Ashdoc's movie review---Katyar kaljat ghuslee ( Dagger pierced the heart--marathi )

by ashdoc Wed Nov 25, 2015 1:41 pm

I never understood marathi or hindustani classical music nor ever have listened to it . And this film was publicised to be a heavy duty musical of classical music . But after seeing this movie I almost fancied myself to be a aficionado of it---such is the impact of the music .

Not only music but also the acting and the emotion of the scenes . All the protagonists come together to put such splendid performances that it is hard to criticize even one of them .

The film is based on an old play written and staged 40 years back . But the setting is even more back in time....when kings ruled the land and poets and artists graced their courts .

So in Vishrampur in the 19th century ruled a just king . And his magnificent court was the haven of singers of classical music . But the doyen of the singers was panditji---played by singer Shankar Mahadevan no less . The fireflies would gather glowing the night when he sang , and tears would flow from the listeners' eyes . While other singers merely won applause when they sang , when panditji sang the audience would be mesmerized into silence .

And panditji had a great heart too---when a poor singer ( khansaheb ) came to him , panditji opened the gates of the royal court for him by introducing a contest where he could display his talents . The prize of winning---the post of court singer no less , along with his house . But the Khan could never manage to beat the pandit in singing---and people's taunts hurt him so much that he resolved to kill himself....

But the Khan's wife played a devious game due to which pandit's name fame and fortune went to the Khan . And he also got the permission to use the royal dagger given to him once without getting punished even if he killed anyone with it---a privilege that only the court singer could get .

However , the Khan was not the man panditji was , for he never understood the real purpose of the dagger---which was to kill not any human being but to kill one's ego , for ego is the ultimate destroyer of any artist . And he became a vain man....

The khan's daughter Zareena ( played by Amruta Khanvilkar ) was however good friends with panditji's daughter Uma ( played by Mrunmayee Deshpande ) . Enter a young man ( director Subhod Bhave himself ) , who wants to learn music from panditji and take revenge on the Khan by using the royal dagger . But Zareena calms him down and urges him to beat Khan in singing---for that will be a real revenge that will crush the ego of the Khan . And as she helped Sadashiv ( Subodh Bhave ) in getting closer to his goal , it seemed to be that his different religion was the only hindrance stopping her from falling in love---even though in her heart she knew that he belonged to Uma....

So does the Khan get the comeuppance for his evil deeds ?? Does Sadashiv get to learn the music he wants ??
Watch the movie for that....

Acting wise , the one who comes on top is Sachin Pilgaonkar . He has played Khansaheb with a range of emotions , and has seemingly mastered each of them . But it is music which is king really . The age old traditional music of the land is brought alive like never before for the new generation . The movie is full of songs and music , but I never got tired of them . Both Shankar Mahadevan and Mahesh Kale have put heart and soul in their efforts , which have paid off handsomely .

But what surprised me was the photography and the colours and the beauty of the sets . Watch the river surrounding the city photographed stunningly at the very place it curves to surround the city . Watch as fireflies beautifully light up the night when singers sing . And see the magnificent court of the king with all it's rich detail and colour . And admire the looks of the two young women who love one young man.....Technically the film is just too good . As the film finished , the audience in the jam packed theatre was still not in a mood to go---it was still soaking in the music . Need I say more....

Verdict---Damn good .
Four stars .