Category Archives: My Reviews

Valu (2008)

My Reviews, ,

Valu (The Wild Bull) is a delightful Marathi film. Presented by debutant director Umesh Kulkarni, it shows the simple yet entertaining events in a small village in Maharashtra. It is interesting to watch how the wild bull’s behaviour and the arrival of the forest officer has an impact on the ordinary villagers. The film was successful and has achieved cult status over the years.

The Plot

Valu’s story is set in a village called Kusavde. Swanand Gaddamwar (Atul Kulkarni), a Government forest officer is suddenly requested by his boss to visit Kusavde village to deal with Valu or the wild bull that is causing trouble in the village. Swanand has other pressing matters to attend to (he has a hearing in an important case the next day), and the wild bull doesn’t come under the wild animals category that is his remit. He tries to argue but to no effect. He needs to attend to Valu himself. His staff member Jagnade (Ashok Kulkarni) will accompany him.

That night, he has an argument with his wife (Poornima Ganu) on this matter. He is a forest officer who captures leopards and bisons, and is absolutely not pleased. His younger brother Sameer (Vrushasen Dabholkar) offers to come with him. He wants to shoot a documentary of some thrilling experience. Swanand retorts that all he will be doing is hitting the dart on the wild bull, capture him and return. What’s thrilling in that? But he agrees. So Swanand, Sameer and Jagnade head for Kusavde.

The first person they meet on the way is Jeevan Chowdhury (Girish Kulkarni, sent to receive them by the village chief (sarpanch). On arriving in Kusavde, Swanand is heartily welcomed by the sarpanch Anna (Dr. Mohan Agashe). His wife is Bharati Achrekar. The villagers have gathered in Anna’s house. Anna begins to tell about the village’s colourful history etc but his wife gestures to Jeevan, who skillfully diverts the subject. Swanand asks about Valu. It has been 6 months since the problem started. Initially, the villagers tried to control the animal but were not successful. Swanand asks him not to worry. He will soon capture the “on the run” animal and relieve them of the problem.

Jeevan takes the trio to their accommodation and ensures they are well settled. Sameer tells him that he will need to interview as many villagers as he can for his documentary. Jeevan ensures the news of the documentary shoot is spread all over the village. All villagers are instructed to gather at the village temple. But hardly anyone knows the meaning of “documentary”. For them it’s an opportunity to be part of a film shooting.

Swanand and Sameer soon find that filming the villagers is a daunting task. They are more interested to talk about the village’s problems rather than talk about Valu (they refer to Valu as “Durkya”). Swanand is frustrated as he needs to intervene multiple times to get them on track and talk only about the animal. And it needs a lot of sifting through the details to get a picture of Valu.

Swanand comes to know that Valu / Durkya is considered a holy animal. He would roam freely in the village. Children would play around him, the women would feed him. Overall, he was part of the family for the village. He was welcome everywhere. But one day things changed. He was no longer the gentle giant. He started causing trouble into the lives of the villagers. Valu would eat crops, damage the fields and other property. He injured a few people. One day, someone tries to poison Valu but the food is inadvertently eaten by another bull who dies. Apparently, Valu is also the cause of death of an old and revered man Aaja (Chandrakant Gokhale).

Swanand tries to sketch a daily schedule of Valu. What are his favorite spots, when does he eat, graze and so on. During the course of the filming, not only Valu’s character but the nature and motives of the villagers are also revealed.

Not to forget the egos of the so called prominent people of the village. The sarpanch Anna refuses to come for the shooting. It is a matter of his standing and prestige of his position. The documentary should come to him rather than the other way round. And Jeevan is ever ready to massage his inflated ego! On the opposite side is Aaba (Nandu Madhav), who is Anna’s challenger with his set of sidekicks. He wants to be successful in politics and move ahead. This becomes a game of one-upmanship at every opportunity. Like Anna, Aaba also refuses to attend the documentary shoot. He sends his wife (Renuka Daftardar) and son instead. He knows that Anna had sent for the forest officer. He has plans to catch the Valu single-handedly in an effort to downplay Anna and his efforts.

