Review: Ashtapadi : A Musical Love Traingle!

Ashtapadi is a Marathi romantic drama that attempts to explore the dynamics of young love. It tries to strike a romantic chord but ends up playing off-key. With its stale storyline, lackluster execution, and underwhelming performances, the film is unlikely to find favour at the box office.

The story follows Aniket (Abhinay Patekar) and Savni (Mayuri Kapadane), who cross paths in a music class and gradually develop feelings for each other. Their blossoming romance, however, hits a roadblock in the form of Vikram (Santosh Juvekar), who is also in love with Savni. The love triangle sets the stage for the film and what transpires around it forms the crux of the story.

Writer Mahendra Patil relies heavily on clichés. The screenplay trudges along expected lines with little emotional engagement. The dialogues, also penned by Patil, are sparkling at certain places. The drama which ensues in the love triangle should have been encashed with more effectiveness.

Director Utkarsh Jain tries to breathe life into the weak script. His handling of the film should have been more mature. On the technical front, the music by Milind More is passable but the Ganpati track stands out. The lyrics by Prashant Jamdar and Ganesh Cheulkar are unremarkable. Digvijay Joshi’s choreography is good and Dhanraj Wagh’s cinematography too is nice but the editing could have been tighter.

In terms of performances, Abhinay Patekar puts in a modest effort as Aniket. Mayuri Kapadane as Savni delivers a routine performance and has a scope for improvement. Santosh Juvekar, on the other hand, stands out with a convincing portrayal of the intense and emotional Vikram. Mona Kamat, Swapnil Rajshekhar and Milind Pathak lend good support. Madhav Abhyankar, Vinita Kale, Chanda Sarsekar, Nayana Bidwe, Vishal Arjun, and Mahendra Patil are strictly functional.

Rating : **1/2

By Keerti Kadam