Sunday, December 06, 2015

Movie Review: Katyar Kaljat Ghusali (Marathi)

And it keeps coming, like a glorious flood of talent and creativity unleashed with full force. The Marathi film industry is on a major upswing, and Katyar Kaljat Ghusali shows exactly why. Packed with powerful characters, stunning imagery, great story-telling, drama and at the core, a rich treasure trove of classical music brought to you by some of the most acclaimed Indian artists, KKG keeps you absolutely mesmerized through the 3 hours, even if you are more inclined to attend NH7 Weekender... like my 14 yo daughter.

Panditji (Shankar Mahadevan) is the Royal Singer in the Court of the King of Vikrampur, a princely state in the early days of the British. On a visit to Miraj, he meets Khan Saaheb, unappreciated and unsung in his own city of Agra, and invites him over to Vikrampur, where Khan impresses one and all by his performance. At the annual Dusshera fest, a competition sees Khan perform against Panditji, and while Khan evokes rapturous claps from the audience, Panditji moves his audience to spell-bound tears, and is declared winner by the king. Khan feels humiliated, and wows to trump Panditji. However, year after year, he loses to the superior Panditji, each time his ego and hurt increases, taking over his music and feeding his thirst for revenge.

He conspires with his wife to destroy Panditji's voice, and finally achieves his dream of moving into the mansion of the Royal Singer.

It's then left to a disciple of Panditji to face Khan and set things right. The conflict of the gharanas escalates dramatically, with Khan demanding the exercise of his right to "one murder"... killing the disciple to protect his gharana. Will the young disciple win the battle of the masters?

KKG is a wonderful movie, a treat to the senses, and an absolutely must see in the theatres! Do not miss this one, even if you don't understand Marathi! (English subtitles will take care of you...)

2 comments:

Unknown said...

I do agree with you. Its a must watch.

Unknown said...

I watched it for three times ...so far :P