Deool

Director – Umesh Kulkarni

Producer – Abhijeet Gholap

Script – Girish Kulkarni

Music – Mangesh Dhakde

 

Cast – Nana Patekar, Dilip Phabhavalkar, Girish Kulkarni, Sonali Kulkarni, Mohan Agashe, Jyoti Subhash, Om Bhutkar, Kishor Kadam, Bhakri Ratanparkhi, Usha Nadkarni, Atisha Naik, Shashank Madhav Shende, Sharvani Pillay, Vibhawari Deshpande & Naseeruddin Shah.

'Religion is an illusion and it derives its strength from the fact that it falls in with our instinctual desires.'

SIGMUND FREUD

 

          Is religion a matter of faith or of politics? Can a simple reverie turn into a life changing experience? The answer to these question is given by Umesh Kulkarni is his current (and one of a kind) film ‘Deool’. He returns to Marathi silver screen post the success of the critically acclaimed ‘Vihir’.

The film begins with Kesha (Girish Kulkarni) seeing ‘Gurudev Dutta’ in his dream while resting on a hillock in the village. He goes on to believe that Guru Dutta summoned his master Bhau’s (Nana Patekar) cow ‘Kardee’ to that place. His innocence gets the better of him when he tells the village folk about it. Everyone including his TV addict mother (Jyoti Subhash) dismiss his claims. The only positive suggestion comes from the learned Kulkarni Anna (Dilip Prabhavalkar) who tells Kesha that such things are instinctual.

Kesha tries hard to convince the village folk who refute him as they have their own set of problems. Bhau shares a love-hate relationship with his superior (Mohan Agashe) The village Sirpanch (Atisha Naik) is not happy with her mother-in-law (essayed brilliantly by Usha Nadkarni). The correspondent of Mahasangram (Kishor Kadam) needs some spicy news. Normal problems of water and electricity remain. A series of sudden events force the villagers to believe Kesha’s story. They decide to build a temple of Dutta at that place. Does the temple bring prosperity to them? What happens to Kesha? For the answer watch the film.

All the actors have done justice to their roles (no matter how small or big it is) Girish Kulkarni gets full marks for his portrayal of Kesha. Nana Patekar and Dilip Prabhavalkar share an excellent rapport on screen (they’ve actually worked for the very first time). Usha Nadkarni, Sharvani Pillay, Vibhawari Deshpande and the gang of Shashank Madhav Shende and Om Bhutkar tickle your funny bone. Naseeruddin Shah’s special appearance adds to the gimmick of the film. I might say that the item number by Smita Tambe was a necessity and not an addition.

Umesh Kulkarni’s brilliance in direction and maturity as a person is seen yet again in ‘Deool’. I’m sure he’ll be the next big Marathi director in the Hindi film Industry. Girish Kulkarni’s has kept the script simple and that is why it connects immediately with the audience. The music by Mangesh Dhakde is soothing to the ears. The village looks beautiful on the screen due to the excellent cinematography. The technical aspects are thus flawless.

          
  
           The film is a satire and must watch for those who’ve commercialised the concept of religion. I’m going with four out of five and two big thumbs up for Umesh Kulkarni’s ‘Deool. You’ll love it for sure.