Let me start this review by saying that a Marathi/Hindi film has not inspired me in a long time. The industry constantly puts out movies that beg to be smeared; a cheesy mess of acting, dialogue, camera movements, and sound that would leave any serious western audience member offended. Katyar sidesteps most of these "film death tropes" as I like to call them, and offers a story that would not be complete without its music.
On a surface level, Katyar follows the basic outline of the Prince and the Pauper story, a poor man and a rich man who have fundamentally different values wish to trade places but must sacrifice a part of themselves to do so. The themes of this film are entrenched in the music of the different gharanas, which in this case . If anyone is curious, the age old Indian conflict of Hindus versus Muslims plays a huge part in the movie's iconography, but is handled with more subtlety than I have ever seen in Indian cinema. The actors give off a ZeeTV soap opera feel to the whole affair (without the atrocious camera work and editing effects); but let's be real, these actors are really just here to give the music and cultural setting. And boy do the sights and sounds of this movie impress.
I could probably do a separate review even longer that this one about the film's soundtrack, but since this is a movie review sight, I'll talk more about how the sounds relate to the film. The booming beats of the Hindustani pakhawaj coming with the soothing swarmandal and droning tanpura back the voices of Shankar Mahadevan and Subodh Bhave (who had Rahul Deshpande singing for him), each of whom give a performances that would make the actual legends of this gharana proud. To parallel the Hindustani style, the fast tempo, poppy tabla, and light melodies of the sarangi and harmonium back Mahesh Kale's undeniably great voice. Each note, voice, melody, and harmony shine through in the production, and are really the highlights of the film. The visuals serve to boost the music sequences, but don't offer much more than what a stage production of this script could have offered. In fact, at many points of he film, I found myself wishing that I had seen this as a play instead of a movie; what a play would have lost in terms of production value, it would gain in terms of pure charm.
Overall, Katyar is bursting at the seams with Indian cultural charm. I felt like the film opened a connection between me and my Indian ancestors, a connection that I've never really felt before. Despite not breaking away completely from some of the egregious tropes of Indian cinema, the magnetic effect the film had on my subconscious makes it one of the best Marathi/Hindi movies I've ever seen. I may have my biases as an aficionado of classical music, but this film is an important showcase of Indian culture and music, and a must watch for anyone that is even remotely interested in these topics.
On a surface level, Katyar follows the basic outline of the Prince and the Pauper story, a poor man and a rich man who have fundamentally different values wish to trade places but must sacrifice a part of themselves to do so. The themes of this film are entrenched in the music of the different gharanas, which in this case . If anyone is curious, the age old Indian conflict of Hindus versus Muslims plays a huge part in the movie's iconography, but is handled with more subtlety than I have ever seen in Indian cinema. The actors give off a ZeeTV soap opera feel to the whole affair (without the atrocious camera work and editing effects); but let's be real, these actors are really just here to give the music and cultural setting. And boy do the sights and sounds of this movie impress.
I could probably do a separate review even longer that this one about the film's soundtrack, but since this is a movie review sight, I'll talk more about how the sounds relate to the film. The booming beats of the Hindustani pakhawaj coming with the soothing swarmandal and droning tanpura back the voices of Shankar Mahadevan and Subodh Bhave (who had Rahul Deshpande singing for him), each of whom give a performances that would make the actual legends of this gharana proud. To parallel the Hindustani style, the fast tempo, poppy tabla, and light melodies of the sarangi and harmonium back Mahesh Kale's undeniably great voice. Each note, voice, melody, and harmony shine through in the production, and are really the highlights of the film. The visuals serve to boost the music sequences, but don't offer much more than what a stage production of this script could have offered. In fact, at many points of he film, I found myself wishing that I had seen this as a play instead of a movie; what a play would have lost in terms of production value, it would gain in terms of pure charm.
Overall, Katyar is bursting at the seams with Indian cultural charm. I felt like the film opened a connection between me and my Indian ancestors, a connection that I've never really felt before. Despite not breaking away completely from some of the egregious tropes of Indian cinema, the magnetic effect the film had on my subconscious makes it one of the best Marathi/Hindi movies I've ever seen. I may have my biases as an aficionado of classical music, but this film is an important showcase of Indian culture and music, and a must watch for anyone that is even remotely interested in these topics.