Marathi film review: Rege

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                                   Rege

Marathi film review: Rege merges two distinct strands of society to tell a gritty tale

 Mumbai’s underworld, a topic very rarely tackled in Marathi cinema, is at the heart of this week’s Marathi release, Rege.

Abhijit Panse’s directorial debut has received a lot of praise across the festival circuit and rightly so.
The story is simple. Born in a family of doctors, Aniket Rege (Aaroh Velankar) has everything going right for him – a fantastic academic record, a promising career as a doctor ahead of him, rich parents who give him everything. But Ani crosses paths with the underworld and gets fascinated. Without realising it, Ani gets deeply involved with a don who’s on the radar of the city’s deadliest encounter cop. Does Ani get out of the situation without compromising his bright future?
That’s the story of Rege. Panse brings to the table a very interesting voice as a filmmaker. The screenplay unfolds in a non-linear format, taking you back and forth. The flashbacks are well-established with visual cues. Panse uses the film’s simple story to his advantage and creates a gritty, violent story without showing too much blood and gore.
Performances in the film are noteworthy. Right from Velankar, who brings out the excitement, innocence and nervousness of his character with great skill, to Mahesh Manjrekar who plays a supercop with panache, bringing in his signature comic timing and great screen presence – every actor is out of their comfort zone and yet entirely comfortable in playing their part in the film. Notably, Pushkar Shrotri, who has been seen largely in comedies, plays a serious role with great precision.
What doesn’t work for Rege is the fact that the trailer sets you up to expect something completely different. While the poster asks, ‘Are you paying attention to your kids?’, the film attempts to establish that the upper-middle class, educated section of the society is just as vulnerable to the underworld as the lower-middle class, uneducated sections.
The message about parenting seems slightly redundant to me. The two main police characters get their names from real-life top cops Pradeep Sharma and Sachin Vaze. While the film is entirely fictitious, these real names and the nature of the storytelling can leave you confused between the fictional and non-fictional aspects of the film.
The editing is crisp and the background score captivating – both major contributing factors to the film’s style of storytelling.
Rege is a film that is very Marathi in the foundation of its story and yet, it is a film that Marathi cinema hasn’t seen before. I watched the film with my sister who has lived in the US for almost half a decade and she strongly felt that Rege is a Marathi film that can transcend language barriers.
The film brings together two distinct strands of the society and merges them to create a story that is gritty, violent and innocent – all at the same time. While I enjoyed this film immensely, I'm still unsure about the message that the film attempts to convey. The film scores 3 samosas out 5.

Rege: Film Review – A gritty Crime-Drama

Rege: Film Review – A gritty Crime-Drama

Rege: Film Review – A gritty Crime-Drama

Directed by Abhijit Panse, Rege is a crime drama that showcases a young man’s journey into the underbelly of corruption. Aniruddha Rege (Aroh Walankar) is a final year M.B.B.S student who finds the concept of being an underworld don alluring. His parents are established doctors who are easy-going and don’t have him by a noose. Aniruddha has the permission to drink and party as he likes, and he makes full use of this freedom. But before he knows it, Rege has made some powerful friends in the form of M Bhai and gets involved in a whirlwind of events, leading to his arrest.

 

Inspector Pradeep Sharma (Mahesh Manjrekar) is a ruthless crime branch cop, who has a penchant for killing off small-time criminals and terrorists in encounters. He is feared by many in the system and has his own team of police inspectors who assist him with the encounters. The film jumps between timelines as we see Inspector Sharma on trial for four murders.

 

Rege, as a movie, has some fine moments furthered by a gritty, engaging plot, but fails in execution, as the shifts between the timelines are pretty rough around the edges. Many of the characters in the film are poorly developed and don’t have much to offer. Mahesh Manjrekar plays Inspector Sharma with a straight face, providing no depth to an otherwise convoluted character. One of the most honest portrayals in the film is that of Pushkar Shrotri, who plays Inspector Vaze, Sharma’s right-hand man. On the other hand, Aroh Walankar’s depiction of the titular character is spot-on, and he allows the viewers to empathize with his foolishness and plight.

 

The movie unravels at a crisp pace and benefits heavily from real set pieces. Avdhoot Gupte’s music also lends itself heavily to the film. From the hardcore police brutality to the murky confines of the underworld, all the scenes are realistic, with enough abusive words thrown in for good measure. The ending of the film is superb, and you exit the theatre wondering what would have happened if Rege has just stuck to his business.

 

Why you should watch the film?

 

The superb storyline and unsettling climax make this movie a worth watch. There are some diligent performances by the actors and writer-director Abhijit Panse has done a great job at giving us something that is both dark and thought-provoking.

By Navin Noronha
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