Panorama Studios and Navigns Studio Pvt. Ltd.’s Gharat Ganpati (Marathi) is the story of the large Gharat family which gets together in the ancestral home in the village in Konkan region of Maharashtra for the Ganpati festival. What follows is a rollercoaster ride of emotions and engagements between three generations of the Gharat family.
Appa (Dr. Sharad Bhutadiya) and Mai (Sushma Deshpande) are the heads of the Gharat family and live in the village. They have two sons — older son Bhau (Sanjay Mone) and younger son Sharad (Ajinkya Deo). Bhau also lives in the village home with his wife, Sunanda (Shubhangi Latkar), and son, Jeetu (Ashish Padhode). The son, Jeetu, loves Aashna (Divyalaxmi Maisanam), but he has not revealed this to his family because she is an Assamese and he is scared of his father’s short temper. Jeetu wants to start his own tourism business in the village but, again, he is unable to get started because of his strict father. Bhau’s daughter, Deepali (Pari Telang), also lives in the ancestral home with her husband, Ashok (Sameer Khandekar). Sharad has come from Bombay where he lives with his wife, Ahilya (Ashwini Bhave). Sharad’s son, Ketan (Bhushan Pradhan), works in Delhi and he has brought along his girlfriend, Kriti Ahuja (Nikita Dutta). It is Kriti’s mission to win over the family, more so because she is not a Maharashtrian and, what’s more, her parents are divorced. Ahilya can’t see eye to eye with Kriti for obvious reasons. She is, therefore, against the marriage of Ketan and Kriti. Sharad and Ahilya have a younger daughter, Neha (Rajasi Bhave), who has accompanied them to the village. Appa’s daughter, Kusum Aatya (Shubhangi Gokhale), lives in the same house with her son, Ninad (Rupesh Bane). Bhau had forced Kusum to marry against her choice but her husband and Kusum have since separated.
Since Sharad and Ahilya are well off while Bhau and Sunanda are not so well-to-do, there’s an undercurrent emotion of tension in the family whenever all of them meet. Sharad proposes that the family get Ganpati for just a day-and-a-half from the following year as it is becoming difficult for him to stay in the village for the seven days of the Ganesh festival. But if the 7-day Ganpati rituals are to be converted into rituals for a shorter period, there are conditions to be fulfilled. Is everybody in favour of the shorter period or are there members in the family who don’t want any change? Do Ahilya and Kriti make peace with each other? Does the family accept Jeetu’s girlfriend, Aashna?
Alok Sutar and Navjyot Narendra Bandiwadekar have written a story which is fairly interesting but the title is a misnomer as the audience expect a film about the Ganpati festival whereas the family story only has the festival as the backdrop. The screenplay, penned by Navjyot Narendra Bandiwadekar, Alok Sutar and Vaibhav Chinchalkar, is alright but there is not much by way of novelty. Many of the incidents are similar to what one has seen in earlier family dramas. Also, the screenplay lacks an emotional element which could’ve tugged at the heart strings. Dialogues (by Vaibhav Chinchalkar and Chaitanya Saindane) are good at places but average otherwise.
Nikita Dutta performs ably as Kriti Ahuja. Bhushan Pradhan does a fine job as Karan Gharat. Ajinkya Deo is alright as Sharad. Ashwini Bhave lends decent support as Ahilya. Sanjay Mone has his moments as Bhau Gharat. Shubhangi Latkar is adequate as Bhau’s wife, Sunanda. Shubhangi Gokhale is so-so as Kusum Aatya. Sushma Deshpande provides decent support as Mai. Dr. Sharad Bhutadiya is okay as Appa. Ashish Pathode lends ordinary support as Bhau’s son, Jeetu. Pari Telang is quite alright as Bhau’s daughter, Deepali. Rupesh Bane is average as Kusum Aatya’s son, Ninad. Rajasi Bhave is natural to the core in the role of Sharad’s daughter, Neha. Sameer Khandekar is fairly nice as Deepali’s husband, Ashok. Divyalaxmi Maisanam is ordinary as Aashna. Others do as desired.
Navjyot Narendra Bandiwadekar’s direction is okay. Sanket Sane’s music and background score are fair but there’s not a single song which stands out. Sameer Samant, Alok Sutar and Shraddha Dalvi’s lyrics are alright. Rahul Thombre’s choreography is so-so. Shelly Sharma and Prasad Bhende’s cinematography is very nice. Dr. Sumeet Patil’s production designing is good. Ashish Mhatre’s editing is reasonably sharp.
On the whole, Gharat Ganpati is an average fare. However, its business in the final tally will be adversely affected because of lack of promotion which has resulted in a below-average initial.
Released on 26-7-’24 at Plaza (daily 1 show) and other cinemas of Bombay by Panorama Studios. Publicity: dull. Opening: poor.
