In a New Role

Shilpa Shirodkar shares her experience of producing Sau Shashi Deodhar

By Nachiket Joshi

Shilpa Shirodkar

Shilpa Shirodkar, a popular actress in 90s, has now re-entered the film industry in a completely different role. Before marrying to banker Aparesh Ranjeet in 2000, Shilpa tasted the success in Bollywood movies like Kishen Kanhaiyya, Gopi Kishen, Bewafa Sanam, Aankhen and many others. She is currently the lead actor of the popular daily soap Ek mutthi Aasman as Kamla Bai on Zee Tv. She has now come forward with her production house titled Orange Tree production and her first production is a Marathi thriller named Sau Shashi Deodhar releasing on February 21. Shirodkar gets candid with m4m about her production house, her new projects and her future plans.

Since 2000, you were not connected to film industry, have you experienced any changes in the industry after 13 years?

Indian film industry is dynamic. It keeps changing with time and I must say 13 years is long period. There have been immense changes as now the young and new filmmakers try to portray the film on broader canvas. Even the economics of the film is improved. So, I am really happy as I reconnected with the industry.

Tell us about Sau Shashi Deodhar, your first production, how did you choose this project?

When I was looking for scripts, I happen to meet Amol Shetge (director of Sau Shashi Deodhar), who then forwarded this exceptional script. On paper, script looks difficult but Amol created lively characters on the screen. It will be a whole new experience for audience to watch Sau Shashi Deodhar on screen. I must say that the journey of making Sau Shashi Deodhar is fantastic.

Your first film as a producer is woman centric; do you believe that as woman you would like produce more such films?

I haven’t really thought about future projects. But I wish to versatile film under my banner rather than focusing one kind of genre. I will prefer content over the subject in the script selection. My next project has different story than Sau Shashi Deodhar.

After acting and production what is the future plan? Can we see Shilpa Shirodkar as a director?

For me, direction is most difficult part in film making, that’s not my forte. I am determined to focus on my acting career and production house. I assure you that you will see me in many future projects as a producer and an actor.  

 Sau Shashi Deodhar will release on February 21 across Maharashtra

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Fandry: Expression of Deep Distress

By Praveen Lulekar

First things first, this is not your Shaala, not at all Timepass and most importantly, nothing of that theme song going viral on the internet. Fandry is the expression of a deep distress nurtured by an irrelevant caste system. It is at once beautiful, owing to the director’s sophisticated cinematic sensibility, and also a crude, ugly picture of our society. All this through an impossible, one-sided love that is only a medium to depict the larger picture. Enter Fandry not to relive an adolescent love story, but to understand a completely different life, through an honest, non-dramatic lens.

It is rare in mainstream cinema that we see a piece of life extracted as it is on screen. It neither has a beginning nor an end; just a story where everything might not be relevant, but surely contributing. Fandry tells the story of Jabya (Somnath Awghade), a lower caste school boy in 7^th standard. Madly and quietly in love with Shaalu (Rajeshwari Kharat), an upper caste girl, the aim of the current phase of Jabya’s life is to kill a black sparrow. A madcap cycle store owner (Nagraj Manjule) has told him that the ash of the sparrow would make Shaalu fall in love with him. That, of course, does not happen. Instead, Jabya ends up chasing pigs in the village along with his father (Kishor Kadam), as lower caste people are supposed to do.

Jabya is a character of inferiorities. What would you feel when you see a pig eating shit in the hagandaari – an open village ruin for everyone to defecate? Nauseous? What if you are looked upon as that animal? And you are forced to believe that that is the truth! From his complexion to his clothes to his caste, Jabya is ashamed of everything about himself. Reason: to appear better to her. A simple implication where he watches Shaalu force her friend to get bathed after the latter accidently bumps into a pig, speaks a lot about Jabya’s agony. The face powder in a small paper wrap, his attempts to buy a ‘jean’ pant by selling Pepsies (ice candies)…nothing works. His last resort, time and again, is the black sparrow – an unachievable, unrealistic dream.

Fandry is also about its other characters – Jabya’s father, his mother (Chhaya Kadam), his married but

abandoned sister, another to-be-married sister and his friend Piraji (Suraj Pawar). But more than everything else, it is about director Manjule. In an exquisite style of his own, he mixes the romantic European cinematic style with a narrative that emerges right out of his roots. The camera mostly serves as a third party that is watching everything from a distance. It has that shaky feel of reality, the enormous pace in chase sequences and calm when Manjule chooses to draw the landscapes. You constantly get the feeling of an artist just observing what is actually happening. The narrative, barring a couple of dream sequences, is absolutely non-dramatic. Background music, only appears when Jabya is in his trance; the one piece, after his cycle breaks, could have been avoided. It unnecessarily heightens the tragedy.

