Movie Review: Shahid Bhai Kotwal (Marathi)

Producer- Praveen Patil

Director- Parag Sawant

Star Cast – Arun Nalawade, Ashutosh Patki, Kamlesh Savant, Ganesh Yadav, Pankaj Vishnu, Prajakta Dighe, Rutuja Bagwe, Nishigandha Wad, Parvez Khan and Kamlakar Sawant

Genre- Patriotic

Rating- **1/2 (Two and a half)

Jyothi Venkatesh

The film dwells at length upon Hutatma Bhai Kotwal, who was known for his selfless service to the society in the capacity of a lawyer. His dedicated service was a boon to the impoverished people of Maharashtra. Bhai Kotwal was known for his free legal service to poor farmers, who were indebted and harassed by moneylenders. His sacrifice while fighting against the Britishers is also known to all.

If you happen to live in Mumbai you may be a little familiar with the name because of the Veer Kotwal Udyan outside V Shantaram's Plaza cinema at Dadar but otherwise Shahid Bhai Kotwal is the story of an unsung martyr. Shahid Bhai Kotwal is an honest and complete biopic of the unsung freedom hero, right from his birth to his ultimate death caused by betrayal and rings a chord in your heart as you set out to watch the film.

The plot deals with freedom fighter and social reformer Vitthal Laxman Kotwal, who was born on 12 December 1912 and fondly known as Bhai Kotwal and is a film which sets out chronicle important events in his life, when he sees the cops in the British Raj around him torture and plunder poor vulnerable Indians and commit untold atrocities on them. The biggest problem of the film is that the story, screenplay as well as dialogues all have been written by Eknath Desale and in the process he loses objectivity and logic often goes for a big toss.

As far as acting is concerned, all that I can say is that Ashutosh Patki, who is music composer Ashok Patki’s son has made a decent debut in the title role as Shahid Kotwal, though competent actors like Prajakta Dighe, Ganesh Yadav , Pankaj Vishu and Arun Nalawade have been completely wasted in parts which do not justify their presence in the film. Rutuja Bagwe makes her debut in Marathi cinema with this film as Kotwal's adorable and understanding wife Indu and leaves an impact though she has very little footage. Paresh Hindurao as yet another freedom fighter Hiraji Patil impresses but is given very less footage when compared to that of Ashutosh Patki and his contribution is not at all highlighted.

To sum up, I would not hesitate to say that Veer Shahid Bhai Kotwal is a commendable exercise which is a result of Parag Sawant’s imaginative direction, Devdas Bhandare’s intuitive art direction and last but not the least Tushar Vibhute’s flawless cinematography and deserves at least one viewing at a time when most of the Marathi films only end up torturing your sensibilities. I also with that cinema houses like Carnival Movie Star do not cancel the show to accommodate Tanhaji The Unsung Warrior after advertising it and even displaying the hoarding prominently in front of the theatre and one has to go all the way to town to see the film at Bharatmata

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Tags: Bollywood, Bollywood News, Bollywood Updates, Television, Telly News, Movie Review, Shahid Bhai Kotwal, Arun Nalawade, Ashutosh Patki, Kamlesh Savant, Ganesh Yadav, Pankaj Vishnu, Prajakta Dighe, Rutuja Bagwe, Nishigandha Wad, Parvez Khan, Kamlakar Sawant