There is a romantic couple Sangi (Amruta Subhash) and Shiva (Mangesh Satpute). Their fathers are against the match but they do not care and are ready to elope and get married.

Jeevan’s mother is Sakhubai (Jyoti Subhash) who cares for Valu. She feeds him everyday and hopes he will be left to enjoy his freedom. She appears to be a practical woman who has her eyes and ears open and doesn’t shy away from voicing her opinions.

And then we have the village priest (Dilip Prabhavalkar) and his wife (Nirmiti Swant), with their own motives. They would like to maintain equal relations with Anna and Aaba, so that their position is not impacted.

So, this is the overall set up. After gaining all the information, it is for Swanand to get into action and achieve his mission. Will he be successful, will Valu oblige?

The Music

There are no songs but the music by Mangesh Dhakde suits the mood of the proceedings.

My Thoughts

Valu is not the regular movie with a hero, heroine and villain. It is also not a typical comedy film with laugh out loud dialogues. But it is still impactful as a satire on the day to day happenings in the life of the villagers. It also questions whether Valu the animal is to be blamed for all the wrongdoings or the attitude of the humans also needs to be investigated?

The interaction between the villagers is natural and has touches of light comedy in the dialogues. Each person has his own motive and the arrival of a Government employee causes a bit of disruption. They look at it as an opportunity to share their daily concerns with the Government, hoping for a resolution.

Umesh Kulkarni ( as the co-producer and writer with Girish Kulkarni) is successful in delivering a cohesive plot in spite of the multiple characters. An FTII alumnus, this was his first feature film as a director. The talented cast contributes adequately. From the veteran actors to the younger cast, they bring out the colour of their respective characters to full effect. Some of them were not so famous names back then, but the spark is visible. The Valu played by Raja is memorable in the few scenes that he appears in. Hope he was cooperative during the shoot!

Sometimes, an unconventional film manages to catch attention and Valu is one of such efforts.

Aap Ke Deewane (1980)

My Reviews,

6th September was Rakesh Roshan’s birthday (born: 1949). The son of well known music composer Roshan, he entered the film industry as an actor and moved to producing and directing films. He launched his production company Filmkraft, and Aap Ke Deewane was its first offering. According to the credits, the film is produced by Vimal Kumar and directed by Surendra Mohan. The movie was a flop but he achieved success later with his “K” series movies like Khoon Bhari Maang, Karan Arjun, Kaho Na Pyar Hai and Koi Mil Gaya to name a few.

Aap Ke Deewane is primarily based on the theme of friendship between the 2 leads (Rakesh Roshan and Rishi Kapoor) who belong to different religions. The strength of their friendship is tested many times and they need to overcome the obstacle every time, ensuring a win-win outcome for both of them.

The Plot

The film opens with the annual day celebrations of a college. Ram (Rishi Kapoor) and Rahim (Rakesh Roshan) are close friends. They are also the winner of multiple prizes for that year. Surprisingly, Ram is awarded for scoring the highest marks in Urdu while Rahim scores the highest in Hindi. The principal (Sudhir Dalvi) congratulates them for their consistent achievements for the past 3 years. He calls out their proficiency in the two languages which proves that a language is not affected by the barrier of a name, state, or religion.

Later, that night in the boys’ hostel, the friends are enjoying their success. Ram is busy ironing his shirt while Rahim is playing the guitar. Both are so engrossed that Ram burns his shirt and Rahim breaks the strings of his guitar. Rahim is sad as he had worked hard to collect the money for the strings. Apparently, both come from poor families and nothing is mentioned about their parents or other family members. Ram tells Rahim to look for positives. Tomorrow, they need to visit the college to complete their admissions for the new academic year. Being brilliant students, they will be successful once they complete their degrees and get a job.

