Movie review - Duniyadari

Watched " Duniyadari "- A hit movie right from the script. It is very well made, given the retro look from the 70s and 80s. Based on a Marathi novel by the same name written by Suhas Shirwalkar makes for a gripping plot and fast paced screenplay. The cast includes Swapnil Joshi, Sai Tamhankar, Ankush Chaudhary, Jitendra Joshi, Urmila Kanitkar and others. The songs are already a huge hit specially the romantic number Tik Tik Vajate Dokyat. This movie has everything you could expect in a movie made in the yesteryears. It has drama, action, friendship, romance, twists and turns. Sanjay Jadhav’s direction is a plus for the movie. A must watch for the Marathi speaking public specially Punekars. Marathi cinema is seeing such a nice movie after a long time and it is currently running to packed houses in multiplexes. Don’t miss it.

Movie review - Time Please

Watched " Time Please " - Finally got time to catch up with a Marathi movie after a good 2 months. It is based on the hit Marathi play Nava Gadi Nava Rajya. It's cast includes real life couple Priya Bapat and Umesh Kamat along with Siddharth Jadhav and Sai Tamhankar. It talks about conflicts between married couples in day to day life. How the understanding and logic factor needs to be given importance while dealing with marital issues and not to take any decision or assume anything in haste. It can't be called a romantic movie and has some funny scenes and some drama added to the plot. A must watch and highly recommended for people who are to marry soon or are recently married. Overall makes good for family viewing.

Movie Review - The Wolverine

Watched " The Wolverine " - Hugh Jackman is back. This edition takes you through a Japanese safari. There is nothing great about the plot. A story of lust for power, strength and immortality. Hugh Jackman is taken for a ride in Japan by creating a false story and how he gets lost in a false plot. Hugh Jackman fans would like it.

Panhalagad - Pavankhind trek - Jul 2013

Last weekend it was a trek to The Last Stand which paved the way for the founding of the Maratha Empire and the making of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. One of the most historic, significant and bloodiest battles was fought by the great warrior Baji Prabhu Deshpande and his 300 Mavalas against an 15000 strong Mughal Army led by the Mughals at the Ghodkhind which is today known as Pavankhind. I waited for 3 years to do this trek. I had to grow in confidence since this was a 47 kms range trek through an historic escape route from Panhalagad to Pavankhind. I started on Saturday morning with my cousin Pankaj and a group of 115 plus people from Kolhapur hikers. And soon we were joined on our trek by a 400 strong group from Ichalkaranji and some other 100 odd trekkers from Pune and Mumbai. The trekkers consisted of kids as young as 7 years old and adults as old as 60 plus. The enthusiasm and spirit shown by all the participants was motivational for one another. The trek goes through mountain ranges, muddy slippery roads, paddy fields, jungles, waterfalls and above 40 streams and rivulets. Except for a lunch break on the first day and an overnight halt at a villagers house we walked for two days braving the continuous heavy rains, escaping from leeches and lifting ourselves from the sticky mud. A different experience all together. This trek would be quite easy in the winter but it is done in the monsoon to experience and get a feel of history about how the Marathas would have made good their escape in the monsoon about 4 centuries ago. The 47 kms route goes through Panhalagad, Pusati Buruj, Turukwadi, Masai Pathar, Kumbharwada, Chaphewadi, Kelewadi, Khotwadi, Mandlaiwadi, Karpewadi, Ambewadi, Ringewadi, Malewadi, Sukumacha Dhangarwada, Mhasavade, Pandherpani and finally Pavankhind. The entire route is marked with arrows specially at bifurcations and the locals are very helpful in providing the right directions hence there is very less chance of getting lost. We ended our trek at a village called Bhaat Tali with a sumptous buffet lunch which consisted of mixed vegetable, puris, masale bhaat, dal and sevai kheer. After that we moved to Pavankhind to pay our respects to Baji Prabhu Deshpande. The sight of the gorge which was successfully defended by the Maratha Army was terrifying with a huge waterfall flowing through it. After the salutations, worship and a closing speech the trek was ended. Three cheers and a round of applause for the founder director Sagar Patil and his team of Kolhapur Hikers who organised this trek. It was very well planned and executed to the hilt. Right from organising the transport, the motivational speech by historians Appa Parab and Amar Mohile at the strt of the trek, the worshipping of the statues of Shiva Kashid and Baji Prabhu Deshpande, the distrubution of ID cards and route map, the food arrangements, expertise and making history come alive throughout the trek. A must do trek for all Maratha trekkers and to those proud of Maratha History. I can call myseld an expert at trekking after this success. The trek ended for all the trekkers on Sunday but for me it is incomplete until I trek from Pavankhind to Vishalgad from the same Khind or valley that Shivaji Maharaj escaped. A trek rarely done by trekkers. But I have to do it solo or with my cousin later in the year when there are no rains. Such was the impact of this trek that it has made me even more crazy for forts in Maharashtra and I ordered Babasaheb Purandare's Raja Shivchhatrapati online to understand the complete Maratha history

