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Review: Pawn Sacrifice

A fine piece of work on chess, battling a mental illness and becoming a champion, this one is a must-watch.
by Ravi Shet

Rating: 4 out of 5

Director Edward Zwick’s Pawn Sacrifice is a film based on rise and fall of American chess legend, Bobby Fischer. Young Bobby (Aiden Lovekamp) stays with his mother sister in Brooklyn. Bobby becomes a chess champion at the age of 12, but his home life is in turmoil owing to his mother’s relationship with another man. He even orders her out of the home because he needs complete peace and quiet to focus on chess.

In 1962, the adult Bobby (Tobey Maguire) goes to Bulgaria for a chess championship event, but he leaves mid-way after accusing the Russians of cheating. Vowing never to play chess again, he lives in ignominy for three years before lawyer Paul Marshall (Michael Stuhlbarg) approaches Bobby and asks him to represent his country in a chess tournament. Paul even arranges a meeting of Bobby with William Lombardy (Peter Sarsgaard), an American grandmaster and a priest.

 

Bobby agrees to participate in the match as part of a US and Soviet Union diplomacy initiative. Soviet Union gives star treatment to Boris Spassky (Liev Schreiber), Soviet Grandmaster and world champion while Fischer has to depend on donations and cheap lodgings. In the match, however, Boris loses to Bobby badly and leaves the venue. This sets the stage for a classic rivalry between the two players, culminating in the legendary Game 6 match that still enjoys cult status in the chess world.

Tobey Maguire is top notch in portraying’s Bobby’s many insecurities and frustration. The film is paced well, focussing on Bobby’s genius and a mind hard at work thinking up chess moves and also battling its own demons. This is a must-watch for lovers of great acting and excellent storytelling.

(Picture courtesy hypebeast.com)

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Film

Vaajlaach Paahije – Game Ki Shinema

A story that tries to highlight the sleazy side of the film world, the film fails spectacularly at every level.
by Ravi Shet

Rating: 2 out of 5

As stories go, this one had the potential to be both a laugh fest and a thought-provoking critique on the ills of the movie world. However, this film does neither and is merely an excruciating watch for the audience.

Vaajlaach Paahije – Game Ki Shinema (directed by R Viraj) starts with struggling director Makarand Thokare aka Yash (Rajesh Bhosale) auditioning actors for an upcoming film. Sitting in on the auditions is Raj (Chinmay Udgirkar), a struggling actor himself. Yash and Raj are desperately looking for a producer who can finance their film. During their hunt for a producer, they meet moneybags producer Bhau Damdar (Bhalchandra Kadam), who is in the business only to get intimate with pretty girls.

Bhau agrees to finance the duo’s film on the condition that they get a beautiful heroine for it. He also hands over an advance payment to the duo so that the heroine can be brought in quickly.

 

Raj goes out to look for ‘suitable’ faces and finalises Supriya (Girija Joshi) – but Supriya has an ulterior motive up her sleeve. Pretending that she needs the role because she is poor, she also accepts that Raj is infatuated with her. Meanwhile, Yash is at his wits’ end because Bhau rejects each script he brings, before saying that he wants the film to be made on a truly terrible script, ‘Nal Damayanti – The Intimate Love Story’.

Bhau is excited about meeting the girl for the film, but there is a shock in store when Yash and Supriya turn out to be siblings. By this time, Yash has decided to make a film on the sly without their producer knowing about it, and also to save his sister from Bhau’s clutches.

R Viraj has tried hard to bring Dada Kondke’s style of cinema back with this film, however he fails miserably at the attempt. Bhalchandra Kadam delivers a good performance as a filthy producer. Apart from some funny moments, the film falls flat in every possible way. Also, the innuendo in the dialogues is forced and completely unfunny.

(Picture courtesy starblockbuster.com)

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Film

Review: Tu Hi Re

A film about having a secret past and making peace with circumstances, Tu Hi Re is a good love story.
by Ravi Shet

Rating: 3 out of 5

Tu Hi Re is a story about love, arranged marriage and fidelity.

The film starts with Nandini (Sai Tamhankar), a village belle who gets a marriage proposal from Mumbai-based boy Siddharth Desai (Swwapnil Joshi). Her family is happy that the boy is not asking for a dowry and is well settled in Mumbai, while Nandini is upset because it is her dearest ambition to have a love marriage. Siddharth marries Nandini without even meeting or talking her once. On their first night, Siddharth is uncommunicative, but Nandini expresses her feelings about their sudden marriage and how she was initially unhappy.

The story then moves ahead by 8 years. Siddharth and Nandini have a happy married life in Mumbai with their bubbly daughter Pihu (Mrunal Jadhav). Nandini finds a job in a hotel while Siddharth is an engineer in a textile company. Enter MLA Kamlakar Bhanushali (Girish Oak), who tells Siddharth that he can get the latter’s company more funds if he leaves his wife. This upsets Siddharth, who is further rattled when he sees the MLA at mall shortly after. Suddenly, his behaviour changes towards his wife and daughter. Finally, Nandini confronts him but he does not reveal the reason for his behaviour.

 

The next day, Nandini receives a package at home and is shocked at the contents: inside are a few pictures of Siddharth garlanding another girl. She later finds out that the girl is Bhairavi (Tejaswini Pandit), and she is MLA Bhanushali’s daughter. What happens next forms the crux of the story.

