Chandramukhi Movie Review: Amruta Khanvilkar, Mrunamyee Deashpande & Ajay-Atul's Music Shine In This Moon Plated Film With Low Gravity

Tamasha is one of the most celebrated art forms in Maharashtra. The dance form is still one of the most watched and revered forms of art in the state. That's why Tamasha has been a vital part of several films over the years. Inspired by the German classic Der Blaue Engle/The Blue Angel (1930), V. Shantaram made Iconic Pinjara (1972), which set a benchmark that hasn't been matched yet, and quite possibly won't be matched ever. Going further back, this concept of a working/nave man falling for a kind-hearted dancer/courtesan was used earlier too. The best I remember is (again) V. Shantaram's Amar Bhoopali (1951). Among the recent ones, who can ever forget Ravi Jadhav's memorable debut Natarang (2010)? A film that brought back those golden days of Lavani and Tamasha from the 70s. And one more thing to notice: all three films mentioned above had outstanding music albums. Chandramukhi was launched with those heavy expectations and from a director who had debuted with a classic like Kachcha Limbu, but sadly, it didn't match the level. Why? Let's find out.

When Prasad Oak debuted with Kachcha Limbu, I was stunned by his directorial skills. I never imagined that a good actor like Prasad would make such a great debut as a director. But then came the underwhelming Hirakani (2019), and I realised that it's not possible every time. Now, with Chandramukhi, he repeats the previous mediocre show. Chandramukhi is visually pleasant, musically sweet, lavishly shot, and even the performances are good, but it lacks the USP factors that could have separated it from the regular one-time-watch dramas. It takes you back to those old days and offers nothing but the same old story that doesn't sound right for today's films.

Based on Vishwas Patil's novel, Chandramukhi takes you into the musical world of Chandramukhi with a political drama standing beside it. Daulat (Addinath Kothare), an MP and a happily married person, falls in love with a dance-girl, Chandramukhi (Amruta Khanvilkar), which indicates endangering his political career as well as married life. Chandra has a horrible past, but that doesn't affect Daulat's affection for her. Just when they think that they can continue enjoying a secret affair, a political conspiracy comes to spoil the party for the love birds. What happens next is no big suspense, but let that be a secret for now.

Let's analyse the writing and screenwriting first. Okay, so Daulat is a sensible man, he has a beautiful and loyal wife, and yet he falls in love with Chandra. Why? Because he loved her voice, beauty, and dance moves, really? He, or for that matter, even the audience, knew that he couldn't have continued this extramarital affair without defamation, yet the script goes on showing Daulat and Chandra's affair as an honourable one. Who's gonna believe that? What sense did Mrunmayee's character make in that press conference scene?

On the other hand, Chandra too is a sensible woman - even though she is not rich, she is respectable except for one forced incident. She knows about Daulat's being married and yet she continues to show interest in him. At least one of them should have realised it before the climax. I mean, it was so predictable and it didn't even look emotional by the end. I don't really understand how this unconvincing story was finalised to be taken ahead on such a huge scale. No matter how big the scale of your film is, it has to have a sensible script because visuals and scale do not make a cinema.

Talking about the performances, I am very happy. Amruta Khanvilkar comes after the acting-oriented Pondicherry (2022), and she continues the flow. Rather, it's too powerful here because she is in the lead. The first frame of her, and you can't take your eyes off the screen. How beautiful she looks, I just can't describe it enough. Addinath, too, looks handsome and does his part well accordingly.

What surprised me the most was Mrunmayee. I have seen her good performances in films like Mokala Shwas and Natsamrat, and Chandramukhi reminded me of those films again. How effortlessly she does it and how convincing she is in every scene. Radha Sagar and Vandhana Waknis, Mohan Agashe and Samir Choughule's support is nice, whereas Prajakta Mali looks drop dead gorgeous in the special cameo song. Rajendra Shirsatkar sounds terrible in some scenes with those childish dialogues, but otherwise he has done a decent job.

The dead screenplay of Chandramukhi is lifted by attractive sets and melodious music. The hit music jodi of Ajay-Atul spread its magic again. It's not on the Sairat or Natrang level, though. The grandeur is eye-pleasing, indeed. Chandramukhi is probably the most visually spectacular, musical film in Marathi cinema after Katyaar Kaljat Ghusali (2015). The title song, Chandra, appears as an entry song for Amruta, and every single minute will be a pleasure for your eyes. Sawal Jawab is lyrically magical, Bai Ga is a pure heart-touching melody, To Chand Rati is decent but forgettable, and that Jeera-Bharni song is pure folklore nostalgia. The cinematography for the same is brilliant.

Coming to the direction, Prasad Oak's film has a healthy body and fancy clothes, but it lacks soul. The script made it difficult for him, but even his vision is nothing extraordinary, excluding the visual grandeur. The first half bores you with plausible conflicts, and then the second half tries to explain the logic with outdated cliches. One of the main conflicts, that jeera-bharani scene, goes so flat that I couldn't just make head or tail out of it. What was that anyway? How did the entire group of women do nothing but watch it happen? And then you use this crap as a shocking revelation. How are we supposed to connect to it?

Prasad Oak could have worked on a script from his side or could have at least removed the dull moment in the editing room. As a whole, Chandramukhi is a moon-plated film which looks beautiful but lacks the gravity that could have brought it down on earth. This can be seen for the music, dance numbers, performances, and visual appeal, but outside of that, don't have high expectations.