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Jarann in Marathi, is leaden with atmospheric pressure. It is almost as if writer-director Hrishikesh Gupte wants us to believe in the supernatural, but doesn’t know how to go beyond that creaky door. So we have lots of startle-the-audience moments, but nothing beyond that.

I still don’t know why the protagonist is allowed by her family to behave the way she does. That Radha (Amruta Subhash) is seriously traumatized by a road accident which takes away the life of one of her dear ones, is the ground-level drama. But what follows is not only unconvincing, it also, perhaps, unintentionally, ridicules the whole concept of mental illness, particularly schizophrenia where the ill individual sees people that others can’t.

The last time I saw mental illness being so insensitively handled was in Aanand Rai’s Atrangi Re. There, at least the tone was comic, so we could dismiss the inaccuracies on mental health.

Andhar Maya on Zee5 in 7 episodes in Marathi, has a tonally felicitous feel to it. You feel you are in the midst of something ominous, something eerie . But the series never reaches the culmination that it seems to promise initially when an entire clan of property seekers descend after the death of the patriarch in Konkan village.

This is well trodden territory. For it to impress us, there needed to be far more enormity in the content. Director Bhimrao Mude and his writers adhere to familiar terror tropes like that patent someone-is-watching camera angle that is here pushed in anytime there is a scarcity of genuine moodiness, and that is quite frequently.

The well-known Marathi actor Kishore Kadam pretty much holds the show together, although there are way too many closeups of his face expressing an unnecessary grotesquerie His role gets progressively ghoulish until we reach the closing episode where...

Some films mean well, but are unable to convey their true intentions to the audience. Shobhayatra could be considered an honourable failure. It deserves a mention in the arc of Indian cinema primarily for going into an area that has never been attempted before.

In its scathing satire on the death of idealism and the premature annihilation of a sense of historicity in a society governed by greed and moral short-sightedness, Shobhayatra gets into a queer and unrecognizable piece of drama on screen.

Adapted from a well-known play by Shafaat Khan Shobhayatra, it converges on the lives of a group of professionals who masquerade as legendary national leaders. Among these masters of the charade, it’s only Divya Dutta as phony Jhansi Ki Rani, impregnated and torn by internal strife (representing the divisive tensions in the country), who manages to make an effective statement of her parabolic role.

The rest...

Fourteen years ago, Saqib Saleem and Saba Azad debuted with Y-Films’ Mujhse Fraaandship Karoge. I’m sure neither the actors nor the fans of that film, including yours truly, ever imagined seeing these two actors together in something like Zee 5’s Crime Beat, all these years later. I don’t have to tell you that the latest show is drastically different from Saleem and Azad’s debut film in every aspect. It is still a nice, perhaps unplanned, reunion. But if I have to point out the things that actively hurt Crime Beat, then the romance between Saleem and Azad’s characters should be at the top of the list. There is a professional rivalry angle at play as well, which works out.

Crime Beat, of course, is an eight-episode adaptation of author Somnath Batabyal’s 2013 novel, The Price You Pay. I got curious about the source material after getting this assignment,...

Turning the focus on Neeraj Pandey’s special Special Chabbis (26), which starred Akshay Kumar and Manoj Bajpayee, as it marks 12 years since the action drama garned rave reviews.

Though set in a world where lakhs were a large fortune, Neeraj Pandey gives us a caper-thriller worth crores. The period detailing of the 1980s—the cars, hotel lobbies, clothes, hairstyles, and most importantly, the attitude to wealth acquisition—all add a lustre of underscored believability to the proceedings.

Morality is a prime casualty in the parable. And if crime should not be allowed to pay in our movies, then this one doesn’t qualify for a pat on the back from the moralists and purists as the con persons walk away from the scene of their outrageous crime richer and, yes, no wiser. They are coming back.

There are two sets of Cbi officers on duty in this deviously plotted tale...

