Review: Ventilator is a refreshing family drama

Ventilator is a simple Marathi family film which you can enjoy this weekend with your parents, uncles, aunties, cousins..., writes Hemant Waje.

Marathi film Ventilator, which marks the acting comeback of Ashutosh Gowariker, sure has a large cast.

It revolves around the Karmarkar family, who is supposed to meet in their ancestral home in Maharashtra's Konkan region for the Ganpati festival.

However, the patriarch suffers a stroke and is hooked onto a ventilator. His demise during an auspicious festival would mean a period of mourning, which would ruin the festive plans and celebrations. So the entire Karmarkar clan gathers at the hospital, praying for his speedy recovery. They bring with them their individual viewpoints and opinions creating chaos and confusion.

The story unfolds in the waiting room of the hospital, where old disputes and complexities of their relationships come out in the open. But even in this serious situation, the characters create some humorous moments.

The film's biggest positive is its characterisation. In the first part of the film, director Rajesh Mapuskar has made sure that he uniquely introduces each and every character and their relationship, forming a strong base for the movie. He allows each one to express themselves. This makes the first half lengthy, given the number of characters in the film -- it has 116 artistes -- but perhaps you can allow that 'artistic' liberty to Mapuskar.

The second half of the film turns from comedy to drama and turns emotional.

Gowariker, who plays a famous filmmaker, lives his real life in the film. He may have experienced the moments he has 'acted' in the film in real life when he meets his relatives. In the film, his relatives and hospital staff are mesmerised with his presence as director and creates good humour.

Priyanka Chopra puts in a cameo as herself and misses no chance to speak in Marathi.

Boman Irani plays the doctor and tries to tickle your funny bone.

All the actors in the film -- from Gowariker, Sukanya Kulkarni, Jitendra Joshi, Sulabha Arya... (in fact, all 116 of them!) -- make their mark.

The film's songs like Baba and Ya Re Ya Saare Ya compliment the situations well.
 
A good cast and humour gives Ventilator a life support to make it a good one-time watch. As one of the characters says in the film, 'An Indian family sticks together despite differences, the film will entertain you despite the language barrier.'

Ventilator is a simple Marathi family film which you can enjoy this weekend with your parents, uncles, aunties, cousins...

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