Reviewed by Praveen Lulekar
It is very rare that you come across a comedy that
doesn’t make you laugh hysterically but gently keeps you tickling throughout.
Habituated to the Priyadarshans and worse, the Rohit Shettys’, I was searching
for moments where I could burst into laughter while watching Narbachi Wadi. I
realised a few moments later that I had a smile languishing on my lips and by
the end I was reluctant to step out of this sweet grove full of zany characters.
An adaptation of Bengali play Shajjano Bagan by
Manoj Mitra, the film is about Narba (Dilip Prabhavalkar) and his grove
of coconut, betel nuts, bananas and all the rich products of Konkan. Narba calls
his grove maauli – mother, like any other farmer. Rangrao Khot (Manoj
Joshi) - the sick and lusty landlord of the village finds solace in this grove
and demands it from Narba. Narba refuses, Rangrao sends goons and Narba
accidently receives help from a dacoit he helped years ago. The dacoit threatens
Rangrao and the humiliated landlord dies. All this happens before the start
titles. The real story starts 20 years later where Rangrao’s son (Joshi in a
double role) is after Narba’s grove now. Unlike his father, the son is
tactical. The rest of the film is about the tricks he uses to get the land
giving rise to funny situations.
There is an array of characters that visit us from
both sides in the battle. Positive or negative, we inevitably fall in love with
each one of them. Berkya (Nikhil Ratnaparkhi) – the landlord’s right hand, for
example, remains a pleasant company even for us. He knows all the pitfalls of
the landlords’ natures (both senior and junior) but serves the family honestly.
Likewise, Atul Parchure, Kamlakar Satpute, Bhalchandra Kadam do a fine job in
their cameos. These characters, like the humour, emerge out of the script and
the soil of Konkan producing an organic product. Even the explicit lines never
sound obscene as they come on the backdrop of a meticulously defined and
well-shot Konkan.
Prabhavalkar gives life to yet another character in
Narba. His charm is accompanied by refreshing writing by Guru Thakur. Narba’s
fantastic ovyaa (couplets) with the signature Naro Mhane… are a
delightful invention. We get a candid insight into human life without losing
the humour. Director Aditya Ajay
Sarpotdar takes care that no incidents slip away to become grim or for that
matter even extra-contextual. The side story of Narba’s grandson (Vikas Kadam)
and his love interest (Jyoti Malishe) merges smoothly into the main story.
Kadam, however, disappoints with a loud portrayal. Kishori Shahane, as the
junior landlord’s wife, also loses grip of the subtle humour.
Joshi stands firm opposite Prabhavalkar portraying
both the negative characters. He understands the nuances of the father and son
differently raising two completely distinct characters on screen.
Characteristics of both these father and son combine to paint the typical
behaviors of landlords – writing, again does a great job here. Thakur has also
kept the lyrics of the two songs jolly (music – Mangesh Dhakade). A small line
defines the film for you, content and treatment wise – Shikaar zaali baghaa
saavadh aani..aaplyaach jaalyaat gaavla koli..
m4m rating: A must watch
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