काकस्पर्श

This is a story set in the first part of the 20th century somewhere in Konkan. It's a complicated story of love, family, traditions and regret.

Sachin Khedikar was brilliant.

Though a Maharashtrian, I don't usually watch Marathi films. I heard this is a really good one, so took my parents (who are averse to watching film in a theatre for so many reasons) to the theatre. It turned out to be a fantastic movie with an engrossing plot.

The story moves fast without lingering on at any scene (except a couple of songs which were a little annoying because of the exceptionally loud sound in the hall), and deals with all the aspects of the story grippingly. Sachin Khedekar & Priya Bapat are awesome, and so is all the supporting cast.

As I read in a review before going for this movie, among love stories that stand out, there is Casablanca, there is DDLJ, and then there is Kaksparsh. Though targeted to a limited audience being in a regional language, this film still leaves a mark no smaller than any of the Hollywood or Bollywood counterparts.

This is a very tough love story, where there is no conventional explicit exhibition of love and romance, but a feeling of love which is excessively controlled, endured and sacrificed for a vital promise. It portrays a woman who lives most portion of her life, facing the typical difficulties which a widow has to face in orthodoxies and on the other hand, to aggravate her life, is perplexed at the mysterious and taciturn behaviour of a man whom she loves. What a wrath of feelings she would have undergone to control her emotions, and to be restless towards the never-to-end silence and towards the absence of justification of various actions which her brother-in-law carries out. The brother-in-law, the other central character takes an oath for a split second, but endures the ramifications of it for several years, with a conscious guilt of not expressing his feelings towards a woman, and also exhibiting sheer toughness and protection, which is difficult to be perceived and interpreted by the community. Sheer genius of how Sachin Khedekar's character Hari perceives the death of the woman Uma in those final delicate moments, only so that the oath is not broken. The supposed modernist who turns out to be deceptively orthodox and superstitious and selfless at the more larger and better causes of virtues and rituals. A movie, which keeps one disturbed after its ending.

Shot on the backdrop of Konkan with typical Brahmin attitude, director Mahesh Manjrekar has perfectly selected the locations, including the traditional ancestral house, to create the atmosphere of the pre- independence era.

From beginning till the end, the film sticks to its subject, without any diversions and that makes the presentation more realistic. 'Kakasparsha' is the film for sensible film viewers. Fine performances from Sachin Khedekar, Sanjay Khapre, Ketaki Mategaonkar, Vaibhav Mangle, Priya Bapat, Abhijit Kelkar, Saksham Kulkarni and others, makes it more impressive. Music and background music have been handled well and so is the wonderful cinematography capturing all those natural moments.

Actor Sachin Khedkar deserves all the praise for his memorable performance through that lifetime role of Haridada. He gets a good support from all other artistes. Prominent among them are Sanjay Khapre and Vaibhav Mangle who have invited special attention.

A must watch movie!

Watch it for the nuanced performances of the lead cast. The screenplay is well written, and the simplistic music complements the screenplay well.

Sachin Khedekar and Medha Manjrekar are phenomenal!