Both, Kishor Kadam and Chhaya Kadam deserve a special mention. It is again to Manjule’s credit that he gets Awghade’s act so defined. He shows complete trust in this supposedly non-actor when the camera zooms in right on his face. The penultimate scene of jatra, where Jabya is trying to express his love through his dance and is consequently made to stand with the lights on his head by his father, breaks your heart. The climax where Jabya finally decides to throw a stone, hits you right in the face. Like the Ambedkar and Shahu paintings on the school walls, you are a restless spectator in the end!

m4m says: A Must Watch

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Fandry: Love, Society, Ambitions

The most awaited film of the year will release on February 14

By Nachiket Joshi

                                                     Nagraj Manjule

Fandry, is the story of an age of adolescence when everything seems possible is how Nagraj Majule, the debutant director explains his ambitious film.  It is a story of two teenagers, ‘Jabya’ and ‘Shalu’ and their endeavours of love and societal situations. The film that has garnered awards across the Film Festival circuit including best film (Jury) at Mumbai Academy Moving Images (MAMI) festival and Sant Tukaram award for best film at Pune International Film Festival (PIFF) is set to release on February 14. 

Navlakha Arts and Holy Basil have produced the film and Essel vision and Zee talkies will be distributing the film throughout Maharashtra. Though Fandry has been appreciated in the film festival across the world but a considerable initiative is being taken to launch it commercially.

“We have always spread the content based cinema and made sure that it reaches all parts of Maharashtra and Fandry is the best example,” said Sugandha Lonikar, Assistant vice president, Zee Networks. She confirmed that the film will be released at 150 theatres across Maharashtra.

The story and screenplay of the film has been written by Majule whereas the dialogues have been co-written with Bhushan Manjule. The cast of the film includes Somnath Avghade (Jabya), Suraj Pawar(Piraji), Rajshree Kharat(Shalu), Kishor Kadam(kacharu Nana), Chaya Kadam (Nani), Pravin Tarde (Sarpanch). Editing has been handled by Chandan Arora and cinematography by Vikram Amladi. Aloknanda Dasgupta has given the background score.

Fandry has both appreciation from critics and a solid commercial support. It will be interesting to see the box office collection of this film.

Fandry, will hit the theatres on February 14.

Fandry Facts 

Fandry theme song by Ajay-Atul (video)	2,48,412 hits on YouTube (still counting)
Official Trailer of Fandry (video)	12,460 hits on you tube (still counting)
Fandry first look (video)	65,211 hits on YouTube (still counting)
Fandry presented at International Film Festivals	10
Awards won at International Film Festivals	7 (5 of them at PIFF)

Check out the theme song created by Ajay-Atul

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Sau Shashi Deodhar: An experience

The Marathi film is all set to release on February 21

Team m4m

 A tale of a woman struggling with her identity and troubled psyche, audience will get to experience a thrill and drama like never before expressed the team of the new Marathi film Sau Shashi Deodhar. The Marathi psycho thriller is all set to release on February 21. The cast and crew addressed the press in Pune on February 10.

“It is very difficult to define the exact genre of this film; it can be a love story, a thriller, life story of woman or anything else. It will only be revealed in the theatres,” said Amol Shetge, director and writer of the film.

According to Shetge, the script of the film was looking very complex on paper, but team and mature performances by actors have made its execution possible.The cast of the film includes Ajinkya Deo (Ajinkya Vartak), Sai Tamhankar (Shahi Deodhar), Aniruddha Harip (Police Inspector), Tushar Dalvi (mysterious character). The music of the film has been done by duo Tabi-Parik.

Actor Shilpa Shirodkar is coming forward for the first time as a producer in the Marathi film industry. She along with her husband Aparesh Ranjeet has co- produced this film through Orange Tree production.

“I have always been interested in producing films and script like Shashi Deodhar tempted me, I had a great experience working with Amol, Ajinkya and Sai. We are looking to produce more Marathi films,” expressed Shirodkar in the press conference.

The look of the film has also been a topic of discussion, as Sai Tamhankar known for her glamorous avatar in most of her films is seen in a completely different and non-glamorous role. After the success of Duniyadari, her choice of doing this film has definitely raised eyebrows, but she shrugs it off by saying that she now wants to move on from Duniyadari. “Shashi Deodhar is one of the most important roles in my career. It has changed me as person, it was definitely challenging,” she expressed.

Ajinkya Deo and Music directors Tabi-Parik also addressed the press along with co-producer Krishna Shetty (Needle Drop Production). Tabi-Parik revealed that there are two theme songs in the movie sung by Shankar Mahadevan and Mahalaxmi Ayyar.

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Khairlanjichya Mathyawar: An Amateur Tribute

By Praveen Lulekar

A scene from Khairlanjichya Mathyawar

It’s very difficult to criticise a bad film with good intentions. But Khairlanjichya Mathyawar is really bad; the intentions – good but naive. Like an amateur college skit, the actors, the script, the direction try to enact every scene with their own understanding. At the end of every bit, you say, ‘okay, this is what they were trying to convey. Pass.’ The intensity, the seriousness and the terrifying cruelty of the original incident, from which the film draws inspiration, get mellowed down. You end up not in laughter, not even in disappointment but a deep anxiety for a better tribute or analysis for the horrific incident.

The film makes clear in the beginning that this is a fictitious story. No, it does not even say ‘based on true events.’ Somehow, though the title of the film itself is such a huge indicator, we have to accept this premise. It tells the story of the Parasmanges, a Dalit family living ‘outside’ the village of Khairlanji, Bhandara district. Sujata (Kishori Shahane), mother of three and wife of a drunkard husband, is made the protagonist. An aggressive lady, she raises her voice against everything wrong in the village. One such incident – over allowing a road through the Parasmange farm for the local Goddess’ procession, lands the family in a tussle with the Patil (Anant Jog), the feudal lord of the village. A host of baddies attack, molest and kill the family barring the head Babulal (Tukaram Bidkar).

The biggest drawback of the film is the actors. While Shahane gives it everything and Jog and Milind Shinde play with habitual villainy, the rest of the cast is a huge letdown. The film is narrated in flashbacks and begins with Babulal sitting beside four pyres. His sorrow and his agony never comes to fore through Bidkar. You are not hit with the intensity first up. Things keep getting worse – actors do not know what to do with their hands, how to focus with their glances, taking stance, consistency of characters and a lot of basics. The actors as the Sarpanch’s assistant and a male friend of the family’s college-going daughter are exceptionally bad! It’s a pity that some of the best dialogues (by the film’s standards) are mouthed by the latter.

The process probably stems from a bad screenplay and immature direction (Raju Mehsram). As dialogue writer, Meshram seems to have had some flashes of brilliance; in a marriage scene with an upset groom demanding dowry, Sujata says – ‘...is it for this that Babasaheb (Ambedkar) fought for us.’ It touches you for a moment. But the social tragedy of a Hindu Goddess’ procession stamping through a Dalit’s farm never evolves. The camera, which captures images of the Buddha so beautifully, keeps wandering aimlessly otherwise. There are unnecessary low angles and the crude panning distracts.    

The best bet of the film is its music – both background and the soundtracks. Songs by Anand Modak have the power to move you. The script also successfully brings forth how easily male egos are damaged when a woman challenges them. But the rape scenes in the end summarise the failure. Neither their unnecessary long span nor the overt nudity makes it intense. It just compels you to look away from the screen. That, surely, should not be the aim of any filmmaker! 

m4m says: Watch at your own risk

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A Struggle between Existence and Dominance

by team m4m

Pratiksha Mungekar and Kishori Shane

Khairlanji is not an isolated incident, it is a mentality. It is the repercussion of an age old struggle between search for existence and dominance, director Raju Meshram defined his film Khairlanjichya Mathyawar. Team members of the film, lead actors Kishori Shahane, Anant Jog and producer Kalpana Saroj, were present in Pune today, along with Meshram. The film also stars Milind Shinde, Dr. Vilas Ujawane,Tukaram Bidkar and Pratiksha Mungekar in important roles.

The film is based on the 2006 incident in Khairlanji village of Maharashtra, in which four members of a Dalit family were brutally killed following a land dispute. Two females of the family were paraded naked and allegedly raped before the murder. Shedding light on the incident, Meshram said, “There is a lot of ambiguity over the details of the incident. We have tried to go to the depth and give a message to the society.” He also added that the motive of the film is to highlight that such incidences have not stopped occurring in the society.

