For the past couple of years, the quality of Marathi cinema has been steadily improving. In fact, on an average Marathi movies have been way better than the ones in Hindi, in terms of themes and storylines. I think the trend began with widely appreciated movies like ‘Shwaas’, ‘7 Chya Aat Gharaat’, and ‘Devrai’ and continued with serious as well as comedy movies like ‘Sarivar Sari’, ‘Dombivli Fast’, ‘Kaydyaacha Bola’, ‘Pak Pak Pakaak’, ‘Navra Majha Navsacha’, ‘Nital’, ‘Bayo’, ‘Maati Maay’, ‘Thaang’, ‘Restaurant’ et al. Every single one of these movies deals with a different theme rather than the same old hero-heroine-comedian-villain showdown.

Today, I watched Savalee (Shadow), which has been playing in Pune for a few months now. It is a mature tale about a talented young girl called Sanika growing up in the shadow of her singer-mother’s fame. Like a sapling that doesn’t mature in the shade of a mighty oak, Sanika fears she is being stifled by her mother’s reputation as a first rate classical singer. Though a competent singer herself, constant comparisons with her mother leave her feeling inadequate. She tries to break out of the golden cage by distancing herself from her mother’s gharana and experimenting with pop and fusion music. Both of them feel the pain of cutting the cords, especially when another student of the maestro is nominated to carry on the tradition of the gharana.

The movie that resulted from this theme of course has a lot of beautiful songs set to music by Ashok Patki, and brought to life by such stalwarts like Arti Tikekar Anklikar, Devaki Pandit, and Sawani Shende. Check out the soundtrack here. What these movies lack though is technical finesse… the acting could be understated rather than melodramatic. The art direction could be less tacky. And these comments are generally valid for many new-age Marathi movies. But all is not lost, since the Marathi film industry has its basics right. Technical tweaking, will come with time and experience… hopefully soon!

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~ Anagha Bhat.