Zee Studios and Mahesh Manjrekar Movies’ Hee Anokhi Gaath… (Marathi; UA) is an unusual love story.
Sreeniwas’ (Shreyas Talpade) mother (Suhas Joshi) is dying of cancer and is in a hurry to get him married. His marriage is fixed with Aditi (Dipti Lele) but she dies before the marriage is solemnised. So, Aditi’s father (Sharad Ponkshe) offers younger daughter Aamla’s (Gauri Ingawale) hand in marriage. Aamla wants to become an actress because she is a fabulous dancer, and so is not prepared for marriage. However, she has to obey her strict father. Amala and Sreeniwas get married.
Unhappy in marriage, Aamla often talks to Rohit (Rishi Saxena), a film cameraman who loves her a lot. Aamla doesn’t love Rohit but she sees him as a stepping stone to her acting career. When Sreeniwas realises that Aamla is not happy with him, he decides to let her unite with Rohit. What happens thereafter?
The film reminds of Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. Mahesh Waman Manjrekar’s story is not novel as even the Marathi film audience still remember the Hindi film of which this is a copy. His screenplay is good in parts only. The audience don’t feel bad for Sreeniwas in spite of his sacrificing stance — and that’s because there’s not much chemistry between Sreeniwas and Aamla. Hence, in a way, the soul of a love story is missing. The drama has limited comedy and also limited emotions. Siddharth Salvi’s dialogues are good.
Shreyas Talpade does a fine job as Sreeniwas. Gauri Ingawale is excellent as Aamla. Not just her acting but even her dances are wonderful. Sharad Ponkshe lends dramatic support as Aditi and Aamla’s strict father. Rishi Saxena is alright as Rohit. Suhas Joshi has her moments as Sreeniwas’ ailing mother. Purnima Manohar is alright as Aamla’s mother, Pournima. Dipti Lele makes her mark in a brief role as Aamla’s elder sister, Aditi. Isha Divekar is good as Aamla’s friend, Shweta. Surbhi Bhave is adequate as Meenal. Amol Parchure (as the film director), Shailesh Datar (as Rohit’s father) and Radhika Vidyasagar (as Rohit’s mother) do as desired. Others lend reasonably good support.
Mahesh Waman Manjrekar’s direction is proper but the narration ought to have been more sensitive and heartfelt. Hitesh Modak’s music is nice. Lyrics (by Vaibhav Joshi and Mandar Cholkar) are meaningful. Gururaj Korgaonkar’s choreography is lovely. Hitesh Modak’s background music is fairly effective. Karan B. Rawat’s cinematography is appealing. Pradyumna Kumar’s action and stunts are functional. Prasad Rane’s production designing, and Ketaki Ghuge’s art direction are nice. Satish Padwal’s editing is suitably sharp.
On the whole, Hee Anokhi Gaath… is a fair fare but lack of novelty and emotions will restrict its business.
Released on 1-3-’24 at Plaza (daily 1 show) and other cinemas of Bombay by Zee Studios. Publicity: ordinary. Opening: fair.