One student not happy with Ram and Rahim’s success is Kundan (Ranjeet). Kundan is a spoilt rich guy (man?). He has been trying to clear his exams since 6 years and is known to have cheated a few girls. Kundan tries to help a student Meena (Shoma Anand) who is confused about the subject selection for the new academic year. Kundan steps in to guide her (and in turn flirt with her.) Ram and Rahim hear the conversation and mock Kundan, calling him uncle and highlight his multiple attempts in clearing the exam. Kundan insults both of them, talking about their dress sense and indirectly referring to their economic condition. As evident, this is a typical college grudge which may lead to serious consequences.

There are multiple incidents involving Ram, Rahim, and Kundan & his friends. And every time, Ram and Rahim manage to outwit Kundan and teach him a lesson. In between all this there is a poignant moment on their birthday. Thick friends Ram and Rahim have their birthday on the same day – 25th December. They want to give a surprise gift to each other. This scene is inspired from O Henry’s story Gift of the Magi. Rahim sells his guitar to buy a new shirt for Ram to wear with his jacket. Ram sells his jacket to buy new strings for Rahim’s guitar. But there is no guitar and no jacket!

What follows is a birthday celebration arranged by Meena and other friends. They go on a cycle ride singing about their friendship Ram kare Allah kare. But the mood is about to change.

While returning from the celebration, Ram saves a girl being chased by a rogue Yusuf (Yusuf Khan). A crowd gathers as Ram and Yusuf bash each other. Shockingly, the girl points towards Ram as the perpetrator and blames him for trying to molest her. The matter reaches the college authorities. Based on Ram’s record, the principal avoids a police case but makes it clear that Ram needs to leave the college. He is rusticated. Ram is helpless but Rahim suspects that Kundan is behind this matter.

We see Kundan talking to Yusuf and it is revealed he is the mastermind behind the scheme to trap Ram. Rahim goes to confront Kundan and pleads with him to tell the truth. There is a fight and things reach a point when Rahim may beat the heavily injured Kundan to death. Ram rushes to intervenes in time and pulls away Rahim. They collect their stuff and board a train. In short, they run away from the scene. Kundan tells the police that he got injured in an accident. But in reality, he is waiting to meet Ram and Rahim again and seek revenge. He tells his men to search for the duo at any cost and inform him. In his words – he want to recover his principal with interest.

The friends are discussing their future. Ram comments that they will have to sell their awards and medals to arrange some money. Rahim is perusing the newspaper for some job opportunities and gives him good news. There is a job of a Urdu tutor in Srinagar with a monthly salary of Rs. 1,000. Ram being the Urdu scholar has to go for it. Ram points out the age criteria is mentioned as 50+ years. But Rahim tells him that can be “arranged” with a disguise. Ram agrees reluctantly.

The scene shifts to Srinagar. We again have 2 friends from different religions – retired Colonel Thakur Vikram Singh/ TVK (Pran) and retired SP Inshallah Khan/ IK (Ashok Kumar). They are arguing about the welfare of their daughter. Their caretaker cum butler is Idea (Deven Verma) whose full name is Ishwar Damodar Eknath Acharekar (IDEA). Idea informs IK that some men are waiting for him in the guesthouse. IK realises he is referring to the the applicants for the post of the Urdu tutor. So it was IK who had published the advertisement without informing TVK. IK explains that he would want their daughter to learn Urdu etc..

IK and a miffed TVK go to meet the applicants. They inform the post is for teaching Urdu to their daughter Sameera. The applicants are surprised to hear that both claim to be the father of the same girl. How is this even possible? Confused, they refuse to consider the job and leave. The only person remaining is Ram (in disguise) who readily accepts the position. Idea takes Ram to Sameera’s room. Ram questions him about Sameera’s background – who exactly is her father – TVK or IK? Idea informs he doesn’t know the truth and strangely, there is a court case going on where both IK & TVK are claiming to be Sameera’s father. So, it’s up to the judge to make the decision.

