Movie Review: Uttarayan

There are films that try to tell emotionally complex stories and succeed in making an impact. The 2005 Marathi movie "Uttarayan" does just that. Adapted from the Marathi play "Durgi" by Jaywant Dalvi, the film remains true to the theme and concept for the most part. The film explores the concept of love and companionship in old age. 

The story is told through Raghuvir Rajadhyaksha (Shivaji Satam). He is a widower for the past 14 years and has been staying alone in Nagpur. He visits Mumbai for the wedding of his 30 year old son. He meets his teenage playmate Kusumavati (Neena Kulkarni), who works as a librarian. Kusumavati is now known as Durgi as her husband's family in Pune rechristened her name post marriage. She has been through a traumatic marriage because her husband, despite being a barrister, was an alcoholic and a womanizer. Durgi is back in Mumbai and is taking care of her aging mother (Uttara Baokar) and the film talks about how they rediscover their love in their fifties. 

Both the lead actors Shivaji Satam and Neena Kulkarni have acted well. Shivaji Satam almost identifies himself as a widower thereby bringing out the emotions with utmost ease and perfection. Neena Kulkarni, as always, is restrained and good in her role as a librarian. Uttara Baokar as Durgi's aging mother is competent though it's a fairly tiny role that she has in the movie. 

The music by Amartya Rahut is melodious. The direction by Bipin Nadkarni is engaging despite the slow pace of the movie and there are no dull moments throughout the film. The lyrics and storyline by Kaustubh Savarkar work wonders for this film. It received 12 nominations in various categories at the Alpha Gaurav Awards and bagged 7 of the 12. It also won the National Film Award for the Best Feature Film in Marathi in 2006 and was also in the contention for the Academy Award submission before Paheli was chosen. 

There is this song from the film called "Dhund Hote Shabd Saare" by Ravindra Bijor composed by Amartya Rahut. The other version sung by Bela Shende plays out during the end credits. The male version of the song is so perfectly placed capturing the time when Raghuvir and Durgi were teenagers and it almost tells you the story of the film through the song. The song plays here: