Baji

Director – Nikhil Mahajan

Cast – Shreyas Talpade, Amruta Khanvilkar, Jitendra Joshi, Ila Bhate

           

            With Baji, Shreyas Talpade joins the list of Bollywood discards who return to the Marathi industry with the excuse of a good script. The film directed by Nikhil Mahajan is the best attempt to create a ‘Gareebon ka Zorro’ who speaks like a lion down with constipation. 

            In Shrirangapur, Martand (Jitendra Joshi) takes the task to unearth a hidden treasure which was left unfinished by his father. For ages, a knight named ‘Baji’ is protecting this treasure and the life of villagers. Chidddu (Shreyas Talpade) discovers the blood of the knights runs in him. He decides to give a fresh lease of life to Baji. But fate has something else in store for him.   

            Nikhil Mahajan deserves critical acclaim for making something that is worse than ‘Pune 52’. Along with Suhrud Godbole, he has taken immense efforts for the script to be inspired by previous films. Concept of National Treasure – ‘The secret lies with Charlotte’ is recreated here as ‘Yacha uttar phakta Baji deu shakto’. You respect him for the fight scenes which cannot be traced to one particular South film.

‘Nako to Baji.. Phatilye Mazhi’, ‘Kashala Karta Tya Haramyachi Chakri.. Deto Ka to Tumhala Don Velechi Bhaakri’ ‘Vechun Vechun Thechun Taka’ and the best ‘What the... Phataka?’ These are some of the dialogues which can be written only when you’re mesmerized by Kanti Shah’s epic Gunda. Hats off Shrirang Godbole!!

          The honest producers, running low on budget, literally begged Mrinmayee Godbole to dance. Can’t expect the poor girl (who just joined Shiamak Davar) to be flexible in her moves. The lack of colour in costumes implies that they were made in bulk from some rejected stock of a Surat manufacturer. This makes the supports (in the second half) look like zombies at a Catholic funeral. 

Shreyas Talpade needs to calm down and wait for a good role in Hindi. You can’t replicate Bollywood in Marathi. Amruta Khanvilkar looks like a widow who is forcefully rescued every time she tries to be the ‘Sati’ at a random guy’s pyre on the ghats of Kashi. Ila Bhate is the Morgan Freeman in the film. She has a logical explanation to every twist in the tale. 

Jitendra Joshi’s loss of hair, midway in the film, was probably due to an overdose of drugs that makes him sweat like a horse and howl like a wolf. In a scene where he says ‘Mala Ved Lagel..’ you feel ‘Dude.. That’s not a possibility but the reality. Accept it’. 

I am going with a generous one star out of five for ‘Baji’. That’s purely because I could laugh to death in certain scenes which were meant to be serious.