Har Har Mahadev review: Subodh Bhave-Sharad Kelkar's film is a cinematic brilliance if you have the patience for it

3/5

Story:

Shivaji Maharaj is a well-known name among the Marathas. He wants a warrior like Baji Prabhu Deshpande to fight alongside him. However, Baji is not allies with Shivaji Raje. How do they reach a stage where they become friends who are ready to die for each other?

Review:

Har Har Mahadev is a story that commences with artwork, one of the most effective intros to ever exist. The story, however, takes a very weird turn.

Sharad Kelkar's entry as Baji Prabhu Deshpande is quite heroic. His only are his angst and emotions. However, his character is loud without a reason.

Not just his entry, Sharad is heroic in every fight. He is the hero from the first to last frame.

Amruta Khanvilkar as Baji's wife Siddhi might appear in a brief role but she is more impactful than Sharad himself. While there are scenes where she appears too dramatized, those are too few and so, overall, Amruta has a good role.

Mohan Joshi comes in a very brief role and even though it’s forgettable, he does a good job as always. Kishore Kadam has a very brief but impactful role too.

Shivaji and Swarajya are only a topic of discussion for nearly 20 minutes. Subodh Bhave in the role does not appear for the longest time. When he does, his entry is very normal. He doesn't have an entry instantly and takes his time to leave an influence.

He doesn't fit in the role completely, at least not instantly. However, when he dresses up like the conventional image of Shivaji, Subodh nails it. His dressing does half the work and his acting only makes him as Shivaji believable.

The storytelling is clear in the movie. If not direct, even indirect messages reach across. The only thing with history is, it keeps repeating, dragging over-and-over.

The characters of Afzal Khan, Kanhaji and Sai were also included in the story. They all have brief appearances but add something to the plot. Nishiganda Wad as Shivaji's mother is a delight as always.

The best dialogues in the film were already used in the trailer. The music which amps up the scenes only works in its favour at some times. After a while, it gets too much.

The story is set in Pratapgarh, Panhala and Bijapu. It is Shivaji and Baji's fight with Afzal that brings the story back on track. Commercializing that scene too does not work too much in favour of the movie.

The second half of the film commences with Baji and Shivaji working together. It is the best thing to happen to the movie. It is their interactions that make the movie worthwhile.

This film humanizes Shivaji in a believable manner. However, the dialogues do not work in its favour. Shivaji taking Baji's name again-and-again isn't the best thing out there.

Even if the story does turn interesting, the problem is with the commercialization. It goes Indian TV style and that makes you lose the little interest you get after so long.

The cinematography in the movie, however, does work well. Zooming into the frame or focusing on just one aspect of the face/body, this movie gets the cinematography on point.

Being a period film about war, the visuals sure are grand. It is almost on the scale of Jodhaa Akbar but here, it is the commercial aspects that affect the film. For instance, Sharad jumps from a hill in a scene and lands safely, while scaring the enemy away.

The movie is made on a large scale and that shows pretty well. Although it could have been extremely impressive if the story was not fictionalized to an extent, Har Har Mahadev is a cinematic brilliance.

The real movie is actually in the last one hour of the film. Everything before that is important but not as up to the mark.

A few scenes are dramatized beyond needed. Of course, the sad music every time such a thing happens doesn't help the cause of the film.

Overall, it is the visuals that work well for the movie. And we don’t just mean the cinematography but also the action sequences. In terms of dialogues or music though, Har Har Mahadev gets a little too much.

Verdict:

Har Har Mahadev is a cinematic brilliance in the last hour of the film. Up to that point, you are only trying to figure out where the story is headed and where will it lead to. Even then, although the visuals are beyond appealing, the music is not. Nonetheless, if you are looking for entertainment along with some knowledge about your history, this is the film to go for.