Sangeet Manapmaan is a once-upon-a-time tale, set in an unspecified era of peasants and royals, swordplay and power play. Subodh Bhave’s Marathi movie is about a shepherd who aspires to be a soldier, the wealthy woman who rejects him and her scheming suitor.
Grandly named characters inhabit a world of lofty values and petty arguments. Dhairyadhar (Subodh Bhave) impresses Sangrampur’s military commander Kakasaheb (Shailesh Datar) with his valour and honesty. Kakasaheb recruits Dhairyadhar into Sangrampur’s army, and none too soon – the neighbouring kingdom’s ruler Dhiren (Upendra Limaye) is aching for battle.
Kakasaheb is so taken with Dhairyadhar that he wants him for a son-in-law. Kakasaheb’s daughter Bhamini (Vaidehi Parashurami) is incensed at being promised to a man whom she not only hasn’t seen but is also much poorer than her. A misunderstanding keeps Dhairyadhar and Bhamini apart, exacerbated by Bhamini’s cunning friend Chandravilas (Sumeet Raghvan), who wants her for himself.
The film’s title points to its origins as a stage musical. Shirish Gopal Deshpande and Urja Deshpande have based their screenplay on Krushnaji Prabhakar Khadilkar’s popular 1911 play of the same name. Music supports, propels and rescues the movie version, which comes off as dated as the plot itself.
Sangeet Manapmaan resembles period dramas from several decades ago, in which heavily robed characters slash through thickets of dialogue and contrived confusion while breaking into song every now and then. Like his previous film Katyar Kiljat Ghusali (2015) – which was also based on a musical play – Subodh Bhave relies heavily on the composers Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy to justify Sangeet Manapmaan’s journey to the big screen.
The musicians roll out a series of magnificent tunes, each one soulfully rendered and impeccably arranged. Given the overall lack to attention to the basic ingredients of period productions – compelling characters, thrilling fights, attractive costumes, sets and make-up – Sangeet Manapmaan is salvaged almost entirely by its soundtrack.
Still, not even the glorious music inspires Bhave and his team to provide the matching visuals or elements of enchantment that could have rescued the 165-minute film from sluggishness. Every frame belongs to a television show, or the era when filmmakers either couldn’t afford to or didn’t bother to create props that didn’t look fake or hairdos that didn’t obviously resemble wigs.
The characters are mostly cardboard-like too, with the exception of Upendra Limaye’s cheerfully nasty Dhiren. The honour and humiliation involved in the entanglement between Dhairyadhar and Bhamini is tilted in the impossibly noble Dhairayadhar’s favour. Although Bhamini isn’t a shrew, her motivations are confusing, especially given her conduct with the ever-obliging Chandravilas.
The triangular relationship might have been halfway plausible if the actors were better suited to their roles, and to each other. Subodh Bhave and Sumeet Raghvan are visibly too old to play men in the throes of youthful ardour. Although Bhave turns out a decent performance, he often appears haggard, the pouches under his eyes complementing the burden of starring in as well as directing the movie.
Raghvan looks out of place at all times. Vaidehi Parashurami is a poor fit as the heart-breaking beauty Bhamini. Parashurami’s lack of chemistry with Bhave is especially felt in the love songs, which speak of a timeless passion that is missing from the visuals.
The film can be watched with closed eyes and alert ears. Some meetings could have been emails. This one could have been an album.
Also read:
Subodh Bhave on ‘Sangeet Manapmaan’ musical: ‘A timeless story updated for today’s audiences’
