Mann Kasturi Re (2022) :
Movie Review -
Sanket Mane's love story, featuring Tejasswi Prakash and Abhinay Berde as the leading pair, has fresh looks and vibes but the same old story. The romance it generates is not new for Marathi movies or for audiences. Sairat became a sensation because of its shocking elements and realistic execution. It was like a once in a decade kind of phenomenon, so it won't happen with every love story. Mann Kasturi Re isn't that intricate and hard-hitting; it's a fun film with a big turnaround in the second half. The film has a painful climax that drives you into an emotional state for a while, but after all, even that is seen stuff. Sairat was about honour killing, whereas Mann Kasturi Re is about suppression.
Mann Kasturi is the love story of two young birds, Siddhant (Abhinay Berde) and Shruti (Tejasswi Prakash). Siddhant is from a poor family but has big ambitions, while Shruti belongs to a rich family. Shruti finds Siddhant attractive and starts flirting with him, and even Siddhant isn't very reluctant about it. When it comes to proposing, Siddhant clearly tells Shruti that he is not ready for commitment due to his financial and career planning. The big hearted and madly in love, Shruti, asks for just his love, without any commitments, and they begin a romantic affair. Suddenly, Shruti's father enters the picture and spoils the entire scenario, turning a good-looking love story into a hate story and a crime drama. Will Siddhant and Shruti ever be together again? Find out all the answers in Mann Kasturi Re.
Mann Kasturi Re is not a badly written script, but it is not that good either. It has its own set of flaws and fairly working parts, but most of them surrender before the outdated ideas. The first 3 meetings of Siddhant and Shruti are so casual, and yet she falls in love with him in no time. The next thing we have is her losing him for a while and catching up at college in the next scene. The flirting begins in top gear; hence, it looks inorganic. Soon they fall deeply in love, which you have no idea about until they go on to make physical love. Then the most illogical portion appears at the intermission block when Shruti and Siddhant have a fight. Even though the writers have given a clarification on Shruti's words at the end, we still leave the cinema hall without knowing why Siddhant behaved so aggressively. The second half starts on a slow note but thankfully ends with a fulfilling conclusion, and because it's a sad one, we accept it otherwise.
Talking about performance, Tejasswi's debut is not bad. Her energy and cuteness while delivering dialogue win you over, and her fans are going to love it like anything. However, the flow, stability, and maturity are missing, so there's a long way to go for Teja. Abhinay Berde looks handsome and performs well within limits. He is yet to play a challenging part in his career, and the wait continues. The typical chocolate boy image is broken in the second half of the film, but it has less screen time, so he couldn't really explore it to the sky level. Veena Jamkar is one of the finest actresses in Marathi cinema, but here she has got a pretty average role considering her standard. The supporting cast is strictly okay, even with a good talent like Rajashri Deshpande fumbling with a few dialogues.
Chinar-Mahesh have delivered many hit songs in Marathi cinema, and they know how to create youthful music. The duo has given a below average score here, while composer Shor's "Naad Lagla" is an energetic number with ultra-artificial visuals, but the audio is decent. The romantic ballad, "Rang Laagla" is a soulful song with situational impact. The editing is quite impressive considering the below-par writing. Saket Mane could have worked on nuances in the screenplay and execution. Teja would look beautiful even while waking up from the bed, how? Abinay would get into trouble so easily, yet no concrete evidence is provided. Something called "CCTV" footage, an autopsy, and call records would have helped, but such basic details are missed. As a whole, Mann Kasturi Re is strictly for lovebirds who have the heart as the most active part of their body. It definitely manages to break it with emotions, despite its so-so writing.
RATING - 5/10*
