Marathi cinema has been hailed as pioneering a new movement in content rich and diverse cinema. Riteish Deshmukh though is walking the path of a very commercial and entertaining version, and quite well. In the trailer of Aditya Sarpotdar’s Mauli, the actor takes on a role that carries shades of Salman Khan’s Dabangg cop with a very Marathi twist.
The trailer outlines the story of Mauli Sarjerao Deshmukh (Riteish Deshmukh), a new police officer to a far flung village in Maharashtra. The village is ruled by the iron fist of the ganglord (played by Jitendra Joshi). Not one to take things lying down, Mauli decides to set the town in order.
The trailer is an entertaining mix of commercial elements like action, punch dialogues, and camera stares. Deshmukh brings a nice balance of self-deprecating humour and macho-action to the trailer. The inclusion of an homage to his earlier film, Lai Bhaari (2014) is a nice touch. The scene of the hero reciting a Whatsapp forward to Kher’s heroine, only to have his bluff called is funny.
With Siddharth Jadhav also present in the film, comedy might play a big part in raising its popular appeal.
Jitendra Joshi returns to the big screen as a villain. After his turn as the very popular Katekar on Netflix’s Sacred Games, this is a nice change to see the actor in. He looks menacing, and has a soft malevolence in the way he speaks his dialogues.
Saiyami Kher is making her debut in Marathi, and receives just a handful of lines in the trailer. But the actress seems to have grasped the lingo quite well.
The trailer is entertaining to say the least, and hits the right chords. Ajay-Atul’s thumping background music adds to the experience.
The film is set to be released on 14 December.