Harishchandrachi Factory

I throughly enjoyed this film. I don't feel like writing an analytical review about this movie simply because I wasn't thinking and analyzing during the movie - the movie gripped me and I was entertained right from the word go!

After a reallllyyyy long time I laughed so much in a marathi movie. As I have grown, the humor in marathi movies has become slapstick or panchat and I don't remember the last time the humor was so fresh and light hearted without even getting into the vicinity of crude. Actually, I don't remember seeing a hindi movie whose humor has been on similar grounds - since there is a dearth of entertaining movies, you laugh on anything which is remotely funny - for example, pathetic bits of a movie called Wanted.

The story of the movie is nothing to write home about. It is about a guy who made the first ever motion picture in India. It is the story about what he went through from learning about making cinema, convincing people to act, writing a screenplay, and then luring people to watch it - and maybe causing a cultural change in our country. But the treatment given by Paresh Mokashi makes it nothing less than a splendid watch - from the natya sangeet kind of music playing in the background, to the playx2 speed of certain scenes (maybe to depict how movies were in the past or maybe to just shorten the viewing time), to the extremely funny - "streeparti". He has been able to depict the life of Dadasaheb Phalke without any melodrama or showing extreme struggles but at the same time showcasing the hardships he may have faced. Without having read nothing about Dadasaheb Phalke, seeing some rare photographs and knowing that he made the first motion picture, I always thought he would be a serious and intense kind of guy. But to my surprise, he was just another man - but inquisitive, a lil extreme and determined to try and learn something new.

Kudos to Nitin Desai for the amazing set design, to each and every actor who fits into a 1911 role well and playing it even better. Needless to say Nandu Madhav and Vibhawari Deshpande (I liked her in Natarang too) who have depicted their characters with so much ease.

And before I end this review, one thing which I have been wanting to do for a long time - is acknowledge Ronnie Screwwala (of UTV) and his team for giving many such talented film makers (I wouldn't call them simply directors) their due, and exposing us to a variety of great cinema. I think he has definitely a big role to play in this new and matured Indian cinema!

In all a light hearted comedy which will entertain you for two hours!