Priyanka Chopra is set to make a significant impact with her upcoming Marathi film Paani, which is scheduled for release on October 18. The actress recently attended the trailer launch event in Mumbai, where she was also present for her brother Siddharth Chopra’s wedding. At the event, Priyanka looked stunning in a floral ethnic salwar suit, exuding elegance.

Paani, produced by Priyanka in collaboration with Rajshri Entertainment and Kothare Vision Pvt Ltd, has already garnered attention for winning the National Award for ‘Best Film on Environment Conservation/Preservation’ in 2019. The film’s narrative follows the inspiring journey of a man from a drought-stricken village in Nanded, Maharashtra, as he battles to secure water self-sufficiency for his community. The film stars Subodh Bhave, Kishore Kadam, Addinath Kothare, and Rucha Vaidya.

Siddharth Chopra and Neelam Upadhyaya taking Aashirwad from Priyanka Chopra in this adorable wedding video

Priyanka’s involvement in Marathi cinema...

Har Har Mahadev is a narrative that leaves the audience spell bound with the raw display of bravery, faith, discipline, morals, dignity and above all – love for thy motherland. We have heard quite a few chapters from the history of Maharashtra and the great Marathas. Har Har Mahadev is yet another chapter from the many stories of bravery and valour. It re-instils the sense of patriotism and respect for those who did not blink before laying down their lives for the freedom of the motherland. We have read, heard, and seen stories about the freedom struggle, but what you see here is raw and has multiple layers in the struggle itself. Har Har Mahadev becomes the third film of 2022, based on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and the establishment of the Hindavi Swarajya, the earlier two being Pawankhind and Sarsenapati Hambirrao.

Let’s see what’s in store in Abhijeet Shirish Deshpande...

National Film AwardsThe winners for the 68th National Film Awards were selected by the 10-member jury headed by Hindi filmmaker Vipul Shah.Tnm StaffBody 2:

The winners of the 68th National Film Awards were announced on Friday, July 22. The names of the winners were announced in a press conference at Delhi’s National Media Centre. Films from the southern states have swept the awards with wins in several key categories. Sudha Kongara Tamil directorial Soorarai Pottru, which is inspired by the life of Air Deccan founder Capt Gr Gopinath, won five awards including Best Feature Film. Late Malayalam filmmaker Sochy’s Ayyapannum Koshiyum received the Best Director category among other wins.

Ajay Devgn and Suriya won the Best Actor award, for Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior and Soorarai Pottru, respectively. Tanhaji also won the award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment. Tanhaji is based on the life of Tanaji Malusare,...

Section 375 movie review is here. The courtroom drama is based on Section 375 of Indian Penal Code laws and is directed by Ajay Bahl. Starring Akshaye Khanna and Richa Chadha, the movie is written by Manish Gupta.

Does it provides justice?. Let?s find out in Section 375 movie review. Section 375 releases on September 13, 2019

Immediate reaction when the end credits roll

Bold and truthful - perhaps one of the finest court room drama that dares to enter the unchartered territory on rape/sexual crime cases and gains importance in its cutting edge observation on facts that gets ignored. Section 375 is a courtroom drama that is intensely powerful, relevant, well etched and smartly written.

The Story of Section 375

Anjali Dangle (Meera Chopra) a junior costume designer accuses a famous and arrogant movie director Rohan Khurana (Rahul Bhat) of rape and molestation. Rohan Khurana gets arrested. Anjali gives her statement...

Anna

Starring Shashank Udapurkar

Written & Directed by Shashank Udapurkar

Rating: ***

Serving the cause of cinema may not be as vital and crucial as serving the nation. However making a film on the selflessly altruistic life of Anna Hazare, the saintly ascetic man who single handedly took on the task of eradicating corruption—and failed—seems like a task as daunting as nation-building.

Writer-director Shashank Udapurkar must be lauded in no uncertain terms for taking on the uphill task of telling the story so gripped and cramped by socio-political complexities that even Richard Attenborough would have been stumped as to where to begin the task of unraveling the life of a man who went from farmer to national leader without losing his innocence.

The narrative keeps it simple austere and stripped-down. Almost like Anna Hazare himself. There is a certain sincerity of purpose that Anna embodies in his persona. The film...

