I am writing this under
the title of Cineblog as being a viewer, I can't keep myself out of the
Sairat's making and watching experience, and thus my review is a bit longish.
Right from the first time I've seen the Sairat teaser back in Jan '16 I was
mesmerized, and have been trying to find out more and more about Sairat. No, I
didn’t watch the earlier 2 works of the Director Nagraj Manjule, namely
Pistulya (short film) and Fandry (feature film), but have been always aware of
his prowess as a director. Moreover the 2 minute teaser had the score from the
romantic song 'Yadd Lagla' and I was captivated by the symphony used, and was
wondering if it was actually used from one of the Mozart / Beethoven's work…And
then as all the songs were being released, I could get to see good amount of
content on the YouTube and on TV channels about the movie, the actors and about
Nagraj himself. And all that added to the anxiety and desire to watch this
movie named 'Sairat'.
Well I couldn’t made
it to first day first show, which I wanted to (not the usual me :-)) and almost
missed the first weekend, but somehow could get just one ticket (third row from
front (again not the usual me!) and that’s the only one left) for the afternoon
show today, at the usual multiplex. All the shows were house-full through-out
the day (even the 10 PM shows were having only front rows available) across
most of the theatres in Pune.
Now let's talk about
the movie….
This has been
projected as a romantic musical, and it definitely is! But… It's also a
thriller, with strange bits of comedy, politics, khandaan et all. The movie has
very characteristic start and ending. I'd rather explain the movie in one line,
it's like a glass painting, the side facing you is painted in all the vibrant
colors but then still you can get to see the hues of just one color on the
other side which makes you….nothing less than restless!
It's a story about
Archi (Archana - Rinku Rajguru) and Parashya (Akash Thosar), about their
falling in love with each other, about their friends, family and enemies. The
first half is the vibrant façade of the painting which moves at a modest pace -
building, describing the characters, sprinkles of comedy, blossoming the love
between Archie and Parshya, and off course taking us through all the 4 cracker
of songs.
The second half is
about the unexpected struggle of both Archi and Parshya and then unfolding of
the grey, dark hues which actually moves
you deep within.
Rinku Rajguru and
Akash Thosar both have been the highlight of the movie - It's the first movie
for both with no prior movie background. They have literally lived Archi and
Parshya on screen. Rinku is only 15
years (9th grade) and Akash a few
years elder to her in real life. Especially the dominating, brash girl (drives
bullet, SUV, Tractor and is a bit reckless) and a more composed boy - these
characters themselves are unheard of at least in Marathi movies, and both have
enliven those by their immense talent. While Rinku has already received the
National award for Best Jury award in her first movie, I suppose Akash has a
great potential to become the super hero of Marathi cinema, might do good
supporting roles in Hindi as well.
The next amazing
thing that can happen to this movie is it's music. It's like re-incarneted
Ajay-Atul after Chikni Chameli etc. who have actually helped in making the
painting so vibrant in the first half with 3 romantic numbers ('Atach Baya ka'
'Yaad Laglaa' and 'Sairat Zala ji') and 1 would be this year's super-hit at the
Dance clubs ('Zingaat' - But Nothing
beats Awaaj Wadhav DJ from Poshter Girl :-)). 'Atach Baya Ka' is more of a Pop
number sung by Shreya Ghoshal, 'Yaad Laglaa' has the acclaimed symphony and
Ajay's textured rural voice, 'Sairaat Zala ji' is a super-melodious Indian
romantic number with some Western fusion and in the super smooth vocals by
Chinmayee Shripada (Zehnaseeb from Hasee to Phasee) and 'Zhingaat' is sung by
Ajay-Atul is their rocking voice, well this time fusion of Synthesizer,
trumpets and Tasha (Drums in rural Maharashtra). Ajay-Atul's dream and insistence about
recording some of these songs at the studios in Los Angeles (can't believe it
was just 3 hours affair at the studio !!) have made the songs quite distinct
and treat to the years. Will be in peoples memory for long.