Sanjay Jadhav’s direction and screenplay are very good, and the film has some great background music. The performance are top notch – Sai Tamhankar and Swwapnil Joshi excel in their respective roles, and while the other actors lend good support as well. The film is a one-time watch and a good treat for fans of Sai Tamhankar and Swwapnil Joshi.

(Picture courtesy filmcollection.in)

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Film

Review: Dholki

A man who produces dholki notes with his bare hands? This film has an interesting story marred by boring execution.
by Ravi Shet

Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Dholki, directed by Raju and Vishal Desai, is a comedy drama set in a village in Maharashtra. The film starts with a bhajan in a temple where villagers from different sections have come together. Lalya (Siddharth Jadhav) who has come with his mother (Jyoti Chandekar) is seen sleeping in the temple premises; however villagers rouse him. He prays to God and tells to forgive the villagers, since they have awakened him and God. Lalya is a lazy man, often referred to as ‘Kumbhakaran’ by the villagers; however he is also honest and straightforward. His mother tells the villagers that he has no job at hand, so she doesn’t mind if he sleeps all the time.

Wealthy Patil (Sayaji Shinde) of the village tries to get Lalya a job in the school. The head master of the school tells Lalya to produce his education certificate so that he can give him a job. While searching for the certificate at his home, he accidentally finds a dholki that belonged to his late father. Initially, he is puzzled to see the dholki, however he enjoys playing it. On hearing the sound, his mother intervenes and makes him promise never to touch it again.

 

After this, Lalya becomes aware of a special power in his hands – when he hits a surface, one can hear a dholki play in lavani style. On his mother’s advice, he starts practicing on the dholki for bhajans; however the moment his hands touch it, the dholki produces lavani notes. At this juncture, the good looking Lalibai (Manasi Naik) who owns a tamasha group is impressed by Lalya’s talent and gets him to join their shows.

The first half of the film is paced well, but the second half falls flat. Redeeming factors are the music by Tubby Parikh and cinematography by Rahul Jadhav. Siddharth Jadhav does an excellent job and carries the film on his shoulders. Other than these, there is little to recommend in this film.

(Picture courtesy www.marathidhamaal.com)

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Film

Review: Kaun Kitney Paani Mein

An excellent premise – the concept of ‘water wars’ in the near future – is waylaid by lazy, inconsistent storytelling.
by Ravi Shet

Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Kaun Kitney Paani Mein, directed by Nila Madhab Panda, is a satire based on the issue of water scarcity and how the power equation shifts with it. Set in Odisha, the audiences are introduced to two villages – Upri and Bairi – having a history of shared differences and which are separated by a wall.

Upri is a village housing wealthy people, while’s Bairi residents are poor. Most of the latter have been working for the former. However, a massive drought hits the area and this changes the power equation between the two villages. Upri has exhausted its water sources and does not have an alternative, while Bairi has been using its water wisely and also creating storage facilities for it.

 

In Upri, the once well-to-do Braj Singh Deo (Saurabh Shukla), the raja of the village is now penniless, however, he still has a servant who helps him dress and adjust his fake moustache. He wants to sell his drought-affected village, but there are no takers because there is no water there. Meanwhile, Bairi is prospering under aspiring politician Kharu Pahelwan (Gulshan Grover) where the land is fertile and where there is a good supply of water. Braj Singh Deo devises a plan to get hold of the water from Bairi which involves his son Raj (Kunal Kapoor) trapping Paro (Radhika Apte), daughter of Kharu Phelwan, in love.

The first half of the film is a bit boring, but the pace picks up in the second half. With an excellent premise, director Panda injects the story with humour and empathy. The dialogues by Rahul Singh are top notch, as are a few stray scenes, most of which feature Saurabh Shukla, who carries his character very well. Radhika Apte and Gulshan Grover are good, too. This is a one-time watch only, especially for its performances and the wonderfully choreographed ‘Rangapati’.

(Picture courtesy www.ibnlive.com)

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Film

Review: Dhinchak Enterprise

A good storyline and decent performances cannot save this slipshod, inconsistent film which does not do justice to the plot.
by Ravi Shet

Rating: 2 out of 5

Dhinchak Enterprise, written and directed by Nishant Devidas Sapkale, is the story of Vishal Patil (Bhushan Pradhan) who works as a salesman in a company called Zarco which produces slimming tablets. He starts his own venture named Dhinchak Enterprise. The film starts with Jignesh (Khurshed Lawyer) meeting a producer (Anant Jog) at his residence to narrate an interesting story based on reality.

Vishal gets the ‘Employee of the Month’ award and Jignesh is one of his colleagues and best buddy. A new batch of trainees joins the company and Vishal gets excited since he gets Meera Tandel (Manavi Naik) to work with him; however Meera’s feelings towards him are the exact opposite. They go together for field work so that Meera can learn how to sell the products. When Vishal tries to flirt with Meera, she tells him to focus on the job at hand. But soon, the two fall in love.

 

One day, Vishal is fired from the job because he was absent from a client meeting to help a road accident victim. Vishal soon starts his own company – Dhinchak Enterprise – with help from Meera and Jignesh. But the success of the company turns everything sour.

Just before the interval, you are introduced to the formation of the new company. All the twists and turns are thrown pell mell into the story in the second half. The pace of the movie does not gel with the plot, which has been treated shoddily. Save for Bhushan Pradhan’s performance and a few funny scenes, there is very little to recommend in this film.

(Picture courtesy www.justmarathi.com)

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