Mahanayak Vasant Tu Movie Review

Name of the film: “Mahanayak Vasant Tu”

Date of Release: 27 November 2015

Producer: Baliram Rathod

Director: Nilesh Raosaheb Jalamkar

DOP: Chandrakant Meher

Music: Mandar Khare

Artistes: Chinmay Mandlekar, Nisha Parulekar, Ravi Patvardhan, Bharat Ganeshpure, Prakash Dhotre, Jairaj Nair, Jayant Patrikar, Satish Phadke, Yayati Rajwade, Parag Bohodkar, Kalyani Bhagwat, Yogesh Malekar .


Known as the Father of the Green Revolution in Maharashtra during the 60s, the late Vasantrao Naik was the most respected Chief Minister of Maharashtra. He was the only Chief Minister of Maharashtra who served a term of 12 years continuously, commanding respect of his party workers and the people of Maharashtra. No wonder a biopic titled ‘Mahanayak Vasant Tu’ produced by Baliram Rathod, and directed by Nilesh Raosaheb Jalamkar, has been made as a tribute to this great leader of Maharashtra.

The film begins with details about the living conditions of this community and how Vasanta’s father stopped his son from getting a good education. In the film, we see the progress of this hard working and sincere leader, from Nagpur to Mumbai. With the blessings of senior leader Yashwantrao Chavan, he is appointed a Chief Minister of Maharashtra, by the then Prime Minister of India, Mr. Jawaharlal Nehru.   

The film has been presented well, showing the political journey of Mr. Naik and his skills of tackling opposition; be it in his own constituency or in the assembly house. Thanks to make-up artist Pradeep Premgirikar, lead actor Chinmay Mandlekar resembles the late CM in the post-interval part of the film. We also notice the characters of Lal Bahadur Shastri, Acharya Atre and even Balasaheb Thackeray and Sharad Pawar; which are however played by not-so-popular artistes. There is not much scope given to them, except for the character of Yashwantrao Chavan, who is clearly shown as the decision maker for Maharashtra.

Among the artistes, Chinmay Mandlekar has worked hard through his body language, especially his walking style, holding both his hands close to the body. Nisha Parulekar, in the role of his wife Vatsalabai, gives a satisfying performance. Bharat Ganeshpure is too good in the role of another important Maharashtra minister Balasaheb Desai. Music doesn’t find much scope in this film, but cinematography is good.  
 
In the pre-interval stage, the film moves like a prologue, highlighting the growth of the leader from college days and showing the ability of this leader to help the poor and deserving . It is only in the post-interval session, we see some interesting happenings. Otherwise, the film looks more like a documentary film, though it is presented well.