For many years now, Hindi cinema has been regularly churning out remakes of South Indian films. This hasn't happened much in Marathi cinema, though, except for the odd Half Ticket (2016), which was a remake of the Tamil film Kaaka Muttai (2016).
Now, director Murali Nallappa has officially remade the acclaimed Malayalam film Charlie in Marathi as Deva Ek Atrangee. Directed by Martin Prakkat, the original film starred Dulquer Salmaan.
Deva Ek Atrangee sees well-known actor Ankush Chaudhari play the lead role. The story is based in Maharashtra and revolves around Deva, a happy-go-lucky young man who derives great pleasure in spreading happiness and consoling those who are down in the dumps. Deva lives a nomadic lifestyle.
A young author (Tejaswini Pandit) makes Deva the protagonist of her next novel and slowly falls for him. However, as is his wont, Deva leaves for another place where he tries to comfort a depressed young woman (Spruha Joshi).
The trailer is filled with sweet moments surrounding Deva. The theme song that plays in the background adds to the effect. These are reasons enough to generate interest in your mind about the film and set expectations.
The theme of a man spreading happiness among rank strangers has been tried a few times in Hindi cinema — Anand (1971), Hero No 1 (1997), Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003), Munna Bhai MBBS (2003), and so on. But the theme is quite new for Marathi cinema.
Chaudhari is impressive as the titular character, except on a couple of occasions when his laughter seems forced. And it is good to see veterans like Mohan Agashe and the late Reema Lagoo in supporting roles.
Deva Ek Atrangee is set to be released on 1 December, the same date as the much-talked-about Padmavati.
You can predict the film's box-office performance here. And watch the trailer here: