| Oum Films’ In the Name Of.. Tai – Tai Ke Naam (UA) is the story of Sandhya Purshottam (Nishigandha Wad) who is respectfully referreed to by her villagers as Tai. She fights MLA Subodh Singh (Ujjwal V. Thengdi) who is out to grab the land belonging to over a thousand villagers. While some villagers have been bribed by the MLA, there are many others who are against giving up their land.
MLA Subodh Singh gets some persons working for Tai, murdered and even has threats sent out to Tai but she, a lawyer by qualification, fights for the rights of the villagers, in court. Does Tai win the legal battle or is Subodh Singh victorious? There is also a track of Tai’s impotent husband (Parag Ajgaonkar). Tai separates from him and is attracted towards her friend, Mahesh Thakur (Mahesh Thakur). As for Subodh Singh, he is shown as a letch who wants new girls everyday to satisfy his sexual desires. Ujjwal V. Thengdi’s story and screenplay may be admittedly based on a true story but their commercial significance is almost nil. The story is too serious to be true and devoid of entertainment of any kind. What’s more, it is not even thought-provoking. The pattern of the screenplay is so haphazard that it wouldn’t be wrong to say that it looks like no care has been taken of continuity. The track of Tai’s impotent husband and her hidden sexual desires seems like an unnecessary add-on. Even the track of Betty (pronounced by each and every character in the film as ‘Beti’!!) does not mean much. Further, everything that’s done by Subodh Singh is done so openly that there’s no charm in what the audience gets to watch. It is almost like watching a one-sided battle. All in all, the drama fails miserably to strike a chord in the audience’s heart. Even Ujjwal V. Thengdi’s dialogues are too flowery to be true. Nishigandha Wad fails to impress and lacks spontaneity. To think that the audience would come to watch a film starring a not-so-well-known and middle-aged Nishigandha Wad in the central role is silly, to say the least. Subodh Singh does a fair job but there’s no variation in his performance; he wears just one expression throughout the film. Asrani is wasted. Mahesh Thakur gets no scope whatsoever. Dr. Vilas Ujawane, as the minister, barely fits the bill. Parag Ajgaonkar passes muster. Palvie and Kalpesh Mehta are not worth a mention. Ujjwal V. Thengdi’s direction is of the kind which may not even appeal to the festival circuit audience. His music and lyrics serve to bore the viewers. Background score is jarring to the ears. Sets (Ujjwal V. Thengdi) are alright. Ajay Arya’s camerawork is functional, at best. Dilip Kotalgi’s editing leaves plenty to be desired. On the whole, In The Name Of.. Tai – Tai Ke Naam is a disaster and will go as it has come – unannounced. Released on 12-10-’12 at PVR Lower Parel (daily 1 show) and other cinemas of Bombay thru August Entertainment. Publicity: dull. Opening: extremely poor. …….Also released in Delhi-U.P. and C.P. Berar. Opening was horrifyingly weak everywhere. |
