Gallit Gondhal, Dillit Mujra (Marathi)

It’s election time in Maharashtra. Sworn enemies Bajirao Dole, the village head, and Chandrakant Tope, the sitting MLA, are both in the race for a ticket. They’ll stop at nothing to prevent each other from reaching that magic goal. Aiding both in their mission is Narayan Wagh, a crafty party worker who has political ambitions of his own. He manages to keep them under wraps, even as he pretends to be faithful to both Dole and Tope. He’s willing to bide his time for the master move at the end.

There was potential here for some racy drama. Like many Marathi films, this too has a rural backdrop but is loud and simplistic with mediocre dialogue and inane comedy.

Apart from Dole, Tope and Wagh, the other characters tend to be mere props. As a result, a comprehensive picture of the village does not emerge. Also, there’s a tendency on the part of producers to cast mediocre actors in smaller roles and so the overall performance graph tends to suffer.

In the last couple of years, Marathi cinema has made great technical strides. GGDM too has slick production values but the background score is harsh at times and the editing seems to suffer from the TV soap opera syndrome. There’s a whole range of tacky digital effects at your fingertips, use them!

Surprisingly there is only one song in the film—a Lavani performed by the village dancer Parvati and Rebecca, an American researcher studying Maharashtrian folk traditions. Getting a foreigner to perform the Lavani is quite a coup. This is also the title song of the film and is fairly well picturised.

In the final analysis, the weaknesses in the script tend to wash out the merits. Armed with the formidable acting talents of Shinde, Anaspure and Bhosle, GGDM should’ve been a whole lot better. And it would, if the actors had a better script to follow.

High Fives

Bollywood

1. 8x10 Tasveer
2. Raftaar ka Junoon (dubbed)
3. New Police Story 5 (dubbed)
4. Aa Dekhen Zara
5. Dashavtar (dubbed)

Hollywood

1. Star Trek
2. X-Men Origins: Wolverine
3. Ghosts of Girlfriends Past
4. Obsessed
5. 17 Again

Country Albums

1. Hannah Montana: The Movie (Soundtrack)
2. Unstappable (Rascal Flatts)
3. Fearless (Taylor Swift)
4. Wide Open (Jason Aldean)
5. The Foundation (Zac Brown Band)

Courtesy: Film Information