Dhadakebaaz (1990)

My Reviews, ,

Dhadakebaaz (meaning powerful) is a Marathi movie directed by Mahesh Kothare. This was the first Cinemascope Marathi movie. The movie mixes many elements including fantasy, comedy, action and romance churning out an entertaining product.

The Plot

The movie begins with a voice over. Many centuries back, there was a magician’s fort near the town of Shivapur. One of the magician’s disciple was Gangaram. One day Gangaram committed a mistake which made the magician very angry. As punishment, the magician shut him inside a brass bottle along with some magical sand. Gangaram would remain inside the bottle for a thousand years until his relative would come to retrieve the bottle. Gangaram needs to fulfil the wishes of his relative by using the magical sand. And he will be set free when all the sand has been spent.

The scene cuts to the present. Lakshya (Laxmikant Berde) is dreaming of a magic lamp where the genie bathes him in golden coins. He wakes up to the grim reality. He is actually in a jail with 2 friends Mahesh (Mahesh Kothare) and Bappa (Deepak Shirke). They are petty thieves and notoriously famous as they keep landing in jail. Mahesh is an ace archer, Lakshya keeps pursuing magic whereas Bappa is a bodybuilder possessing great strength.

They fight and part ways temporarily after leaving the jail but are soon united again. They celebrate with a song of friendship Hi dosti tutaychi naay. They decide never to steal again and earn money through decent means. They soon reach the present day Shivapur in search of work. There is a workers agitation going on. Through a misunderstanding, Lakshya is arrested and taken to the local police station by Havaldar Rede (Ravindra Berde) and locked up.

Lakshya is sharing his cell with Divtya (Bipin Varti) who is a member of Kavtya Mahakaal’s gang. Apparently this is a dreaded gang and the police are desperate to capture the leader Kavtya. In the night, 3 members of the gang attack the police station in order to rescue Divtya. Through some funny actions, Lakshya manages to capture all 3 members and lock them in the cell while Divtya escapes. The police sub inspector Uma Jadhav (Ashwini Bhave) is impressed and releases Lakshya. Mahesh reaches the station to bring back Lakshya and has an argument with Uma. Apparently Uma is well aware of Mahesh and his criminal past.

Meanwhile Lakshya has impressed and befriended a flower seller Ganga (Prajakta Dighe) by saving her from some goons in the market. Mahesh and Bappa also join the fight. She invites them to her house for tea. They find Havaldar Rede in her house. He is her uncle and not happy to see the criminal Lakshya and his friends in his sister Paru’s (Shanta Inamdar’s) house. But the ladies ignore his concerns. Ganga helps the trio by giving them accommodation in the stable. Ganga and Lakshya soon fall in love and sing a romantic duet Phu bai phu.

Kavtya’s 3 members are still in jail and Divtya makes an attempt to rescue them But Lakshya and his friends help the police and the gang has to run away. Meanwhile, Mahesh saves Uma during the fighting and romantic sparks fly between the two.

One day, the goons from whom Lakshya had saved Ganga follow the couple seeking revenge. Lakshya and Ganga run away from the town and take shelter near the old magician’s fort. Lakshya, by accident finds a hidden door and slides down all the way down to land near the magical bottle. He is overjoyed to find the bottle and meet Gangaram, who tells him his story and asks him his first wish. Lakshya immediately tells Gangaram to rescue him and Ganga from the goons. He does so by making both of them fly in the sky.

Lakshya is impressed by Gangaram and his magical sand. Its like a dream come true. They agree on a “whistle” signal for summoning Gangaram whenever Lakshya needs a favour. Lakshya tells Mahesh and Bappa about Gangaram but they disbelieve him. They have received a painting job to paint the Mahadev temple in Shivapur and worried how to get it done on time. Lakshya immediately summons Gangaram who completes the painting in 5 minutes. There is a Mahashivratri celebration song. At the end of the song, Kavtya attacks the town with his gang. Lakshya manages to get Gangaram’s help and counter Kavtya and the gang soon fleds from the scene.

Kavtya is shown as wearing a skull mask. He is angry at the humiliation. His gang members keep an eye on the trio and find out about the magical bottle. They inform Kavtya who makes plans to steal the bottle.

Does he achieve it? Will the police be successful in capturing Kavtya? And what happens to Gangaram? All is revealed in a Sholay type climax.

The Music

Pravin Davane (lyrics) and Anil Mohile (music) do the honours. Typical of Mahesh Kothare movies, the songs are rhythmic rather than melodious. Hi dosti tutaychi naay and Ninne preminchenu were popular. And you have the staple parody song where Gangaram (voice of Sudesh Bhosle) imitates multiple actors including Dada Kondke, Shatrughan Sinha, Rajesh Khanna, Amitabh Bachchan and Raaj Kumar supported by the parody versions of songs like Gangu tarunya tuza befaam, Mach gaya shor, Duniya mein logon ko, Kabutar jaa jaa, Jumma Chumma and My name is Lakhan. All fun to watch with Lakshya’s antics.

