Released last week in Bombay, Akshay Shetty Production’s Dr. Hedgewar is a biopic of the great nationalist who was deeply influenced by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. He found his true calling after he was disillusioned with conventional politics. He rejected a medical career and dedicated his life to establishing the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and spreading the message of Hindutva across India.
Vidyasagar Adhyapak, Makrand Sawant and Rajendra Tiwari have written a story based on real-life characters and incidents in Dr. Hedgewar’s life. Vidyasagar Adhyapak, Makrand Sawant, Rajendra Tiwari and Radhaswamy Avula’s screenplay is interesting and fairly engaging, but for a limited audience. Dialogues (by Vidyasagar Adhyapak, Makrand Sawant and Rajendra Tiwari) are okay.
Jayanand Shetty does a fair job as the old Hedgewar. Harish Gawai acts well as the young Hedgewar. Master Tejas is okay as child Hedgewar. Sunny Mandavarra performs fairly well as Lokmanya Tilak. Sandeep Bhojak is alright as Veer Savarkar. Mukund Vasule acts with a reasonable amount of conviction in the role of Mahatma Gandhi. Asha Singh Devasi is alright as Kasturba Gandhi. Swapnil Bhongade makes his presence felt as Pandit Nehru. Milind Dastane is passable as Dr. Munje. Manoj Joshi’s narration is proper. Others lend the necessary support.
Radhaswamy Avula’s direction is average. Dr. Sanjayraj Gaurinandan’s music is so-so. Lyrics (Sorabh Bharat, Ankit Khatri, Nadan Vinod Sharma Vats, Rajesh Bamgude and Arun Sangole) are nice. Tapan Jyoti Dutta’s background music is functional. Mahesh Dattatray Digrajkar and Aniket Khandagale’s cinematography is of a fine standard. Art direction (by Imran Ali, Mandar Jagannath Kumbhar, Aatish Baban Kharat and Geetanjali Anand) is of a decent standard. Editing (Mahesh Bhausaheb Pakhare and Jitendriya Kumar Parida) should’ve been sharper.
On the whole, Dr. Hedgewar is an ordinary fare.
