Rating: 
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Plot: The Gharat family’s annual tradition of celebrating Gauri Ganpati gets a surprise visit from a special guest which in turn brings out the complexities and truths of relationships.
Director and Writer – Navjyot Bandiwadekar
Music – Sanket Sane
Cast – Nikita Dutta, Ashwini Bhave, Bhushan Pradhan, Ajinkya Deo, Shubhangi Latkar, Sanjay Mone, Shubhangi Gokhale, Pari Telang
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Gharat Ganpati: Marathi Movie Review
There is hardly anyone in Maharashtra, or for that matter in India, who isn’t fond of Konkan. Be it the lush green picturesque hills, serene beaches, delicious food, rich traditions and most importantly, the kind hearted people. But even with all of this at their helm, how Gharat Ganpati manages to make Konkan underwhelming is beyond my understanding.
Navjyot Bandiwadekar’s story is straight out of any average 2000’s Telugu film with a Konkani touch to it. Even though the film starts with an absolute banger of a track by The Konkan Collective, Mazha Konkan Bhari, it fades away into an entirely dull mess. Some scenes are written really well, but are overshadowed by the lack of direction. The first few establishing scenes are so artificially choreographed that the film starts to loose its organic flavour. This is one of the biggest reasons why the film falls flat as it progresses. Audience would have loved to dive deep into Konkani traditions and history, but the film mostly focuses on the popular culture anecdotes. Using God as a narrator feels unnecessary.
The film starts with the Gharat family’s annual reunion at their Wada in Konkan for Gauri Ganpati festival. We get to know about their family dynamics from the get go. But the family’s most loved son, Ketan (Bhushan Pradhan) has not arrived yet. The other two brothers Sharad (Ajinkya Deo) and Bhau (Sanjay Mone) bring the Ganpati home.
The welcome of the Ganpati in the house is met by an unexpected guest. Ketan brings home his longtime friend from Delhi, Kriti (Nikita Dutta), to stay with his family for the festival. The family’s questions and preconceived notions start boiling up from the very moment she steps in the house. Whenever she tries to do something nice, some or the other thing goes wrong. This creates chaos and panic in the family.
But slowly the true nature of every family member starts taking over the jolly family reunion. The tension and complexity of their relationships is brought to open. So much so that Kriti is made the center of every problem. Will she stay and face the family to prove her love for Ketan? Or will she prioritize her self-respect and leave?
Even though it sounds dramatic, the film doesn’t really have much drama. It fails to get to the depths of characters and barely scrapes through their motives. The dialogues are very artificial. The cinematography is really serene and the vivid colours bring out a charming vibe of Konkan. The music is also very apt and interesting.
This marks the Marathi debut of the Kabir Singh fame actress Nikita Dutta. Her character is so poorly written that she doesn’t get much to do. The same goes for Bhushan Pradhan. Even though they are the central pair of the film, their chemistry fails and family drama overpowers the film. Other supporting cast do the needful to create the family drama. Ashwini Bhave does a brilliant job.
All in all, Gharat Ganpati, is not the Konkan trip you would ideally want to take. Though the film has style, it lacks the more important substance and heart. If it’s a lousy weekend for you and your family, maybe this will warm you up.
