Movie Review: Baghtos Kay Mujra Kar
Genre: Drama & Political Satire
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Director: Hemant Dhome
There is hardly any movie made till date which gives us a powerful message of respecting our heritage, our forts and historical places where stories of bravery have once unfolded. We love our great leader Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, but do we really try to absorb some of his unique qualities? We try to clean streets, put up clean banners, put stickers on our cars, dance on Shivjayanti, but do we really try to clean up our minds, our souls and think with an open mindset just like our great leader use to think? Secondly, the main difference between Europeans and Indians is, Europeans are proud of their heritage and they take conscious efforts to conserve their historical sites and properties. Forget pride, the basic question is do we even show any civic sense while visiting historical sites? The film reinstates the point that our forts are really in a sorry state these days.
The story is about an upper middle class person named Nanasaheb Deshmukh (Jitendra Joshi). Every night he has a dream in which he sees a horsemen riding and picking up a sword as if, he is leaving for a mission. Nanasaheb worships Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj & his forts. His friends Pandusheth (Aniket Vishwasrao) and Shivraj Vahadne (Akshay Tanksale) understand his worship and decide to make some contribution in rebuilding and cleaning the forts. Every dream comes at a cost. Nanasaheb is a small player in the political nexus, however, it is Pandusheth and Shivraj, who convince him that he can be the next MLA and then he would be in a position to realize his dream. Samsher Patil (Hemant Dhome) is their immediate rival and always tries to overshadow Nanasaheb. Besides this, there is dirty politics and corruption in government departments were Ashwini Kalsekar is shown in power. In his quest to get an MLA ticket, Nanasaheb is constantly told to come up with something big. During a social function, Nanasaheb gets an inspiring idea to bring back the sword of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, which now resides in the British Museum. The daunting task of stealing the sword in order to prove themselves is supported by Pandusheth & Shivraj. The three friends now embark on a journey to London, thinking that they will be able to make a huge difference if they come back with the sword. Will Nanasaheb & group will achieve their mission? Even, if they do achieve, will Nanasaheb get the ticket for MLA? Most important of all, will Nanasaheb’s dream become a reality?
The discussions between the 3 friends on pratapgad fort, the clarity of thoughts and reactions when they see people partying on the fort, the inner desire to clean and maintain the forts are some of the touching moments which we see during the film. The personal sacrifices which the three friends do in order to fulfill their dream has been shown in a subtle way. The film also touches the point that since civics is only for 20 marks in our schools, we don’t even show basic civic sense and end up putting litter anywhere we want.
Jitendra Joshi is a versatile actor and is supported well by Akshay Tanksale. Aniket Vishwasrao is probably at his best and his dialogue delivery and voice modulation is superb. Actress Parna Pethe is impressive as Shivraj’s girlfriend and so are her witty one liners and Hindi movie dialogues. Rasika Sunil who debuted in Marathi Movie Poshter Girl, plays the role of a newly wedded wife of Pandu Sheth & she is a welcome entry in the group of otherwise seasoned star cast. It is once again, Neha Joshi, who strikes right connect with the audience in her role of Nanasaheb’s wife. Neha Joshi is one actress, who can act through her eyes. She was superb in Poshter boyz and continue to leave an impression, no matter how small her role is. Hemant Dhome is decent in the negative role and so is Ashwini Kalsekar & Vikram Gokhale. Sonalee Kulkarni plays a cameo of an Indian, living in London who helps, guides and suggests few things to the 3 tourists. Hemant Dhome is good as a director and there are many scenes which clearly shows his creative side.
Amitraj has given the music and the placement of all songs is perfect. Powada, which is a genre of Marathi poetry is used effectively in the song “Talwar”. The way powada is picturized is relevant in the context, which the story demanded. “Majhya Raja Ra” is the song which touches the right chords. The trailer of this movie was revealed on Sinhagad Fort and the music as well as picturization during the songs do complete justice to the initial idea.
There is a message which has relevance in the current context when we see that the forts in our country, especially in the state of Maharashtra are not well maintained & are misused by a bunch of insane people either as a dumping ground or to do some illicit activities. However, the impact which was expected from this film, gets watered down by the stretched melodrama which goes around to show how the prestigious sword was stolen from British museum.
OVERALL
If there has to be one reason to see “Baghtos Kay… Mujra Kar”, it’s the message which moralises the common man. This movie addresses the issue of conservation of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s forts in Maharashtra which are in bad condition at the moment and require urgent repair as well as cleaning. The film has a wonderful set of actors and the cast works well together to the credit of the director Hemant Dhome. This makes the film, a onetime watch not just for every Maharashtrian but also for anyone living in Maharashtra.
Review written by: Tejas Marathe & Kalyani Mitragotri