Cinematography in
many scenes (not every frame though) is again futuristic for the Marathi movie,
especially top angle and super slow-mo shots, the way all the songs are shot,
Chopper / Drone shot capturing the Sunset in 'Sairat Zaala ji' - In fact this one is a beautiful combination of music and visuals, when the camera is moving towards the water body, the music heightens the mood and once the camera hovers over the lake facing the Sun, the music becomes very soothing, leaving you to traverse to the eternity. Also the scenes at the water
bodies and the farms, and the way birds are captured across the length of the
movie typically the murmuration (flocks of hundreds / thousands flying in
rhythm) is very symbolic. Well barring the last sequence.
But what stands out
- None other than the Writer / Director of the movie. The kind of hold Nagraj
has on the movie is scintillating. He makes all of us think, believe, laugh and
cry the way he wants and when he wants. I was actually so engrossed from the
beginning, that I was almost clapping in the very first sequence of a Village
level Cricket match being played and the local 'Billy Bowden' umpiring there.
And then it actually becomes a roller coaster ride of emotions. His prowess is
supreme in showing this 2 faceted glass painting with vibrant and dark shades
in the same movie. It made me think quite a few times if I'm watching an
anthology movie like 'Dus Kahaniyaan' or 'Bombay Talkies' etc. If there are 10
more Nagraj in India, Indian movies would rule the world within next 10 years,
instead of me waiting for it to happen for lifetime. I just hope he'll make at
least 1 movie / year than having made 2 movies (and 1 short film) in last 6 odd
years. His story line is reminiscent of
the Shakespeare plays (with comic and dark shades) and the story telling
somewhat resembles Mani Ratnam for the emotions, sensitivity and Vishal
Bhardwaj for the raw appeal of the characters
and the violence.
The epitome of his
direction is when the movie starts making you so restless and makes you so
anxious that even while you can guess what can happen, somewhere within, you
don’t want to 'expect the unexpected'.
he other small but impact-full aspect is costumes - gives a very natural tone to the movie, however like the way Parshya's outfits, typically shirts are designed - That's not expensive / branded stuff, but still good enough to make the statement. Didn't check the credits, but somehow feel Nagraj must have owned the Costume department as well, as it's so true to the habitat and the storyline.
Well while saying
that…. A few niggles….And if I'd have been the Executive Producer
- The length of the movie would have been ~2.15 hrs instead of 2.54 hrs now.
- Editing is probably the weakest link and I'd say Nagraj being the Producer must have taken the liberty on the editing table resulting into the only department where the finesse is not seen.
- I would have made character introduction a bit more easier… Also strange to know that being in the same village many of them know each other only when they are in the First year of the college.
- Some characters behave a little weirdly. Like Parshya suddenly becomes suspicious.
- Would have had at least one song in the 2nd half
- Most roles are played by the villagers / non-actors - Few Dialogues are not audible also being the local dialect
- I'd have made Nagraj making the Symbolic use of the birds in the last sequence.
- Both the leads learn / speak the other language so quickly, that it feels a bit weird
Btw I was banking on
the commercial success based on the 2 minute teaser back in Jan '16. And would
like to congratulate Zee Studios on backing this project. And they will be
rewarded in a huge manner - I would like to see it grossing at least ~75 CRs. They
have already touched one more state in addition to Maharashtra making sure the
bi-lingual benefit for added revenue and they may release it in other South
Indian states considering the story-line and story-telling similarities. Also I
believe even within Maharashtra a lot of non-Marathi audience will be enticed
to watch this owing to powerful music and no good movies during this period at
theater (and when MI and RPS not doing so great in IPLs 9th edition ;). And if
the overseas marketing / release, which should be good considering Zee's venture, I'd further hope it to gross
somewhere around 90 CRs.
Sairat literally
means Stunner (both positively and negatively) - While the first half is a cracker of a show,
the last couple minutes of the movie is actually a deafening silence, watching
which I was so stunned and confounded even while driving back home, in
quite charmed and haunted state.
A must watch to
savor the joy and the 'opposite' just like any Shakespearean masterpiece.
