Mee Shivaji Raje Bhosale Boltoy
The theaters were running house full. My friends asked me to watch the movie ‘Mi Shivaji Raje Bhosale Boltoy’ [Shivaji speaking].
It was obvious that this was based on the ‘Munnabhai….’ theme. In Lage Raho Munnabhai, Mahatma Gandhi secretly mentors and guides the protagonist, Munnabhai to do good deeds. This arrangement opens infinite possibilities for humor as well as spreading message of good deeds and positively influencing world around you by adopting non-violence. It is handled very deftly and which lead to success at box office.
Shivaji, the demi-god for millions, stands for courage, for valour, for turning table on his enemies, for independence. It was a great idea to plan a movie on the lines of Munnabhai. An ordinary citizen, particularly the residents of Mumbai, feels helpless in the face of a corrupt government, builders’ lobby and insensitivity to his problems.
So the scenario had everything going for Manjrekar, the producer and Director who also plays the role of Shivaji. The film begins by showing how ‘Marathi Manoos’ is humiliated by one and all [mainly the people from other states]. He is hounded by builder-underworld combine to give up his old home at prime location. This is when he decides to fight back and is blessed by Shivaji Raje himself. In difficult situations, he is inspired by the events in Shivaji’s life and adopts a strategy to fight inspired by them. The script would have been great if they had not over emphasised ‘Marathi Manoos’ [let me clarify that I am one too] and ended the movie by giving people a message that they must elect their representatives at assembly and parliament who are responsible towards the citizens.
Even if they had not emphasised the marathi manoos to this extent the message would have reached the masses, after all only marathi people will be watching this movie. Subtlety of message is not the strength of this film. On the positive side, the technical aspects seem to be good, dialogues are exceptionally well written. Film may be worth watching once, but I returned home feeling that a good plot was not fully exploited, and yes perhaps the director seems to be campaigning for MNS, a local political party that is championing the cause of marathi manoos! That does not go well with me in a commercial movie.
A good ball in cricket often does not take the wicket. This is metaphorically speaking such a ball.
The ‘marathi manoos’ theme scares me a bit too, just ‘cos of the regional emphasis. Munnabhai was fun, the character appeal was widespread… will keep an eye out for this movie, and hopefully, the not- so- subtle message is not too overly stated:)
Liked the metaphor in the last two lines, Vivekji:)
On the contrary, I felt that the movie diluted (rather than over-emphasized) the whole ‘marathi manoos’ theme in the second half and degenerated into a standard common man v/s system struggle, wherein the whole impact of the movie went down more than a few notches !!!
You may want to read my review at my blog !!!
Regards
Amit
The movie is good and we all enjoyed it.
One should not discourage if some one trying to pass on message that as MARATHI Manus, we should support each to stand up.
We support this movie and appriciate the Efforts taken in that direction.
It is always good to be proud of your language and culture, but not at the cost of other cultures and languages. As you rightly say, subtlety is not the strong point of such movies (or such self-appointed-messiahs.
छत्रपती शिवाजी महाराज म्हणजे मराठी माणसांचे दैवत. त्यात मराठी माणसांना आपल्यावर सतत अन्याय होत आहे याचा भयगंड तो त्यांच्या नेत्यांनी त्यांना पटवुन दिलेला.
अश्या प्रकारचे चित्रपट न चालतील तर नवलच. मराठी माणसांना या अश्या प्रकारच्या कलाकॄती फार भावतात.
HARE KRISHNAJI SARAKHI MANASE MANAJE MAHARASHTRATALI KIDLELI VANGE AHET. YANA KON SANGATO SHANPANA KARAYALKA .
Dear Anonymous,
Two things must be remembered: It is childish to accept anything as totally good or bad. A mature view will always look at both positives and negatives.
Secondly the debate has to be on merits, we cannot take it to personal level expressing hatred and contempt. It is precisely this aspect missing from any debate involving maharashtrians. And it is unfortunate because we maharashtrians do not get understood.
No personal comments are welcome on this blog. A good reasoned debate certainly, yes!
Vivek
I felt that it was a lengthy movie, could have been shortened a bit. The climax was a bit of a dud. But Mahesh Manjrekar was amazing.
I am a Southie and I went for the movie on the day of the release. In fact, I have been waiting for the release of this movie ever since I heard about it in The Times.
I did not feel left out in the movie because of the Marathi Manoos theme. But the first 20 minutes of the movie disgusted me. It smacked of regionalism. Shivaji Raje’s entry changes everything..!
I don’t think the Marathi Manoos has suffered, Indians suffer throughout the country. My Mum argues and proves that Tamils are the most oppressed people in India and the Marathis enjoy undue attention. In the Movie, they proved the exact opposite..!
My point is.. regionalism is the bane of Indian Politics. I have never seen the Indians to be more disunited before..! It pains me..!
A good subject may have lost its edge due to politicizing it. After staying away from MS for last 10 years, I see need to look at India as a whole instead of state-by-state. The state spirit is needed but not at the expense of country.
Debating without getting personally involved is a skill known to select few in the world; if not in India.
The movie is a good watch, with some excellent individual performances & dialogues. However, one gets the feeling that the director got carried away with the power he has over the film's characters. Showing the common man as an avatar of Shivaji himself was a bit too much for my liking.
Hopefully, the original message that the director intended to convey to the audience will filter through.