RNM Moving Pictures’ Panchak (Marathi) is the story of a family which is very superstitious. Except for three members in the large family, all the others let their lives be ruled by superstitions.
The Khot family is large. Almost all the family members are so superstitious that nothing can make them change their minds if there’s a choice between superstitious beliefs and logical thinking. Anant Khot (Dilip Prabhavalkar), his son, Madhav (Adinath Kothare), and nephew, Dr. Ajay (Sagar Talashikar), are the only three members who are very logical and scientific in their thinking.
One day, Anant Khot dies. It turns out that he had died at the most inauspicious time when the constellation of stars were in a panchak. This, according to the local pandit, Joshi Guruji (Vidyadhar Joshi), is indicative of five more impending deaths in the family and/or of relatives/friends. The only way to prevent more deaths, again according to Joshi Guruji, is to conduct some rituals. The primary ritual of consigning Anant Khot’s body to the flames is not carried out because Madhav announces his late father’s wish to donate all the organs of his body to the medical college.
What happens to the crazy family which starts living under the fear of impending deaths forms the crux of the drama.
Jayant Jathar and Rahul Awate have written a story which tries to debunk age-old superstitions. While the story is quite interesting, it does look stretched at places. Rahul Awate’s screenplay is interesting in parts. Some scenes are very funny and evoke laughter. For instance, the scene in which Anant’s elder brother, Bal (Satish Alekar), runs riot and thereby starts off a crazy reaction from the remaining family members is hilarious. The scene in which Madhav and his cousin, Vijay (Ashish Kulkarni), go to summon the house help, Bhagya (Ganesh Mayekar), and its aftermath (chase sequence) is also quite a laugh riot. Likewise, the scene of the havan and the scene in which Bhagya’s wife, Namrata (Aarti Wadagbalkar), gets seemingly possessed by a spirit evoke a lot of laughter. But there are scenes which don’t have the desired impact. For instance, the scenes in which Madhav fools Kaveri (Nandita Dhuri) by pretending to be the voice of a dead senior of the Khot family are not as dramatic and entertaining as they ought to have been. Besides, the scenes of the clash of thoughts between the superstitious members of the Khot family and the rational members — Madhav and Dr. Ajay — are not very well written. All the same, the drama does keep entertaining the audience in bits and parts. Rahul Awate’s dialogues are very nice.
Adinath Kothare does justice to Madhav’s character. Tejashri Pradhan does well but she gets limited scope as Revati. Anand Ingale is good as Madhav’s elder brother, Aatma. Nandita Dhuri is excellent in the role of Aatma’s wife, Kaveri. Satish Alekar has his moments as Bal. Sagar Talashikar leaves a fine mark as Dr. Ajay. Sampada Kulkarni is natural as Dr. Ajay’s wife, Anuya. Ashish Kulkarni does a splendid job as Bal’s younger son, Vijay. Deepti Devi is entertaining as Vijay’s Gujarati wife, Veena. Bharati Achrekar lends fine support as Uttara Aatya. Dilip Prabhavalkar makes his presence felt in a tiny role as Anant Khot. Vidyadhar Joshi has his moments as Joshi Guruji. Ganesh Mayekar leaves his mark as house help Bhagya. Aarti Wadagbalkar is lovely as Bhagya’s wife, Namrata. Anil Gawade impresses as Shivalkar. Tejas Kulkarni (as Shivalkar’s son) is okay. Master Swapnil (as Chingya) is very good.
Jayant Jathar and Rahul Awate’s direction is nice. The duo has made a neat and clean film which is fairly entertaining. Mangesh Dhakde’s music is quite appealing. Guru Thakur’s lyrics are in synch with the mood of the film, yet meaningful. Savio Barnes’ choreography is functional. Santosh Mulekar’s background music is fantastic and serves to heighten the impact of the drama. Pooja Gupte does a very fine job of the cinematography. Poorva Pandit Bhujbal’s art direction is of a fine standard. Jayant Jathar’s editing is sharp.
On the whole, Panchak is a reasonably good entertainer.
Released on 5-1-’24 at Plaza (daily 1 show) and other cinemas of Bombay thru PVR Inox Pictures. Publicity: so-so. Opening: alright.