Umesh Kulkarni’s much-awaited film Highway has now been shifted to 28th August 2015.

Explaining why, the acclaimed filmmaker shares, “One of the reason we postponed the film is because there were not enough screens available to release the film. Anyways there is always a problem in getting prime slots for Marathi films and with Baahubali and Bajrangi Bhaijaan still running on the main shows, we decided to wait it out.” Taking the change of release dates in his stride, the filmmaker isn’t complaining as he adds, “The shift also gave us some time to work on the title animation properly.”

Produced by Vinay Vaman Ganu and co-produced by Arbhaat films, Highway – Ek Selfie Aarpar is a journey of self-discovery and doesn’t have one or two, but 30 lead actors, including Huma Qureshi, Tisca Chopra, Girish Kulkarni, Renuka Shahane, Mukta Barve, Sunil Barve, Kishore Kadam, Nagraj Manjule to name a few.

This relentless search for a fleeting bird, a key theme in the film (shades of the seminal Satyajit Ray classic Pratidhandwi where the recurring motif was the hero’s search for a mythical bird), symbolizes his search for happiness and a better life.

Fandry is a deceptively simple, but multilayered portrayal of the evil caste system that still looms large in many parts of India. The movie is also a one sided love story and a parable about the failure of the imagination. Like Fracois Truffaut’s 400 blows it is a portrayal of a childhood dealt a cruel blow by society. I say the film is deceptive because the film’s breezy portrayal of adolescence hardly prepares the viewers for the devastating climax.

Directed by debutante Nagraj Manjule, the film tells the story of a young Dalit boy names Jabya who daydreams about wooing his pretty higher caste classmate who...

N agraj Manjule can be seen gleefully accepting compliments in Hindi or Marathi from the English-speaking audiences at the Mumbai Film Festival where his debut feature film Fandry (Marathi) was received with thunderous applause and whistles. He is a man who has used his limitations as his strength. Just like his short film Pistulya- which won a National Award in 2011- he presents a glimpse of life in caste-ridden rural India in Fandry with rawness and much simplicity. It is the only Indian film in International Competition at the festival this year.

After this interview in 2011 [I always thought dark and ugly people couldn’t make films], Nagraj Manjule catches up with DearCinema again:

You wanted to adapt Pistulya into feature film. How did Fandry happen?

After I won the National award, my friends encouraged me to tell a new story from my bank of story ideas. They advised me to not rush with Pistulya and tell a new story instead.

Starring: Akshay Kumar,Manoj Bajpai, Anupam Kher, Jimmy Sheirgil, Rajesh Sharma, Kishore Kadam, Kajal Aggarwal

Written & Directed by Neeraj Pandey

Gimme raid, said the fake Cbi officers who in a daredevil swoop-down on a well-known jewellery outlet in Mumbai in 1983, escaped with a loot worth lakhs. If done today it would have been a heist worth crores.

But that’s the devilish beauty of Neeraj Pandey’s second feature film. Though set in a world where lakhs were a large fortune, he gives us a caper-thriller worth crores. The period detailing of the 1980s-the cars, hotel lobbies, clothes, hairstyle and most importantly, the attitude to wealth acquisition(scams were unknown back then, scandals were as far as the financials over-reachers went)-they all add a lustre of underscored believability to the proceedings.

Morality is a prime casualty in the tale. And if crime should not be allowed to pay in...

I loved director Neeraj Pandey’s A Wednesday and was eagerly looking forward to his next. What could have been a better follow-up than a heist film inspired by real life events? An exciting subject backed by solid acting talent and I expected a good thriller. However, Special 26 left me feeling underwhelmed.

In the late 80s, a gang of four con-men Ajay (Akshay Kumar), Sharma (Anupam Kher), Iqbal (Kishore Kadam) and Joginder (Rajesh Sharma) followed a unique modus-operandi of carrying out fake raids posing as Cbi or It officials. Since most of these raids were carried out on politicians and businessmen with loads of black money, they were never reported and the con-men had no fear of getting caught. However, one fine day the Cbi wakes up to the fake raids being carried out in their name and a competent officer Waseem Khan (Manoj Bajpayee) is put on their case.

