi, sung by Preeta Mazumdar.

My Thoughts

In a way the story is predictable and we know the outcome but Mahesh Manjrekar manages to keep the viewer engaged. There is too much of action and violence as the story progresses. There are many characters but they leave their impact in spite of the limited screen time. Shivaji Satam, Rima, Paresh Rawal, Mohnish Behl, Usha Nadkarni, Himani Shivpuri, Deepak Tijori are impressive. The villains are convincing. This is undoubtedly one of Sanjay Dutt’s most memorable roles. He looks older for the character but manages to carry it off with his compelling performance. You feel for the character when he feels helpless and cannot get out of it. Special mention for Sanjay Narvekar who plays the loyal friend. He owns the character of Dedh Footiya.

Savarkhed Ek Gaon (2004)

My Reviews,

Good thrillers have been rare in Marathi cinema. Savarkhed Ek Gaon (Savarkhed: A Village) is a sincere attempt in this genre. What happens when a model village is surrounded by unexpected terror? How the villagers deal with it is depicted in Savarkhed Ek Gaon (SEG) made under the banner of Eera Films. The story, screenplay, dialogues and direction are credited to Rajiv Patil. Rajiv Patil directed 3 films including the much acclaimed Jogwa (2009). He passed away in 2013.

The Plot

SEG in a sense is a story of 2 political opponents – Tukaram Patil (Vikram Gokhale) and Sampatrao More (Sadashiv Amrapurkar). Patil is the local MLA. More used to be Patil’s close supporter once upon a time but then he moved to the opposition camp. More is proposing a new industrial development corporation in Savarkhed but Patil is against it. He is clear that agricultural land is not to be used for industrial purpose. More feels that a village is considered prosperous only when there is money in the pocket of its inhabitants. Opening of industry will ensure this.

Savarkhed has been recently recognised as a model village. A young reporter Sneha Raut (Sharvari Jamenis), working for the newspaper Lokmat has arrived in Savarkhed to work on an article about this achievement. She will be staying in the village for a few days. Patil has invited her to stay in his bungalow. Sneha starts her work by interviewing Patil and More among others to gain material for her assignment.

Patil’s son Rahul (Ankush Chaudhari) is returning to the village after completion of his studies. His friends are looking forward to welcome him. There is Priya (Sonali Khare), who is his romantic interest and also More’s daughter. Her cousin brother is Ajay (Shreyas Talpade), who is More’s nephew. Ajay’s parents have passed away and he stays with his uncle’s family. The other friends are Ishwar/Ishya (Makarand Anaspure) and Baban (Balkrishna Shinde), an auto-rickshaw driver.

Ajay is in love with Samidha (Sanjyot Hardikar), who is Ghorpade’s sister. Ghorpade is a close confidante of Patil. He warns Samidha to stay away from Ajay as he is from More’s family and hence an opponent of Patil. Samidha tells him that she wants to marry Ajay but he silences her with a slap.

Rahul is back and all are happy to see him except one person. This is Suresh (Upendra Limaye). Rahul and Suresh used to be close friends but they had a tiff 3 years back and are not on good terms. In a nutshell, there is some discontent in the village but in general people live peacefully, like a model village.

But the peace is about to be disturbed. One night, someone starts throwing stones at More’s bungalow. The windows are shattered. More calls for Inspector Deshmukh to look into the matter. Unfortunately, there are very less clues available. The villagers gossip about black magic being involved.

Next day, Rahul and his friends go to visit the local temple. They are returning in the night when fireballs are suddenly thrown at Rahul’s jeep. They escape unhurt but all are shaken. Later, Ishwar is returning home when he apparently sees a “ghost” in the fields. Again, in the following night, some houses in the village are set on fire. There is definitely something sinister happening.

Sneha is keen to publish the news about the strange happenings in her newspaper. Her article is ready and she attempts to fax it from Patil’s bungalow when she is stopped by Rahul (on his father’s orders). He requests her to postpone the publishing until the matter is sorted. They quarrel but she is adamant to go ahead. She steps out to go to More’s bungalow to fax the article. This means walking down the deserted road in the night. She disappears and nobody knows her whereabouts.

Meanwhile, Ajay goes to meet Samidha. They board Baban’s rickshaw and go to his house. Ajay tells Samidha that they will get married tomorrow as her brother will never agree to their match. Baban is supportive of this decision. Rahul suddenly arrives. He tells them about Sneha. She has not returned and he is worried. It is decided that they will drop Samidha back to her house (for now) and continue the search for Sneha. It is important to locate Sneha, it is a question of the village’s reputation. They reach Samidha’s house where tragedy has already struck. Her family has been murdered. This seems like a planned conspiracy.

It is noted that the events occur only during the night. The friends along with the villagers team up to undertake night vigil and patrolling to catch the culprits. Rahul and Suresh bury their differences and join hands.

But is it easy? There is another shocking murder. Who is behind all this and will it end soon?

The Music

In spite of being a thriller, music is an important part of the film. Ajay-Atul give memorable tunes to Dasu’s lyrics. There are 3 songs which pop up at the appropriate time in the story and not meant as a diversion. The first one Varyawarti gandh pasarla is placed at the beginning when Rahul returns home (in happier times). This was Kunal Ganjawala’s first song for a Marathi film, and was well received.

The second song Hoshiyaar (by Swapnil Bandodkar. Ajay and Yogita Godbole) is sung by the friends as they prepare to patrol the village. The climax song is the gondhal number effectively rendered by Ajay. (Gondhal is a traditional and popular folk art form and religious ritual in Maharashtra. It is a ritual performed to pray to the family deity (especially Tulja Bhavani or Renuka Mata). It succeeds in creating the atmosphere of suspense and dread as the villagers make a final attempt to catch the perpetrators. Arguably, it is one of the best songs by Ajay-Atul.

My Thoughts

I felt this was a sincere attempt to make a thriller film in Marathi. There are some loopholes but the director succeeds in managing the ensemble cast, multiple sub plots and still retain the audience’s attention till the end. Thankfully, there is less focus on the romance tracks and an absence of romantic songs. The attention seemed to be on the younger actors including Ankush Chowdhari, Shreyas Talpade and Upendra Limaye, and the 3 female actors. In that sense, veteran actors like Vikram Gokhale and Sadashiv Amrapurkar seem under utilized. The film ends with a voice over mentioning a twist which is not very satisfying but that can be overlooked. It highlights the sad reality of politics and its associated compulsions.