For a film with such a grand vision, Sangeet Manapmaan needed more flamboyance to make it a memorable affair, feels Mayur Sanap.
What can be more pure and primal than seeing a piece of cinema that’s culturally rooted and musically rich?
With Sangeet Manapmaan, Actor-Director Subodh Bhave takes up the challenge to turn over a century old Marathi theatre production into a big cinematic spectacle.
Based on Krushnaji Prabhakar Khadilkar's iconic play of the same name, the film is gleaming with possibilities not just for Marathi cinema, but also for Hindustani classical music. For the very reason, Bhave returns with the musical team of Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy that made his 2015 directorial debut Katyar Kaljat Ghusali a winning affair.
And yet, Sangeet Manapmaan ends up as crashing letdown because of its shockingly prosaic treatment to the material.
It is shocking because Bhave skillfully delivered the magic with panache in his earlier film but his latest endeavour is too loyal to the source material. It results in a dated experience for the modern day audience.
Much like Katyar..., which was about two singers vying for musical greatness, Sangeet Manapmaan has a similar theme of one-upmanship, albeit it is blazoned in the romantic setting.
Dhairyadhar (Subodh Bhave) is cattle herder who lives with his widowed mother (Neena Kulkarni) in the kingdom of Sangrampur. Despite his forefathers' legacy and his own strong will, Dhairyadhar is dissuaded by his mother to join the army.
When Sangrampur’s military commander Kakasaheb (Shailesh Datar) gets into trouble by the neighbouring kingdom’s ruler Dhiren (Upendra Limaye), Dhairyadhar heroically saves him, which prompts Kakasaheb to recruit Dhairyadhar into the army.
Kakasaheb is so impressed with Dhairyadhar’s valour and honesty that he wants his daughter Bhamini (Vaidehi Parashurami) to marry him.
Bhamini, headstrong and egoistic, refuses the proposal and questions Dhairyadhar’s integrity.
The matter is further aggravated by Bhamini’s smug friend and sub-commander Chandravilas (Sumeet Raghvan), who wants her for himself.
Staying true to its title, Sangeet Manapmaan has an operatic grandness to it and each frame is pleasant to look at. But the novelty begins to wear thin as it becomes clear that there isn't much in the premise to surprise us as viewers.
The musical pieces are among the film’s strong suit but despite the quality, most of these songs don’t gel well with the narrative and even obstruct the flow at times. Take an earlier example of another Marathi musical Phullwanti or even the streaming show Bandish Bandits, there the songs are almost perfectly placed to maintain the rhythm of a musical.
What works majorly against Sangeet Manapmaan is the flawed casting.
Subhodh Bhave is way past his youthful days to make a character like Dhairyadhar believable.
The same goes for Sumeet Raghavan’s Chandravilas.
At least Bhave makes up for his shortcomings by putting up a strong performance. Raghavan, on the other hand, is mostly hamming up that makes his scenes look amateurish.
The overdramatic tone to dialogues also spoils every other important scene, and Vaidehi Parshurami’s struggle to emote is especially apparent in those scenes. She is much better in quieter moments but overall, she fails miserably to bring out different shades of Bhamini.
There’s a decent set piece featuring Bhave and Parshurami that reminds of an iconic archery sequence from Baahubali The Conclusion. I wish the film had more such sizzle.
The film is laced with an army of veteran stars Shailesh Datar, Neena Kulkarni, Nivedita Saraf, Upendra Limaye, but they are just generic placeholders in a film that doesn’t give them anything substantial.
For a film with such a grand vision, Sangeet Manapmaan needed more flamboyance to make it a memorable affair. Truly disappointing that it ends up as a lost opportunity.
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