Katyar Kaljat Ghusli - Music & Magic Interwoven

Katyar Kaljat Ghusli is the movie you need to watch to get a taste, a flavour, an initiation into the richness of Marathi Theater. This movie, rich in music, that it inherited from the 40 year old play, complimented by some brilliant acting, dialogues and direction is an absolute treat to watch.

Back in early 90s, my father had bought a cassette which had compilation of Pandit Vasantrao Deshpande's songs who had played Khan Saaheb's role in the original play. I loved the songs but then I had only heard Khan Saaheb's versions but that ensured I headed to the cinema hall to see this movie.

It ensures the dagger of music is drawn deep into your mind. What a terrific movie this is that I am fumbling for words in this post. The music is still playing in my head.

It starts with this brilliant Ganpati bhakti geet, "Sur Niragas Ho" by Shankar Mahadevan.

The movie tells a tale of 2 maestros competing for the position of the Kingdom's top singer and the King's Dagger. Both are almost equal but there is only one winner. The competition turns sour with rising ambition of one of them and then the drama unfolds.

The story is set in the 19th century in the pre-Independence era. The King, Queen and the Darbaar are excellent with the debates, the discussions and a prevalent sense of upholding justice. The acting is of the highest caliber here. 

In this star-studded affair, Sachin Pilgaonkar stands out as Khan Saaheb - a fantastic singer who deserves accolades for his singing but a vain and arrogant man. His performance is something I have never seen before from any actor. He deserves every award that can be given for acting. And don't dilute it by categorizing acting - hero, support, villain... - his performance is the best performance that can be!

Shankar Mahadevan as Panditji is stellar and so is the director-actor Subodh Bhave as Sadashiv. 

I have special praise for the supporting cast - Amruta Khanvilkar as Zareena, Mrunmayi Deshpande as Uma, Pushkar Shrotri as Kaviraj, Sakshi Tanwar as Khansaaheb's wife and the King and the Queen.

Subodh Bhave, the director-actor of this movie, makes me immensely proud. He has been a key contributor to the decade old rise of the Marathi art - cinema, theater or TV. I look up to him for more such artistic creations. I am sure he and his team will not disappoint us.

Before you leave this page.... don't miss to hear these 2 versions of the immortal song "Ghei Chhand Makarand." As a child I had only heard Khan Saaheb's version. For the first time in the movie did I hear Panditji's version (which is the first in this youtube video). As the song completes, I had goosebumps, a tear in my eye and my throat choked. Such is the power of great singing. And great singing is all that this movie is about.

I urge you to go to the nearest cinema hall to enjoy the movie in its fullest. 

Kaksparsh - Movie Review

Sunday evening went viewing the new film Kaksparsh.

Kaksparsh - the title translates as the Crow's Touch - people with knowledge of Hindu customs would identify this with a custom that happens after the death of a person. This is probably the Golden Era of the Marathi Cinema. Having seen Deool, Natrang, Valu in recent past.... the addition of Kaksparsh is a welcome addition.

Mahesh Manjrekar breaks new ground by reciting this haunting tale of love and sacrifice on the big screen. So power packed is the impact of this story that the scenes and dialogues keep coming back to your mind hours after you have left the theatre. Before this, there was English Patient that left such a haunting memory in my mind.

Coming to the movie, it starts in, I think, 1930s and goes on till early 1950s. The movie is set in verdant Konkan region of Maharashtra. The backdrop of the village, the customs, the clothes, the local involvement with freedom struggle, boat travel and other such things set up the tone of the movie.

The story starts with a tragedy striking a newly married couple of Mahadev and Uma, where Mahadev dies on his first night after his wife Uma reaches puberty. Mahadev's elder brother, Hari, is a well known and respected elder of the village. He breaks tradition and protects Uma from being forced to tonsure her head as a widow as per the customs of the time. Not just that he becomes inaccessible to opinions on how to treat Uma. He is authoritarian and does not allow any decision to be taken by anyone when it comes to Uma. This lasts for almost 2 decades and each development in family, the village only puts the entire village and us, the viewers, confused and perplexed about his motives. The denouement is perfect, if you have the guts to digest such a story.

The critical question this movie asks is about relationships and marriage. The movie tries to explore the topic of existence of love and how it manifests between two individuals. I must say, it is a very difficult topic and has been brilliantly handled by Mahesh Manjrekar.

Now the actors - Sachin Khedekar has delivered the performance of his lifetime. I easily put this in the ना 

भूतो ना भविष्याती category for him. He is astonishing as the hardnosed, principled, unshakeable Kartaa purush of the family.

Ketaki Mategaonkar and Priya Bapat both as the young widow, Uma, deliver stellar performances. With so little dialogue your way, both these ladies have shown rich expression through eyes and body language.

The supporting cast is also very good and completes the story - the villagers, a local villain, Hari's freedom fighter friend, and his family members.

Go watch it, but only if you want a serious treatise of a difficult topic.

Trailer:

Limping Cow - Mumbai, Maharashtra...

So yesterday, I decide to hop on one of those 10 kmph BEST A/C buses to my work (The procurement guys in BEST deserve a Nobel for these 10kmph buses. These buses allow you correctly calculate the time you will spend on the road irrespective of the traffic conditions...that is because they go at 10kmph. Nobel my dear reader...nothing less). 

I go check the schedule, speak to the good man at the depot and there are 7 mins for the next bus.

I decide to wait. There is a bus in the depot and it starts at the time, makes 2 rounds within the depot and goes back to parking. I wait. This is 10 mins. past the scheduled time, I go and inquire again and they say in few minutes. Well it turns out, they had cancelled the bus. The next bus was 30mins. later.  And they cared damn  about the passengers.

Arguing with BEST is useless at best and hopeless at worst. BEST prides itself to be the best public bus transport company in India.But you know the fact is exactly that and only that much. It is and can be the best one only in India. Step out to leaders in public transport like Singapore or London and BEST will rank where India ranks in most other scales. And this incident summarizes the story of Mumbai today.

A proverb in Marathi says, "Vaasrat langdi gaay shahaani." Loosely translated, "A limping cow is a leader amongst the calves". That is what Mumbai is and Maharashtra is. It is only basking in the glory of its past. I think the past created in last 2 centuries. 

We all know about the able and adarsh leadership we have today. If you feel I am too harsh, then here is a challenge - Keep them as ideal and give their example to your children for next 5 years. If you cannot, accept I am right. Really, is there any leader worth his or her salt in this so called great state. And is there any future? Am I pessimistic, oh yes I am! 

See the roads, the urban infrastructure, the vision (or blindness) of current administrators (no they are not leaders), problems plaguing the state like power, water, employment, crime, land scams....have we even moved from the 70s? And look at other states. With its leadership position, Maharashtra should have been the perpetual outlier in the game, dictating terms to rest of the country....instead what we are is a sorry bunch of guys. Maharashtra and Mumbai are limping cows amongst other calves. Wait till one of them grows up.

Warning - This blog is a rant. But I think this opinion is shared by many....millions.