The first film of Suhas Desale lays bare the moving story between two musical souls who come together one Pune winter.
Amaltash review: Emotional love story wrapped up in a marvellous musical
Cinestaan Rating
Release Date: 2021 / 02hr 14min
Sonal Pandya | Mumbai, 28 Oct 2018 23:00 IST
The Marathi Talkies section of the Mumbai Film Festival 2018, which showcases as yet unreleased films, kicked off with Suhas Desale's Amaltash. This film is that rare musical love story that delivers.
Set in Pune, Amaltash follows Rahul Watve (Rahul Deshpande), a partner at a music store with his friend Pavan. He lives with sister Deepti, her husband, and their daughter Dimple.
Keerti Potdar (Pallavi Paranjape) arrives in Pune from Canada to spend a month with her grandmother (Pratibha Padhye), whom she calls Ajju. It seems Rahul and Keerti are fated to meet. She sees Rahul and his young niece on a bike together on her way from the airport and clicks a picture of them.
Later, she finds him at her grandmother's, tuning the piano. From there on, the two keep bumping into each other and their shared love for music keeps them bonded. Initially, though, Keerti is fascinated by her grandmother's avowal that Rahul has absolute pitch; he disagrees and says he can just identify notes easily.
In another lifetime, Rahul used to be the lead singer and keyboardist of a rock band called Cinnamon Chai with his friends Pavan, Lic and Oak. The band broke up years before the story is set and the members have moved on to other avenues. They do get together frequently to jam, however.
On paper, Rahul and Keerti seem far apart as individuals. She is an actual farmer in Canada while Rahul and his sister were raised in a musical household by their father, a tabla player. Through music, they get to know each other more. Eventually, they open up about their lives and Keerti becomes a regular at their jamming sessions at Deepti's home.
But as this group grows closer, there is a dark cloud hanging over Rahul which is about to burst and shake up his life, and the lives of those who love him. How they handle this news is sensitively portrayed and with a lot of affection and dignity for the characters.
First-time filmmaker Suhas Desale is a photographer and he works with his cinematographers Rushi Tambe and Bhushan Mate to frame his story and characters like pictures. They observe them from far, and up close, silently viewing their interactions.
Both the music and the background score by Bhushan Mate (who is also in the film) and Amol Dhadphale, respectively, are exquisite. The original songs of the film, both in English and Marathi, are beautifully rendered by Deshpande and Paranjape. Deepti Mate, who plays Rahul's sister, has a wonderful lullaby that she performs in the film.
Remarkably, all of the performances in the film were performed live for the camera. It is one of the film's great draws. Deshpande, a renowned classical music singer, brings the right amount of depth and understanding to his character while Paranjape's sweet and melodic voice is like a soothing balm. As Keerti, she transforms Rahul and his family as he deals with yet another dark phase of his life.
The supporting cast of friends and family is equally good. Their natural camaraderie will often bring a smile to your face during the film. The dialogues are unpretentious and flowing, like conversations we would have sometimes. Late in the film, a sudden shift in one of the characters left me questioning its motives, but it does not take away from the overall experience of the film.
The title Amaltash, in case you are wondering, comes from a song lyric in the film and refers to the flowering tree, known as the golden rain. Suhas Desale's feature is an absolute treat and it would be a shame if this film were not released. If it is, do go watch it as it is beautifully crafted and enacted.
Amaltash was screened at the 20th Mumbai Film Festival on 27 October 2018.