Thackeray

! I was waiting for the movie since it's trailer was launched Huge disappointment! It's sluggish all the way...it doesn't seem to hold ur seats... First half is black and white.. No concepts well clear! It could have been much better Nawazuddin Siddiqui doesn't disappoint anyway!

6/10 - Coming back after seeing this biopic of the larger-than-life Marathi politician, I am quite disappointed at how they have not done justice to this movie.

Acting: First of all, Nawazuddin is the only major role in this film and others remain bystanders throughout the movie. Nawaz is probably one of the better actors in today's era and he proves it with another great performance. However, he seems uncomfortable with Marathi and falls short at the fiery roar that Balasaheb possessed. For example, when I saw Sanju, I didn't realize that it was not Sanjay Dutt acting. Such actor-character sync was missing.

Yet, he was perhaps the best choice for this complex role (but would've preferred Nana Patekar or Manoj Bajpai if they were younger). Amrita Rao, while being the other major character, is non-existent and missable.

Screenplay: The story, while doing a good job of taking us through Thackeray's life, did feel over the top at times (Remember that this movie was produced by Sanjay Raut, who is a part of the Shiv Sena so it excessively glorifies the character). I also hated the fact that the first half is in black&white. I mean, what's the point?

However, it was really interesting to see some politically-unrelated moments of Balasaheb's life that I wasn't aware of. Some dialogues are pearls.

Direction: This was the biggest let down for me. Abhijit Panse, who had previously made his debut with Rege (2014) - an absolute gem of a movie - seemed sloppy in his second (though I am not sure how much he could control things). It appeared as if he let Nawaz get away at times, but could've aimed at perfection.

He also tries to tell too many things in 2 hours. I would've preferred less things but in more detail.

Music: While there are no songs in this movie, background effects were really good and gave me goosebumps many times, inspiring me to pay attention to every scene.

Editing: Like I mentioned, there are too many scenes, and the movie seems very fast. They should've fixed it.

All in all, worth a watch, but don't have high hopes like Sanju or Bhaag Milkha Bhaag. 6/10 stars.

The main storyline plots around balasaheb thackeray, the powerhouse of Mahatashtra ... The way his Biography is put forth by director may make you bore, Except Nawaz, The movie fails in every Aspect, The way balasaheb should be shown its exactly the opposite, Bad direction, I hope They remake this part with good direction

Nawazuddin Siddiqui pulls of one of the best performances of his career. He's fabulous! His body language, composure, magnetism & mannerism is at a different level all together. We don't come across actors like him often. If nothing else, watch the movie just for him.

Overall, depending on your political inclination, the values you carry, the principles you have, you may hate or like the film, as it is based on a political personality and the choices he makes. Personally, I must admit that the 150 mins did alter my opinion about Balasaheb Thackerey. That by itself shows that the film & the performance of its casts is good enough to have an impact (good or bad) on your opinion about the protagonist.

However, the film is very slow & if you can't read Hindi you might find it difficult to keep up. Dialogues at times are great but most often very confusing.

Bottom line is, if you are looking for a typical bollywood entertainer, you might like to skip this one. Else it is a good watch!

Let me add my review for the first thing that everyone else is criticizing:

SCRIPT: The script was well written. It is a heavy and serious movie because the topic itself is a heavy one. The dialogues are strong and punchy. No scenes are shown with over-emotion or too much focus. For example, if there's a blast happening then the blast is shown in slow motion and the story moves on. This is a very unique and great way of showing stories!

ACTING: Nawazuddin has carried this role fantastically! He stands with poise, he delivers dialogues coolly, and the best aspects I liked were his pauses. Nawazuddin has this way of carrying out pauses naturally and his natural cool persona suits the script very well. Great job done!

CAMERA SHOTS/SCENES: The movie is quite visually pleasing. The first half was shot in black and white while the second half was in color. The sets were beautifully created and it takes you to a different era successfully.

THE MAIN CHARACTER: This is the part where I didn't like the film. Whenever Thackeray commits an atrocity, it is shown in just a single scene. There have been thousands brutally murdered by him and that is shown in a flash.

Marathis deserve respect, as does any other race or religion. No race should be made fun of in the common media. According to this movie, Marathis weren't respected because they weren't doing much more than setting up tea stalls while "outsiders" were creating companies, and doing a lot of big work. This led to a bunch of jokes on Marathis.

Bal took this to heart and tried to get Marathis the respect that they deserve - by killing off other religions and races. He polarized the whole mass of Marathas against "outsiders". Although he verbally says "I have my nation first and my Maharashtra second" his actions show the exact opposite.

In the process of murdering people who were just doing their jobs and forcing them to create reservation for Marathis, in the process of using his goons to kill off other religions, to force them to celebrate Marathi festivals, Bal Thackeray became the very monster that he started the fight with. In his process of "winning respect for Marathas", he crumpled over several fundamental rights of several other races.

The only reason that I wouldn't give this movie a 10 star, is because it portrays Thackeray in a neutral aspect rather than monster that he was. Even today, the the racial divide that he did in Maharashtra still polarizes the masses and non-Marathas face disrespect, harassment and bullying in their day-to-day lives.