This post is late by one year and a few months! Yes. Ani Dr. Kashinath Ghanekar (translates to ‘and Dr. Kashinath Ghanekar’) released in 2018 November. I unfortunately never found the opportunity to watch it until this lockdown happened.
The movie is the biopic of Marathi theatre’s only superstar Dr. Kashinath Ghanekar. Theatre crazy Marathi audiences like their Opera and ballet counterparts, clap in appreciation at the end of a scene or song. Dr. Ghanekar had a kind of super stardom most artists can only dream of! He was the first, and the only Marathi theatre artist , to get claps and whistles for his entry on stage. He also had people repeating his signature lines in auditoriums with him. He was the only artist who put his name right at the end of the list of artists as ‘ Ani Kashinath Ghanekar’ (which is also why the film is named so).
The movie unapologetically brings out the man behind the façade and raw emotions. It does justice to the people around him who never give up on him. On the professional front it captures the legendary feud with theatre veteran and fellow medical professional Dr. Shreeram Lagoo, the discomfort Ghanekar feels emoting in front of a camera and his preference for the medium of theatre over cinema, but, most importantly it deals with the effect stardom has on a person especially when coming to terms with the loss of star status.
There is one beautiful scene where Ghanekar makes his stage entry with an opening line eliciting huge applause (the first time ever for a Marathi theatre actor’s stage entry). It leaves both Ghanekar and the other actors shocked for a few seconds before they collect themselves and get back to the play. A few years down the line, the same stage entry and opening line do not receive any reaction from the audience, much to the shock of the artist. Ghanekar’s portrayal of Sambhaji Maharaj on stage with his father seated in the audience brings out all his hidden emotions and longing for acceptance from the parent. The performance starts the Kashinath Ghanekar era in Marathi theatre but elicits no reaction from his father. The film recreates two famous movie songs of that time very well – Gomu Sangthin and Tumha var keli me marji. The last part of the film takes the cake. Show day and a little before show time is time of nervous energy, adrenaline, and anticipation for any artist. When one leaves this world in that state of mind – now that is something!
Throughout the biopic Dr. Ghanekar does justice to no one – neither his first wife (a surgeon by profession) who single-handedly manage responsibilities, nor his second wife (a little more than half his age) who literally puts him on a pedestal and is all about his work, nor to his own immense capabilities and talent. He also does not value the efforts of his producer friends who stand up for him and invest money in producing plays for him. He shows up drunk for a show and collapses on stage and falls from grace for his hardcore fans.
I watched this movie for my favorite Marathi actor Subodh Bhave. Subodh is one brilliant actor. There is a certain quality to the way he portrays characters, very truthful, from the heart. He goes way beyond playing his characters, he becomes them. You can’t help but feel happy with him, feel sorrow and surprise with him and go through some ‘what the hell, why would you do that’ moments with him even though you know perfectly well it’s a movie you are watching. It takes one some time to absorb this film on Ghanekar. Subodh’s Bal Gandharva had me feeling saddened, but this one left me disturbed. I watched it two days back, and its still in my head.
The true value of a film lies in how much it makes you think. Subodh’s portrayal and brilliant writing make you think beyond the character. Yes it’s about Ghanekar’s life, but, its so much more than that. It’s about human behaviour. You wonder what makes people indifferent and not care about the very people who love them and help them in their worst times? Then there is a set of people who give in to such people and are there for them. What drives behaviour in both cases? As a student of Organisational Behaviour studying individual and group behaviour and its various dimensions interested me a lot and this film just made my day.
If you find a version with English subtitles do yourself a favor and do watch this one. You can thank me later and yes do let me know your views on this too.