Movie Review - Bhaag Milkha Bhaag

Watched " Bhaag Milkha Bhaag " - It is a biopic on one of the greatest athletes of India - Milkha Singh aka Flying Sikh. A story of grit, determination, perseverance and sheer will power to excel. It is about a person who went through the haunting past of the India - Pakistan partition, poverty, being a vagabond, losing an Olympics medal by the fraction of a second to being India's Ace runner, a world record holder and a recipient of the Padmashri award. Milkha Singh's character seems to be tailor made for Farhan Akhtar. You just can imagine anyone else in that role. The attitude, looks, mannerisms, body language is just perfect. Farhan could surely be Bollywood's next perfectionist after Aamir Khan. Sonam Kapoor's performance is worth the Rs 11 that she took as her fee. Cricketer Yuvraj Singh's father Yograj Singh as Milkha's Team India coach, Pawan Malhotra as the Army coach, Prakashraj as Parade leader and Divya Dutta as Milkha's sister have given notable performances. The songs are hummable too. The nutty Sardar with his six pack body will win your heart. The movie is 3 hours 8 minutes long and go for it only if you like biopics or offbeat movies. One of the best biopics to be made in recent years and it definitely puts Farhan Akhtar in the race for the Best Actor award this year.

Kalsubai trek - Jun 2013

Blown away by the wind at the highest point in Maharashtra. Trekked to Kalsubai last Sunday with Trek O King and included 120 + trekkers and 4 wild ones from Goa. I would have loved to to take the Indore route but had to be content with the Bari route. This trek has been made easy to attract more visitors while ladders have been fixed at 6-7 places where the climb is difficult. I tried to make this trek as difficult as possible for me by taking the route besides or below the ladders. But still in terms of difficulty level I would prefer Rajgad or Torana. Sorry to say but nothing gr8 to offer for the regular trekkers but watch out for the final frontier, the pinnacle that also has the Kalsubai temple. Especially in the monsoon being at the highest point with the strong wind and clouds blowing made it an awesome WOW experience. To stop yourself being swept off your feet you need to sit down holding yourself or others. The velocity could be gauged from the fact that when I stood up with my hands widespread the wind pushed me ( currently weighing 90 kgs ) to a distance of 4-5 metres until when I stopped myself and sat down. Nevertheless it was a great experience being to Kalsubai specially 4 friends from Goa made it more enjoyable and interesting. — with Prabodhini Ekawade and 3 others.

Movie Review - Ghanchakkar

Watched " Ghanchakkar " - A small budget suspense movie starring Vidya Balan and Emran Hashmi. They make for a good pair but not sure what made them accept this film. It would suit better as a tele film on TV. The script does not offer much scope for the acting skills of the lead actors. It's about a man who has a memory loss and forgets everything about a bag of money. There's nothing bad about this movie but nothing great either. Watch it only if you must.