In 2016 we
have had some hardcore emotional performances by young-old men! The definition
of a ‘Man’ has been modified in recent times & many Marathi actors have
portrayed this change in perspective & sensibilities effectively on the
silver screen.
5. Sagar
Deshmukh (YZ)
YZ was a
complex film that talked on passion, friendship, romance, life & everything
in between. Sagar Deshmukh as ‘Gajanan’ was a genuinely out of the box
protagonist. First of all a lot of credit goes to the makers of ‘YZ’ who
perfectly casted Sagar in this role. Throughout the film Sagar is natural &
carries the whole film on his shoulders with ease. We would definitely want to
see him more often in Marathi films now!
4. Prashant
Damle (Bho Bho)
It’s a said
rule that usually popular stage actors are not suited in films. But the king of
Marathi theatre for over 2 decades, Prashant Damle proved this rule wrong. He
was just as great on the screen as he is on the stage. He scores in the comic,
eccentric part of the film but he is even better in the emotional scenes. His
character ‘Detective Vyankatesh Bhonde’ has a fondness for dogs & has many
heart touching scenes were Prashant Sir is seen taking care of them, talking
with them & also saving their life!
3. Jitendra
joshi (Ventilator)
Jitu Joshi is
an actor who gives his 200% to every role that comes his way. And his role of
‘Prasanna’ from ‘Ventilator’ was perfectly tailor-made for him. A struggling
political activist whose father is on ‘Ventilator’ & he has been put into a
position to choose whether his father should stay on the ‘Ventialtor’ or not.
It’s the most difficult choice for a son to make, even if he wasn’t his
father’s favorite child. This conflict & moral confusion has been portrayed
by Jitu with real panache! His eyes emote everything that goes on in Prasanna’s
mind throughout the film!
2. Nana Patekar
(Natsamrat)
The most
loved acting performance of 2016 by all audiences. Nana played a sharp,
satirical but equally theatrical version of Dr. Lagoo’s ‘Ganpat Belwalkar’.
Many have written about all those beautiful philosophical, theatrical &
poetic dialogues that Nana recites in the film, but we felt Nana is actually
more fantastic in those normal scenes. He simply seems to be enjoying living
this mythical celebrated role. Those scenes where he ridicules his son-in-law’s
boss about plays & playwrights or those when he enters drunk at the party
or his satirical conversations with friend & ex-competitor Vikram Gokhale!
1. Dr. Mohan
Agashe (Astu)
Dr. Mohan
Agashe is one of India’s most underrated actors. He has worked in countless
great films in different languages & he has been actively part of theatre
as well. His role of a Sanskrit scholar who slowly & steadily gets affected
by Alzheimer’s disease in ‘Astu’ is one of his most accomplished performances
ever. The transition of an intelligent, learned man into a child who has no
memory & no understanding of ‘life as we know it’ is played with subtle
brilliance by Agashe Sir. It’s sad that a film like ‘Astu’ & a performance
like Agashe Sir’s had to be crowd funded to manage a release in theatres.
Nevertheless, it’s a film that will stay forever as a film that questioned,
analyzed our purpose & meaning of existence.
Honorable
Mentions:
- Vikram Gokhale (Natsamrat)
- Satish Alekar (Ventilator)
- Dilip Prabhawalkar (Family Katta)
- Makarand Anaspure (Ranga Patanga)
- Aniket Vishwasrao (Poshter Girl)