My Thoughts

Dhadakebaaz is a fast faced movie. There are multiple characters and the story keeps moving ahead. The action and chase sequences are well done. The special effects seem dated now with all the advanced technology available. Amongst the cast, its Laxmikant Berde who stands out with his easy screen presence and humour. His reactions and comic timing are too good. And he actually performs a double role as Gangaram. Gangaram’s look seems to be inspired from Dada Kondke. He is lovable in both the roles. The other actors perform nicely but Laxmikant steals the show.

Kavtya Mahakaal’s identity is never revealed. His voice is similar to Gabbar Singh’s character from Sholay but hardly impactful. He appears comical and not the evil villain one would have expected to scare the whole town. This was Prajakta Dighe’s debut movie and she appears confident. Ashwini Bhave doesn’t have much to do. Her romantic relationship with Mahesh seems forced. But overall Mahesh Kothare succeeds in making an entertaining movie and keep the viewer hooked.

Khel (1992)

My Reviews

Presented by Sujit Kumar and directed by Rakesh Roshan, Khel is a romantic comedy movie. The movie seems to be inspired from the English movie Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988). With a multi star cast, good comedy scenes and music, it is an entertaining proposition.

The Plot

Sulakshana Devi (Mala Sinha) is a widowed and extremely rich lady owning an estate in Chandipur comprising of plantations and industries. Her only son Ravi (Vijayendra Ghatge) had died in a car accident. Ravi was planning to marry Kamini (Bharti) before his death. After his death Kamini comes to meet Sulakshana informing she is pregnant with Ravi’s child. Sulkashana insults her, calls her a gold digger and throws her out of the house. However a few days later Ravi’s friend confirms the truth about Kamini. Efforts made to trace Kamini are unsuccessful.

Sulakshana is depressed. She has no living relatives except a distant relative Balwant (Prem Chopra). Balwant works for Sulakshana and is a villainous character. It was he who had arranged Ravi’s accident with an intention to grab Sulakshana’s property as the only remaining heir. Sulakshana is engaged in social work including running of the local school. Father (Sujit Kumar) is the school principal. Ravi had been his student and he is trusted by Sulakshana.

We come to the other main characters. Seema (Madhuri Dixit) stays with her mother who is none other than Kamini but now called Sharda. Seema is a con woman who works with her business partner “uncle” (Anupam Kher). The pair’s job is fooling rich people and earning money through different schemes. They seem to be fairly successful.

Arun (Anil Kapoor) is another con man. He is an orphan raised in an orphanage run by Sinha (Satyen Kappu). Arun is also engaged in fraud schemes for earning money. It is not revealed why these three have taken up this lucrative profession instead of more decent “shareef” jobs.

All three are in Tikamgadh waiting for the arrival of a rich heiress Tara Jaisingh (Sonu Walia) at a resort. Tara is engaged in philanthropic activities and they are planning to fool her and earn Rs 5 lakhs in return. Arun’s plan is simple. He poses as a handicapped person who has lost his ability to walk when his girlfriend ditches him leaving him heartbroken. He needs Rs. 5 lakhs for getting his leg operated by an imaginary doctor called Dr. Khatpatiya. He hopes to impress Tara and get the money from her.

But Seema and uncle are not far behind. They are keeping an eye on Tara and Arun. They discover Arun’s plan and step in to counter attack. They meet Tara with the fake identities of Dr. Khatpatiya and Dr. Jadibuti. Tara is overjoyed that the doctor is available at the resort and willing to treat Arun right away for a fee of Rs 5 lakhs. Through some funny and so called emotional scenes, Arun gets “cured” to Tara’s delight. Unfortunately its uncle and Seema who get the Rs 5 lakhs. But Arun fools them convincingly and manages to run away with all the money. Tit for tat!

Arun is already making the next plan. Tara is Sulakshana Devi’s family friend and he comes to know about her enormous wealth and opportunity to earn more money by fooling the old lady. He manages to impress the lady with a brilliant first meeting posing as an educated, jobless hungry man and she offers him a job at her estate.

In order to execute his plan, he needs the help of uncle and Seema and goes to meet them. Both are still licking their wounds from the earlier plan’s failure and refuse to work with him. But he manages to convince them and they join him in Chandipur.

The plan is to convince Sulakshana that Seema is her long lost grand daughter. Sulakshana’s acceptance of Seema will be their key to the estate and all the money! Things are arranged skillfully and Seema joins the school as a music teacher and uncle is employed as a butler.

And they are successful. Through their clever actions and planted proofs, Sulakshana is convinced she has met her grand daughter and the last link to her dead son. One person not happy with the development is Balwant who will have to let go of the wealth after getting so close. He decides to find what happened to Kamini and her child to bring out the truth.

Things take a turn when Arun and Seema fall in love. Sulakshana wants them to get married. But with all the trust shown by Sulakshana, Arun, Seema and uncle do not want to deceive the old lady any longer. Will they tell her the truth? Will Balwant be successful in exposing them with some startling information? Who will win this game?

The Music

Rajesh Roshan provides some inspired music and most songs are good. Ek Baat maan lo tum, Na hain zameen na aasmaan, Khat likhna hai were popular.

My Thoughts

The movie is shot in Nairobi, Kenya. The casting is good and they perform effectively. Mala Sinha is good in the emotional as well as comedy scenes. Anil Kapoor and Madhuri were the hit couple in the early 1990s. Surprisingly, they are shown to fall in love at a much later stage in the movie. Anupam Kher is in his usual comedy cum irritating character who has the habit of remembering old songs for every situation and sing them. Sonu Walia, Prem Chopra, Sujit Kumar, Bharti provide good support.

The film was a flop when it released. While the comedy schemes are good, it is difficult to believe that rich people can be so gullible. Anyone can fool them so easily! The climax is pathetic. The viewer would be expecting a nail biting sequence featuring Balwant showcasing his villainous traits ending in a final fight and action scene but that doesn’t happen. Things end in a not so funny cake fight involving the main cast.

Vazir (1994)

My Reviews,

There are few movies in Marathi Cinema based on political themes. Sinhasan (1979) was possibly the first such attempt and became a milestone. Vazir (implying the queen in chess) is a fair attempt. How the political game of chess manipulates the life of its main characters representing the king, queen and pawn is interesting to watch.

The Plot

The movie opens with a meeting scene. Apparently the elections have recently concluded. The winning party’s legislators are waiting for the announcement of the new chief minister’s (CM) name from the high command (i.e. their masters in New Delhi). The call comes through and Babasaheb Mohite (Ashok Saraf) is appointed as the new CM. Their is joy on his supporters’ faces. His political opponents including Sawant (Kuldeep Pawar) and Muthal (Sayaji Shinde) are obviously disappointed. Babasaheb is the typical politician. Corrupt opportunist, who will go to any length to retain his position. He is also openly having an affair with a married woman Mrs Shanbag (Fayyaz), each using the other.

Babasaheb settles down in his role as the chief minister. One day his uncle (played by Chandrakant Gokhale) arrives unexpectedly accompanied by a young man. The man is Purushottam Kamble (Vikram Gokhale). He impresses Babasaheb with his sound political advice and skillful handling which can turn an adverse situation in Babasaheb’s favour. Purushottam is soon appointed as the CM’s personal assistant. He becomes the right hand man of Babasaheb. Babasaheb also gains advantage over his political opponents by collecting data of their corrupt deeds in a file. He threatens to hand over the details to the high command to ensure his Government remains stable.

The scene moves to a dancer Kamal Juvekar (Ashwini Bhave) presenting a song Saanj Ye Gokuli at a felicitation function for Babasaheb. After the song she gets brutally raped by Nana Satam (Ashutosh Gowariker) while returning home. Nana is a member of the ruling party and goes scot free.

After the ordeal, Kamal is taken to a rehabilitation centre by Jayant Sane (Ujjwal Thengdi) and a social worker Shakuntala Sathe (Ila Bhate). Jayant is Purushottam’s friend cum mentor. Jayant’s key teaching to Purushottam is to keep moving ahead by making use of different pawns for personal gains.

As part of his game-plan, Purushottam makes the decision to marry Kamal. She is overjoyed and looks forward to a happy life.

Unfortunately this is not to be. For Purushottam, she is the most suitable pawn to move ahead in his political journey. She is a mere puppet in his hands and is required to keep his political bosses happy as per his directions. Her feelings, her status as his better half are no considerations in this political game. Due to his marriage decision, Purushottam becomes an overnight hero and is hailed by the media.

Purushottam wants to encash the sympathy wave. He launches a new party and fields Kamal as the candidate for a by-election. He is ready to take over the corrupt establishment, be the “Vazir” and checkmate the king. But will he succeed and at what cost? And what about the justice for Kamal? Will that ever be on his agenda?

The Music

The movie has only one song Saanj ye Gokuli sung by Asha Bhosle. Its a non-film song but used in Vazir. Wonderful lyrics by Sudhir Moghe and composed by Shridhar Phadke.

My Thoughts

The early 90s was a period of non-stop comedy movies in Marathi cinema. And different efforts like Vazir did stand out during the time. Unfortunately the intention does not translate into successful execution. The first half is engrossing but the second half is weak. The context of many scenes is not explained properly and it is left to the viewer to try filling up the blanks. It is difficult to digest Purushottam’s sudden rise as an influential player with so many seasoned politicians around. He uses his wife for political gains and then changes overnight showing his concern towards her. Are one election campaign and a T.V. interview sufficient to bring down a government? That’s a laughable assumption especially in the days when there was no social media. The second half goes downhill due to some random scenes and things not clear where all this is leading to. The background music is repetitive and loses its impact after some time. Seems to be a shortcut job.

But its the acting that saves the day. Vikram Gokhale, Ashok Saraf and Ashwini Bhave play their characters effectively. Vikram Gokhale has his trademark mannerisms including repetition of words to create greater impact. Ashok Saraf brings out the negative character convincingly and demonstrates his versatility with his body language and timing. Ashutosh Gowariker, Kuldeep Pawar and Sayaji Shinde offer suitable support.