Film: "Special 26"; Writer-director: Neeraj Pandey; Cast: Akshay Kumar, Manoj Bajpayee, Anupam Kher, Jimmy Sheirgil, Rajesh Sharma, Kishore Kadam, Divya Dutta and Kajal Aggarwal; Rating: ****

Gimme raid, said the fake Cbi officers who in a daredevil swoop-down on a well-known jewellery outlet in Mumbai in 1983 escaped with loot worth lakhs. If done today, it would have been a heist worth crores.

But that's the devilish beauty of Neeraj Pandey's second feature film. Though set in a world where lakhs were a large fortune, he gives us a caper-thriller worth crores. The period detailing of the 1980s - the cars, hotel lobbies, clothes, hairstyle and most importantly, the attitude to wealth acquisition (scams were unknown back.

Premier production house Balaji Motion Pictures & Alt Entertainment have announced their impressive line up for 2011. Here is the exact release schedule and a brief intro and synopsis about each of the prestigious projects :- Taryanche Bait (Island of Stars) – Marathi on 14th April 2011 – Thursday Director: Kiran Yagnopavit Cast: Sachin Khedekar, Ashwini Giri, Vinay Apte, Kishore Kadam Genre: Family Outline: Alt Entertainment and Neeraj Pandey (A Wednesday) come together...

Premier production house Balaji Motion Pictures and Alt Entertainment have announced their impressive line up for 2011. Here is the exact release schedule and a brief intro and synopsis about each of the prestigious projects :- Taryanche Bait (Island of Stars) - Marathi on 14th April 2011 - Thursday Director: Kiran Yagnopavit Cast: Sachin Khedekar, Ashwini Giri, Vinay Apte, Kishore Kadam Genre: Family Outline: Alt Entertainment and Neeraj Pandey (A Wednesday) come together...

Balaji Motion Pictures and Alt Entertainment have lined up three film releases during April and May this year.The first film to hit theaters on 14 April will be the Marathi language film titled Taryanche Bait (Island of Stars), which is directed by Kiran Yagnopavit. It stars Sachin Khedekar, Ashwini Giri, Vinay Apte and Kishore Kadam. It has been co-produced by Alt Entertainment and Neeraj Pandey. The movie also recently won two awards at the Pune International Film Festival.Balaji Motion Pictures will release the comedy - thriller titled Shor ...

Alt Entertainment & Friday Filmworks' first Marathi film, Taaryanche Bait, is creating waves. The endearing family film, which was selected to premiere at the prestigious Pune International Film Festival (Piff), on January 10th, 2011, has bagged two top honours. Boasting of an illustrious cast comprising Sachin Khedekar, Ashwini Giri, Kishore Kadam & Vinay Apte, among others, the film's screening was showered with accolades and applause. Shailesh Dupare, Sourabh Bhave...

Alt Entertainment and Friday Filmworks' first Marathi film, Taaryanche Bait, is creating waves. The endearing family film, which was selected to premiere at the prestigious Pune International Film Festival (Piff), on January 10th, 2011, has bagged two top honours. Boasting of an illustrious cast comprising Sachin Khedekar, Ashwini Giri, Kishore Kadam and Vinay Apte, among others, the film's screening was showered with accolades and applause. Shailesh Dupare, Sourabh Bhave...

Amol Palekar’s film ‘Samaantar’ promises to bring the pure essence of Marathi music in the film. Film is about two parallel lives crossing each other in the twilight of life. Similarly, the melody of the songs is in parallel with the narrative of the film, having its own significance.

The songs are rooted in classical, as well as folk music. Kishore Kadam popularly known as Saumitra between young Marathi listeners, has penned the lyrics for all the songs in this film. Sandhya Gokhale of Paheli fame has brilliantly inscribed the music with stupendous screenplay. Music composer Anand Modak.