It has been over a century since C. V. Joshi created the most famous literary character of Maharashtra – Chimanrao. This quintessential middle-class clerk is to the Maharashtra what Feluda is to the Bengal and Swamy is to the Karnataka – though their genres are a distant apart. Chimanrao, a common man serving under the British masters and running the household as thousands of his generation did, is always the butt of the jokes and precarious situations because of his innocence and misplaced priorities. However, it brings out the deficiencies and righteousness imbibed in every educated and civil citizen which remain unmanifest because of want of situation.
In the era of Facebook and WhatsAap, where the innocence gives way to the utilitarianism and pragmatism, the humorous idealism and dreamy naiveté have become a thing of the past. It seemed buried under a layer of forgetfulness.
Sandook, the movie released on June 5, has scratched this layer if not unearthed it and brought back those lovable features and guiltless nastiness on the scene. As I write this, the movie is about to complete its first week and going by the response it is receiving, it seems to make a good stay at the multiplexes.
Sandook is the story of Wamanrao Ashtaputre, a gullible and chronic daydreamer, living with his wife and about-to-become teen son. The movie relies on a plot rooted in the British era, the 1940s, and exploits the ironies, idiosyncrasy and discomfiture of the protagonist to the hilt. It is amply supplemented with the dose of mystery but that part of the film has not come out as strongly as the comical situation have.
Wamanrao's is a lineage of the illustrious men who have registered valor and bravery during the respective periods of Wamanrao's ancestors. As is the way of the Maharashtrians, Wamanrao is too fond of the history and is deeply into eulogizing the glory of his ancestors even to the point of worship. How he nurtures an ambition to join the league of brave hearts, occupied in no small measure by his ancestors, forms the plot of the movie.
Sumit Raghvan is one of the shining stars of the galaxy of non-Maharashtrians who have enriched the Marathi movie and drama world. This is his first Marathi movie but with his acting prowess, he has adeptly illumined this crisply-written and well-executed movie. He is superbly supported by a big star cast including Sharad Ponkshe, Bhargavi Chirmule and Arun Nalawade. The language, the manners and the ambiance takes you to the typical Maharashtrian home of past. The chemistry between Raghvan and Chirmule is amazing.
Their skirmishes of the husband-wife duo as also Wamanrao's frequent misadventures are the stuff what one calls the clean comedy. It is bereft of any slapstick mannerisms or dual-meaning words. The scenes and dialogues are canned in a manner befitting the life a non-descript person who makes fool of himself in an attempt to write a glaring chapter in the history. True to the spirit of the script, Raghvan brings out the suppressed desire of doing something manly and at the goose-like nature of the protagonist. His expressions and dialogue delivery speak volumes about his experience as a stage artist. One wishes to see this multi-talented artist more on Marathi screen in the future also.
Thankfully, the movie has only two songs and they have come out well.
The entire characterization of Wamanrao, portrayed by Raghvan, is in the line of Charlie Chaplin. It is also reminiscent of the Chimanrao and especially his verbal duals with Shyamrao (Sharad Ponkshe) remind of the duals between Chimanrao and Gundyabhau.
There are some discrepancies but they do not obstruct the enjoyment. For example, any married man in 1940s did not have just one son in the family as also the over-friendliness in the father-son duo are also not from that period.
All in all, Sandook is a must watch movie for all Marathi movie aficionados.
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