MADE IN CHINA

Date: 13.03.2009 Venue: Laxminarayan Theatre, Swargate, Pune Time: 21:00 (9:00 pm) Occasion: Premiere Show

The title might be a little confusing to some of you, but this got nothing to do with chinese made items/products, but is the name of a MARATHI movie which released yesterday 13.03.2009, and I was lucky enough to get a pass for the Premiere Show for this movie, and guys believe me when i say that i rubbed shoulders with the STARS of Marathi Cinema and imagine my BAD luck, my mobile phone cam was not functioning and i missed out on having myself being photograhed with the starts. Just to name a few , those present were, Mr. Upendra Limaye, M/s Mrunal Kulkarni (of SON PARI fame, currently seen in Raja Shiv Chattrapati), Mr. Sandip Kulkarni, M/s Shilpa Navalkar, M/s Madhura Velankar & Dr. Sharad Buthadiya. These are some famous names from Marathi film industry. Now moving to the movie review, please note that i am not an expert at this, but just a modest attempt and my personal views on how I judged the movie. Movie Name: Made In China Duration: 2 hours Director: Santosh Kolhe Cast: Dr. Sharad Buthadiya (Annasaheb Jagdale), Madura Velankar (Prachi Jagdale), Milind Gunaji (Deepak Jagdale), Mrunal Kulkarni (Mrs. Deepak Jagdale), Sandeep Kulkarni (Mohit Jagdale), Upendra Limaye (... i forgot) & Shilpa Navalkar (Inspector Revathi Reddy). Rating: ***1/2 This movie revloves around village politics and is entirely based in a village called PIMPALGOAN (which falls in Pune District). To give a brief background, the entire village is basically controlled by the Jagdale family in different ways. Annasaheb is a retired politician, who still has a lot of say in village matters. His daughter Prachi, is an American educated modern girl, who has just returned after doing her MBA, Deepak is his wayward nephew who has a penchant for arms. He has a beautiful and vast collection of Swords, spears & GUNS. This has an important part to play in the movie. He is married to Mrunal Kulkarni, but he does not give a damn for her and is more interested in booze and girls in the dance bars (do they still exist??). Then there is Mohit, his other nephew, hard working and who has done his studies in modern farming techniques from Israel (????) and has worked hard for 15 yrs to change Pimpalgaon from a nondescript village to one on the export map. He is supported by his loving wife (didnt catch her name) and grandmother (who apparently is the mother of annasaheb as well as mohits fathrs, but does not live with her son due to his behaviour). Then there is Satish (didnt catch his real name) who plays the loyal & dutiful secretary of Annasaheb. Not to forget Upendra Limaye who portrays the opposition party. The movie starts off with the harvest season, where we are given a view of the lush green fields and the various crops that grow there. Mohit managed to convince a childhood friend (who is working at a very good post in a MNC in Pune) to come back to the village and take up farming over a sedentary job. Here I need to mention that Mohit has not on Sugarcane fields, but also a green house where he grows Roses for export, a mechanised unit for milking cows. Most of the village produce (vegetables & milk) is picked my the Thaddani Group which markets this under their brand name. Now the troble starts when the Thaddani's want to convert the village into a SEZ (acquire 45000 acres of land) and build factories and commercial establishments. They are supported by Annasaheb (who is apparently receiving 20% kick-back for this) and his nephew Deepak. He is opposed by Mohit (who argues that the land is not barren and is cultivable) and Upendra Limaye (who is also a agricultural products supplier). Family fued and inter group clashes leads to Mohit's friend committing suicide (or is murdered, not clear). Further, it goes out of hand when Annasaheb is shot at by a masked gun man. Here enters Inspector Reddy (shown as Puneri version of Kiran Bedi) and she takes over the case of the murder investigation. How she solves the murder and the subsequent punishment of the criminal makes up for the second half of the movie. The movie has a good story base, but the screenplay is not very strong. The characters have been selected very well and it is a very good star cast, but poor dialogues and under play by all the actors does not deliver the punch. Of the cast Dr. Sharad as the cunning politician plays his part well, Sandeep as the nephew caught between family ties and the villagers delivers his part. Milind Gunaji is ok, but he could have been used more effectively with some more involvement and strong dialogues. Mrunal Kulkarni is a total waste. She has the capacity to deliver, but is hardly used for max of 10-12 minutes and that too very ineffectivelty. Upendra Limaye delivers a solid performance and some very strong & punching dialogues with his trademark style and accent. Shilpa Navalkar as inspector Reddy is OK, not much role to play. Overall a movie made very well, considering the budgets at which these movies are made. It has a very good message which we should not miss out, "In the face of modernization and industrialization, we should not give up our cultivable farmlands. Hardwork and a little moderm technique can help achieve what Industrialization might not be able to bring about". Finally, i would say that its a movie worth watching atleast once, if not for its story, but for the message that it gives.