Pawan Khind (2022) :
Movie Review -
Before starting this review, let me offer my Mujra to Chatrapati Shivaji Raje and his thousands of warriors. I have been reading Raje's stories from childhood, from my school books to TV series to Powadas, and then, at a young age, YouTube videos and literature helped a lot. Director Digpal certainly has more knowledge about these stories than I do. I am sure if he's given a task to write the chapters of school books, all the students will know more about Raje and Maratha history than anywhere else. But I must say, his high quality writing skills don't match his immature cinematic sense. I said it when I saw Farzand too. Take any chapter from Shivaji Maharaj's history, take any Maratha Warriors' story, and you'll understand that you don't even have to look for stories anywhere else. There is no need for remakes or sequels, and no fictional writing is required; simply follow these legendary tales and you can make better films than Bahubali and Titanic. Tell me, has Bahubali or Titanic got such inspirational tales to tell? No. Not at all. These are not legendary tales at all; they are just legendary films because the directors presented those decent stories with their extraordinary visions.
Whether it is Farzand, Fatteshikast or Pawan Khind, all three stories have better tales than Bahubali and Titanic, but poor cinematic treatment has spoiled the unimaginable potential. Let me say it loud and clear, it's not about budget, not at all. Take Tanhaji, for instance. It's all about Om Raut's brilliant cinematic vision. Take Minnal Murali, for instance. There is no big budget, but look at the presentation. These iconic stories of Shivaji Maharaj and his mawlas deserve to be told in such a manner that the entire nation, and even foreigners, should take note of them. Not this highly dramatic, unnatural, and daily-soap-oriented vision of Digpal Lanjekar. Hey Digpal, I am not criticising you or your film because I didn't like it, but I'm criticising because I know you can do better, and these stories can't be told again and again on silver screen, so please don't waste golden opportunities. You get only one chance to present that one story, so I think you must make it such a phenomenon that people will even forget Bahubali.
We all know about Pawan Khind. I first heard about this story when I was in fourth grade, and I later saw many YouTube videos about it when I was in college. There was Nitin Desai's serial on Star Pravah too. Basically, we all know this story of the brave Maratha warrior, Baji Prabhu Deshpande. When you read the title of this film, and before watching the film, you make up your mind that you are going to watch the film based on Baji Prabhu, but it's not like that. This film is not just about him, it's about everyone involved in that battle, including an extended story of Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. In 150 minutes, Baji Prabhu hardly gets 50 minutes of his own. That hurts. The bravery of Baji Prabhu deserved a solo film led by his character. But I'm happy with the way Digpal has crafted this long story and so many characters within a single narrative. The film has got some great moments of Maratha pride, bravery, and legacy, and those scenes do wet your eyes. The problem appears in Digpal's storytelling. His mediocre vision spoils the great soul and potential of this legendary story. The scenes are scattered and brushed off poorly, and there are lots of technical glitches in the editing, sound designing, and background score. It's a disaster show there, but somehow it is saved by the emotions we have for those characters.
Why he had to give that loud background score after Begum's dialogues or even for Johar's dialogues. Why he had to scatter away the entire climax into pieces and make it look like a TV serial. You talk about 10,000 Mugals, but you hardly show us 100 troops on screen, and they too appear in sections. What the hell? At least give us one pan frame (VFX or painting, just show something) where we can witness the seriousness of the battle. How the hell are we supposed to feel the pain of a 9-hour battle within 20 minutes, and even those 20 minutes have so many pauses and flaws? Why did you have to make it so dramatic when their real lives are more dramatic than any fictional piece of writing any great writer or screenwriter could write? I request every viewer to watch one of the animated short versions of Pawan Khind, available on YouTube. See how that animation/YouTube creator has presented this story. The great Baji Prabhu gave away his last breath fighting for Raje, and the way he fought thousands alone despite so many wounds is something you just can't imagine. In metaphorical language, it's like Lord Shiva doing Tandav. Did you see a single graphic that indicated it? Even thinking about it leaves you in jitters, and then you get to see that unbelievable battle in outdated and believable setting? Why? You have such a talented cast, but you don't even use them to their best potential just because you have a limited vision for your storytelling.
The story of Pawan Khind is even bigger than Snyder's 300 or any battle film Hollywood has made. Like I said, you don't have to make everything overdramatic. William Wyler made the legendary "Ben Hur" (1959) in that era when these advanced techniques of filmmaking were not even available. He made the entire film with Zero CGI, yes, he had a large budget, but see how he has presented the biblical. There are just 4 or 5 scenes of Jesus Christ in the film, and he does not use any dramatic cliches to show Christ's presence. The lord appears like any human, but you feel blessed watching his little glimpses even without his face. That's the magic of cinema. Lanjekar had Chatrapati, Jijau, Baji Prabhu and so many immortal characters, but he used all those like any immature director uses mediocre actors in any crap daily soap. Pawan Khind is more dependent on its storyline than any other cinematic aspect. Be it direction, cinematography, background score, dialogues, set designs, editing or screenplay. Yes, the acting department seems to be in better condition as all the actors have played their parts very well. The music sounds better with the visuals, and the overall impact of the film is definitely better than Fatteshikasta. I agree that Digpal has improved a lot from Fatteshikasta, but I still think he could do a lot better. I have seen those stage plays he made about Sawarkar, so I know how brutal and hard-hitting products he can make. The film has become a Super Hit and I congratulate the entire team on their success. But it's my humble request to Digpal, please make it better with the next story. This time you've got money from the profit of Pawan Khind, so use it for the sake of quality.
RATING - 5/10*
By - #samthebestest.
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