The first meeting between Sameera (Tina Munim) and Ram is on expected lines. She has no inclination to learn Urdu, that too from a boring old man but he is insistent. She also tells him that there will be no class tomorrow as she needs to attend the court hearing.

There is a funny court scene involving the 2 fathers and their lawyers (Gulshan Bawra and Keshto Mukherjee). We come to know that Sameera as a baby had been found in Pahalgam. There is no trace of her parents and they decide to bring her home and raise her as “their” daughter. Sameera grows up and loves her caring fathers. They are highly protective of her. The latest friction point between the two is the appointment of the Urdu tutor. IK offers to appoint a Hindi lady tutor to balance the matter. Sameera is not amused.

Predictably, there is a Hindi expert available in the form of Rahim. Ram hatches a plan to introduce him as the Hindi tutor by disguising him as an old woman. But Rahim is not convinced. Disguising as an old man is different but a woman, no way.

But being a Hindi film, Ram has his way and Rahim is all dressed up to meet Sameera and her fathers. He bumps into TVK, who falls for the cute Hindi teacher and “she” gets the job.

After that, there are some predictable comedy scenes involving the 2 teachers and the 2 fathers. Further, the Urdu tutor introduces (the real) Rahim as his son while the Hindi lady introduces Ram as her son. The fathers are impressed by both the young men – they are so cultured and good looking and want Sameera to be friendly with them.

The track continues for some time. IK is supportive of Rahim while TVK of Ram. They want Sameera to select one of them as her husband. She likes both of them too but is in a dilemma to make the decision.

So, who will make it? And will the decision impact the friendship of Ram – Rahim as well as TVK – IK?

The Music

The songs have lyrics by Anand Bakshi and music by Rajesh Roshan. The memorable songs are Tauba tera jalwa hai (Mohammed Rafi and Kishore Kumar) and Mere dil mein jo hota hai (Mohammed Rafi, Kishore Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar). Jeetendra plays a special appearance as a dancer called Rocky. He performs the title song with Ram and Rahim Hum to aap ke deewane hai (sung by Kishore Kumar, Amit Kumar and Mohammed Rafi).

My Thoughts

The plot is entertaining in parts but predictable. It might have worked if a proper love triangle had been shown with lesser interference from the 2 father characters. Sameera’s decision in the climax is too abrupt. Rishi Kapoor is impressive as Ram. Rakesh Roshan is more impactful as the Hindi tutor and looks comfortable in the comedy track with Pran. What can we say about Ashok Kumar and Pran? The roles could have been better written but they are hilarious in their constant bickering and give and take. Deven Verma is equally impressive in the small role of the butler. Tina Munim looks beautiful and plays the confused girl convincingly. Not an easy role as she needs to deal with 2 fathers and 2 suitors at the same time! Ranjeet is as usual good as the stereotype villain.

Ashtavinayak (1979)

My Reviews,

Films revolving around religious themes have been common in Indian cinema. This week the Ganesha or Ganpati festival is being celebrated across India and abroad. Lord Ganesha occupies a special place in the hearts of its followers. In 1979, came Ashtavinayak, a Marathi film centred around this favourite deity. Under the banner of Manoram Films, it was produced by Sharad Pilgaonkar and directed by Rajdutt. It is said to be based on a real story from 1975 involving a well known business family in Sangli.

Ashtavinayaka means “eight Ganeshas”. It refers to the eight Hindu temples in the state of Maharashtra, India, located around the city of Pune. Devotees undertake the Ashtavinayaka tour to visit all the temples in a specific sequence.

The Plot

As the titles roll, we see Shree Gajanan Mills celebrating its silver jubilee. A well known singer Pandit Vishwanath Bhosle (Dr. Vasantrao deshpande) is performing with his young daughter (song = Tu sukhkarta). Few more years pass as the credits end.

The owner of the mill is Nanasaheb Inamdar (Chandrakant). He is recovering from an illness and the doctor has advised him to take it easy. Nanasaheb is a respected and caring employer. He has helped many a worker in the time of their need. He is also an ardent devotee of Ganpati. Everyday, he worships the Ganesha idol in the mill. And the annual Ganpati festival celebrations are well known and a period of relaxation for the workers.

Nanasaheb’s close associate cum friend is Appa Sathe (Sharad Talwalkar). Appa has brought his son Sadanand to meet Nanasaheb. Sadanand has passed his graduation exam and Nanasaheb offers him the job of sub accountant in his mill. Nanasaheb has one son Balasaheb/ Bal (Sachin). Bal is studying in Italy and will be returning to India soon. Bal’s mother has passed away. Nanasaheb has married again but Bal is not on very good terms with his stepmother referred as Maa (Padma Chavan).

Sadanand is dispatched to Mumbai to receive Bal and bring him home. Nanasaheb is overjoyed to see his son back. Bal has completed his degree education in Italian paper technology and won the gold medal. Bal is a talented and practical person. He soon impresses everyone with his knowledge and brings efficiency in the way the mill is operated. Nanasaheb hands over the running of the mill to Bal.

Nanansaheb, Appa and the workers are happy. But there is one glitch. Nanasaheb is a pious man devoted to Lord Ganesha. But Bal is the exact opposite. He is not a believer in God and insists its a person’s hard work and talent that is important to be successful. (His reason for being a non-believer is revealed later.) This difference in their beliefs is going to cause problems.

One person not happy with Bal’s success is Maa. She feels insecure with Bal taking charge of the mill. With her husband’s attention and affection diverted to his son, she has no say and feels like junk in the house. She has called her brother Narayan Chavan alias Naru Mama (Raja Gosavi) to offer her support. Naru Mama is a dishonest and lazy character. He is someone who doesn’t do anything himself and finds pleasure in the suffering of others. Especially when he is the root cause of their suffering! He has his own family – a wife, son and daughter (Shama Gosavi). He doesn’t mind leaving them to the fend for themselves as he enjoys a comfortable life in his sister’s company.

Bal is constantly thinking of efficiency and innovation to benefit the mill. Nanasaheb tells Bal that he is impressed by his hard work; ultimately all this grandeur is going to be his one day. Maa is uncomfortable to hear this. She tells Naru Mama to do something. He finds a solution. Naru Mama will ask his daughter Nayana to come and meet Bal. The plan is to get Bal and Nayana married so that he and Maa can continue enjoy the fruits of Bal’s labour effortlessly.

But things don’t work as desired. Naina arrives but she meets Sadanand and falls for him. She moves closer to him instead of Bal.

The mill gets a huge order to be completed in a few months. Bal devises a plan to make the workers work overtime to complete the order. Appa points out that the annual Ganesh festival is around the corner. The festival is celebrated in the mill with full pomp every year since last 40 years. Bal tells him that he cares more about the committed deadline and profit rather than whiling away of time in religious celebrations. Work is a priority and their product needs to be in the market as per the agreed schedule.

This doesn’t go with the workers as well as his father. Nanasaheb proposes to get an extension for the order delivery date but Bal is adamant. Nanansaheb is regretting his decision to handover the charge to Bal. Bal gives him a choice – the workers can celebrate the festival but he will quit his post. Nanasaheb is unable to hear this and collapses. He is seriously ill and bedridden.

Naru Mama asks Maa to clarify with Nanasaheb what provision has been made for her after his death. Or else her future will be in the darkness with Bal being in charge. She goes to meet Nanasaheb and ask him outright but he is unable to digest another shock and passes away. The workers are devastated at the loss of their owner and fatherly figure. But they recover and continue with the production schedule.

With new orders coming their way, it is time to open a new branch of the mill. The bank authorities are impressed by Bal’s success. They are ready to back him financially. Appa tells Bal him that there is land available near the Krishna river in Sangli. Bal decides to go to Sangli to view the site. On the way, he encounters torrential rain and a tree collapse which force him to seek shelter. Luckily he sees a house. This is the house of his family’s old acquaintance Pandit Vishwanath Bhosle (Pt. Vasantrao Deshpande). He is away but his daughter Veena (Vandana Pandit) and sister (Saroj Sukhtankar) welcome Bal wholeheartedly. Next day, Bal is introduced to Veena’s talent – she is a singer too. Needless to say, he has fallen in love at first sight.

Upon returning, he conveys his decision to get married to Veena. Appa is overjoyed and goes to meet Panditji (he is performing with his daughter in a temple (song = Pratham tula vandito)) . Maa and Naru Mama fume at the failure of their plan and admonish Nayana.

Bal has made it clear that he does not expect anything from the Bhosle family (meaning dowry). Panditji is happy with the proposal. Veena rushes to pray to the Ganesh idol and promises that she will come with her husband and complete the Ashtavinayaka yatra. This is a dramatic moment as Appa hears it. He realizes Veena and Bal are diametrically opposite in their religious views and fears the way ahead for the couple.

So, Veena and Bal get married. The first few months are fine. Maa is not very welcoming to Veena but Bal and Appa provide support as she settles down in the Inamdar household. And Veena is expecting their first child. But things don’t stay normal.

The new factory construction is underway in Sangli and there is a Ganesh temple blocking the construction site. Bal orders demolishing of the temple to make way for the factory’s power house building. Veena is shaken to hear this. She joins the villager’s protests but Bal succeeds in his mission. Veena gets injured and is affected emotionally. She is hospitalized and is in a fragile mental state.

There are further twists. There is a fire incident in the new mill and Bal may lose everything that he had aspired for. That includes not only his mill and his wealth but also Veena. Things reach a point when Bal has to make a decision that tests his faith. Will he bend and overcome his principles? And what about Veena’s unwavering faith in the Almighty?

The Music

The film has all memorable songs composed by the Anil Arun duo. There are 4 lyricists namely Shanta Shelke, Madhusudan Kalelkar, Shantaram Nandgaonkar and Jagdish Khebudkar. Pratham tula vandito krupala (Pt Vasantrao Deshpande and Anuradha Paudwal), Tu sukhkarta (Pt Vasantrao Deshpande and Rani Varma) are duets addressed to Ganesha. Daatun kanth yeto Pt Vasantrao Deshpande) expresses the emotional state of a father whose daughter is getting married.

The two solos by Anuradha Paudwal, Diste majala sukh chitra naave and Aali majhya ghari hi Diwali showcase the happiness of the heroine.

And finally the climax song which takes the viewer on an Ashtavinayaka yatra (journey)!. Ashtavinayaka tujha mahima kasa, sung by multiple singers and picturised on well known faces of the Marathi film industry (Usha Chavan, Asha Kale, Jayshree Gadkar, Shahu Modak, Suryakant, Krushnakant Dalvi, Sudhir Dalvi, Ravindra Mahajani and Ashok Saraf). It is said that Jagdish Khebudkar was specially brought in to write this song. The song describes each Ashtavinayak location, the temple and the deity. Apparently, the lyricist had never visited any of the temples yet delivered this superb number. For each verse, the tune incorporates different musical forms from the state of Maharashtra.

My Thoughts

The well made film won multiple trophies at the State Film Awards. Ashtavinayak was presented by Sachin, whose father was the producer. He forms a fresh pair with Vandana Pandit. This was perhaps her only movie as the main lead as she got married and quit films. Well known singer Pt Vasantrao Deshpande played a small role and performs the father cum singer character convincingly. All his songs are popular till date. Overall, it is the older cast who steal the show. Sharad Talwalkar, Raja Gosavi and Padma Chavan are impressive.

The story is about the non-believer (atheist?) who sticks to his beliefs until circumstances compel him to at least rethink his approach. The change is gradual and the ending is a bit ambiguous. The film has a serious tone but is balanced by the humorous touches which keep it entertaining. The popular songs especially the long climax number will continued to be heard during the Ganpati festival, highlighting the longevity of a good score.