Bioscope – A poetic Treat

Bioscope – A poetic Treat

When you are treated on the poetry of Gulzar sab, Mirza Galib, Sant Dyaneshwar, Kishor Kadam, Guru Thakur, Lokanath Yashwant and Sandeep Khare (in that order) in a couple of hours movie then poetry lovers amongst us are ought to burp out the joy of satisfaction.

Gulzar sab’s नज्मे (poetry) beautifully bind the four stories together and he is also a narrator and recites his own नज्मे and the translated poems of other three Marathi poets in his loving baritone voice .

This film will remind you of ‘Bombay Talkies’ – a Bollywood movie made on the occasion of 100 years of Indian cinema. Four directors, Four Stories, one movie. The difference is that these stories are based on the interpretations of four different poems of four different poets by the these directors.

If I have to rate the individual movies then 2 are nice, 1 is good and 1 is outright ‘bakwas’.

  

Dil-e-Nadan

This Gajendra Ahire’s film is as much a visual treat as a poetic one. An Indori house of a forgotten classical singer, its décor and artifacts speak to you like a character of the movie. This could easily pass as Neena Kulkarn’s one of the finest performance. She is extra ordinary in the movie. Even the veteran Suhas Palshikar is brilliant. ‘दिल-ए-नादाँ तूझे हुआ क्या हैं। आखिर इस दर्द की दवाँ क्या हैं।’ (O mad heart what has happened to you? ultimately what is the cure for this pain) - Dil-e-Nada a poem by Galib sab beautifully amalgamates with the story.

एक होता काऊ (literally - There was a crow)

This is the worst movie of all the four, though it has one of the strongest one line theme of ‘a love blossoming between a black (that’s why kou), and an ugly looking guy and a good looking girl’. We have to accept their unbaked / unjustified love story because writer-director – Viju Mane has decided to show us the love blossoming between the protagonists without bothering to give us any reasons for it. Kishor Kadam’s way of reciting a poem is getting monotonous because of his peculiar and not so lovable voice. Agreed, he portrays a ‘kau’ through his recitation, there wasn’t a need to record a love themed poem  in his shrill voice. This movie also has a poem by ‘the great Sant Dyaneshwar’ but the music by Sohan Pathak is so loud that I could not hear a single word of it. The entire movie has been shot with some low-cost camera and thus gives it a cheap look.  

बैल (Bull)

This film, based on the poem of Loknath Yashwant on farmer suicides takes you to the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra. It might give some food for thoughts to the farmers who choose / forced to choose suicide as the ultimate resort to end their pain. The entire story unfolds from the point of view of 'a Bail' – a Bull. Mangesh Kadam rightly depicts the character of a farmer burdened with the loan. Vidarbhi Marathi used in the film is sweet to your ears and could be easily understood. The story also has a song of Guru Thakur. Overall director Girish Mohite has done a justice to the tale.

मित्रा (a male friend)

This movie is based on the ‘ahead of the age’ story of the same name by the veteran writer Vijay Tendulkar. Director Ravi Jadhav has intelligently shot the entire movie in a gray tone giving the righteous feel of Independce era. After stupid and dumb ‘Time Pass series’ movies we could finally see a director who has made the movies like Natarang, Balgandharva and BP. Mrunmayee Deshpande – true to her character 'Urmi Shah' looks fabulous in the entire movie. Vina Jamkar is good as Mitraa but the surprise package is not 'poet' but ‘actor’ Sandeep Khare. The youthfulness of his 'Vinya' is so convincing that it will remind you of ‘Rancho of 3 Idiots’. He has done a great job and I wonder how come industry missed such a nice actor for so long. His poem ‘ऊदासीत या कोणता रंग आहे, तुला ठाव नाही मला ठाव नाही’ (what is the color of this depressing mood, You don’t know and neither do I) is intelligently used in the story. This poem on the tune of Salil Kulkarni keeps you haunting for a long time even after leaving the cinema hall.

Over all a good attempt.