Speaking about her character, Sujata Parasmange, Shahane said that she had a responsibility while playing the character, “I am portraying such an aggressive character for the first time. She is rural, uneducated woman but with progressive thoughts undertaking developmental works in the village,” she elaborates. To look and be the part, Shahane said that she inculcated a man-like walk, bore a rough, tanned complexion and learnt the zadipatti – the local dialect. Language was also a special factor for Jog. “Meshram was our guide when it came to language. He helped us with every word during dubbing,” said Jog.

The music of the film has been done by Anand Modak and the theme songs have been sung by

Ravindra Sathe and Ajay-Atul. The film will be released on February 7 all over Maharashtra. Saroj expressed plans to dub the film in Hindi, Tamil and English also. Explaining the motives behind producing the film, she said, “I haven’t made it with any commercial angle. I feel I have a responsibility towards society. The atrocities on women refuse to cease in our society and they need to be highlighted.” Saroj, a Padmashree Awardee, is the CEO of Kamani Tubes, Mumbai.

Meshram, at the occasion, cleared his stand on the fresh controversy of Bhaiyalal Bhotmange accusing the film of incorrect portrayal of his family. Bhotmange is the head and the only survivor of the deceased family. “The incident is a national one. Bhotmange has not documented it or taken the copyrights of it. We have taken cinematic liberty and even the family’s surname has been changed,” said Meshram.

Watch the Trailer of 'Khairlanjichya Mathyawar'

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A Rainy Day: A Play of Shadows

  By Praveen Lulekar

Mrunal Kulkarni in A Rainy Day

If you ever attempt to watch David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive, you will mostly be aggravated as you hardly understand anything in the first go. Chances are that you will end up feeling the same for A Rainy Day. Why the comparison? Because both films have a large part of their storyline in a dream sequence. Both mingle with the psycho thriller terrain. Difference - while Mulholland… becomes incomprehensible because it beats your intelligence, A Rainy Day, lost in intricate technicalities, fails because of its over simplistic screenplay and stark absence of a logical duel.

Let’s get the story out of the way before we discuss this curious case. The film is about Mugdha (Mrunal Kulkarni) who somehow starts to see flashbacks of her ambitious husband Aniket’s (Subodh Bhave) past, and discovers that he is an immoral man. The film tries to highlight every kind of corruption in our society. We meet many characters, played by very good actors, on the way in small roles. There’s good music, exceptional background sound and an expansive use of the camera.

The point of discussion is the treatment. We need to understand this on two levels - first is the cinematic treatment, as in the technical angle, second is the style of narration. Both are obviously related. A Rainy Day, with technicians like Resul Pookutty and Sanjay Jadhav, scores on the technical front. The various sounds of rains capture moods of the rain perfectly. The sound design, right from the first scene, is extremely engrossing.

For the narrative, Director Rajendra Talak chooses a non-linear, yet very simplistic format. There’s no doubt that Talak has an amazing sense of frames and a terrific grip on his visuals. But like any indulgent technician, he keeps details of the story secondary. We never get to know the normal, happy side of his leading lady. From scene one, Kulkarni sulks in an unknown suffering.  How she gets the visions of her husband’s past, remains hidden.  Her husband seeks help of a psychiatrist friend (Ajinkya Dev, terribly miscast), but not for her mental health, but because he doubts he must have told her all his secrets. The pattern repeats– Mugdha reveals a secret in a dramatic fashion, we see a flashback and Aniket meets someone, his female colleague (Neha Pendse) or his PA, for a face-off. He also doubts this as black magic! All this, while the psychiatrist is just around the corner.

Many characters - a minister (Sanjay Mone), corrupt babus (Kiran Karmarkar and Manoj Joshi), Aniket’s boss (Harsh Chhaya), Mugdha’s mother (Sualabha Arya) visit us. All actors perform their part well. The leads however fail to convince. Kulkarni never gets time to establish her character, she looks lackluster. Bhave is trapped between a devoted husband and a shrewd businessman.

Every movement, every sequence is an event for Talak, There is an abundant use of slow motions, grim, still frames that have superb lights and of course the haunting rain, which visits even in the two year old flashbacks. There is an eye for beauty everywhere but realistic flow gets hampered. In the end, the motive might only be to show human corruption, but then why use such a tricky way of storytelling? I guess, only Talak can answer that…

M4M Says: One Time Watch

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