Panchak Marathi Movie Review
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Plot: When the head of the Khot family dies at the most inauspicious time, the demise of 5 family members in the next year looms over the rest of the family.
Writer and Director: Rahul Awate, Jayant Jathar
Music: Mangesh Dhakde
Cast: Adinath Kothare, Dilip Prabhavalkar, Bharti Achrekar, anand Ingle, Tejashree Pradhan, Satish Alekar, Nandita Dhuri, Deepti Devi
Panchak Movie Review
After a glamorous career as the leading lady, Madhuri Dixit, is back to her Marathi roots but this time as a producer. Panchak is her first Marathi production venture.
Helmed by the writer-director duo of Rahul Awate and Jayant Jathar, Panchak is a body blow to the superstitions of Konkan. The film’s star cast is as shimmery as the constellation the film is based on.
This situational comedy starts with the death of Anant Khot (Dilip Prabhavalkar) at the most inauspicious time when the constellation of stars were in a PANCHAK.
This means that 5 more members of the deceased will die within the coming year. Since Anant has already willed his body to a hospital it is not possible to perform any post death rituals that could possibly avoid Panchak.
Anant’s son Madhav (Adinath Kothare) makes sure his father’s last wishes are fulfilled. But the family as big as a banyan tree goes crazy over their own deaths. That includes Madhav’s brother Aatma (Anand Ingale) and his wife Kaveri (Nandita Patkar) are expecting a baby. Ananta’s elderly siblings Bal (Satish Alekar) and Uttara (Bharti Achrekar) go crazy over the superstition. Madhav’s Gujarati sister-in-law Veena (Deepti Devi) contributes to this crazy rumble.
Buckle up for a hilarious ride as the Khots try to dodge death’s dance while navigating their own quirks. The premise is actually quite interesting but the execution feels half hearted and doesn’t really go all out with any issue. Be it the superstitious beliefs or family dynamics during a crisis.
The cast is so large that it is hard to point out who shines the brightest. Everyone does their job well but Dilip Prabhavalkar (even though dead) makes the best impact. The dialogues are quite entertaining and funny. The situational comedy blows hot and cold. The film fails to set a consistent tone throughout.
The film offers a view of Konkan we might have never seen before. There is hardly any shot of the picturesque landscape. It actually dives deep into the rituals of Konkan and how firmly the people believe in them. Jathar and Awate’s direction feels confused between keeping it a satire and a situational comedy. The film is more like a 120 minute montage of the aftermath of a death.
The background music by Santosh Mulekar deserves credit for shifting tones scene to scene. The first half is entertaining but by the second half you get the hang of the repetition. The dialogues, the fear and even the scenes repeat.
Overall, Panchak is a mildly entertaining satire taking a sly dig at death superstitions. Even though the runtime is short, the subject of the film is stretched beyond its limit. Give it a try if you can digest an unusual take on death and the rituals around it.
