Kaasav

Kaasav
Poster
Marathiकासव
Directed bySumitra Bhave
Sunil Sukthankar
Written bySumitra Bhave
Screenplay bySumitra Bhave
Story bySumitra Bhave
Produced byMohan Agashe
Sumitra Bhave
Sunil Sukthankar
StarringIravati Harshe
Alok Rajwade
Kishor Kadam
Mohan Agashe
Devika Daftardar
Santosh Redkar
Omkar Ghadi
CinematographyDhananjay Kulkarni
Edited byMohit Takalkar
Music bySaket Kanetkar
Distributed bySonyLIV
Release date
  • October 2016 (2016-10)
Running time
104 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageMarathi

Kaasav (English: Turtle) is a 2016 Indian Marathi-language film released on 6 October 2017. It was directed by filmmaker duo Sumitra Bhave–Sunil Sukthankar and produced by Mohan Agashe in association with Bhave–Sukthankar's production company "Vichitra Nirmiti".[1] The film won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film at the 64th National Film Awards.[2] It became the fifth Marathi film to win in this category.[3]

Plot

Maanav (Alok Rajwade) has been hospitalized for cutting his wrists. He runs away from the hospital. Janaki (Iravati Harshe) finds him collapsed on the side of the road. She asks her driver Yadu (Kishor Kadam) to take him home to Devgad(konkan) and appoints a private doctor. Janaki is a divorcee who often consults a psychologist for her panic attacks. She also helps Dattabhau (Mohan Agashe), who is working on an olive ridley sea turtles conservation program.[4]

Cast

Production

Mohan Agashe had acted and co-produced filmmaker duo Sumitra Bhave–Sunil Sukthankar's earlier film Astu (2016). A New Jersey–based couple, Prakash and Alka Lothe, saw Astu and liked it and gave 50 lakh to its producer-directors to make another film based on mental disorders.[5]

Bhave–Sukthankar found it difficult to find producers to make Kaasav which is based on depression as its theme. Agashe produced the film with Bhave and Sukthankar.[6]

The film was shot in a single 18-day schedule at Devgad's beaches.[6] As it depicts the issue of depression among youngsters in relation to the life and nesting cycle of olive ridley sea turtles, the team did a lot of research on the endangered species.[1][7][5]

Agashe, himself being a psychiatrist, provided clinical material to the filmmakers that also included psychiatrist and researcher Vikram Patel's book, "Where There is No Psychiatrist: A Mental Health Care Manual".[5]

Reception and awards

The film won the Golden Lotus Award (Swarna Kamal) National Film Award for Best Feature Film at the 64th National Film Awards. The citation states that this is "in appreciation of the perfect blending of an environmental behaviour and a personal one in a poignantly beautiful cinematic way."[2] It became the fifth Marathi film to win in this category.[3]

The film also participated in various international film festivals like the Mumbai Film Festival (2016), the Kolkata International Film Festival (2016), the International Film Festival of Kerala (2016), the Bengaluru International Film Festival (2017), and the New York Indian Film Festival (2017).[5]

The protagonist Alok Rajwade also won the Best Actor Award in the BRICS Film Festival-2017 held in China this year.

Actress, Iravati Harshe won Critics Award Best ActressFilmfare Awards Marathi 2017 and Maharashtra State Film Award for Best Actress.

References

  1. ^ a b "17th Annual New York Indian Film Festival". New York Indian Film Festival. Retrieved 4 May 2017.
  2. ^ a b "64th National Film Awards" (PDF) (Press release). Directorate of Film Festivals. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 June 2017. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
  3. ^ a b Bhanage, Mihir (11 April 2017). "Kaasav and Ventilator's big win at the National Awards". The Times of India. Retrieved 4 May 2017.
  4. ^ a b "Kaasav: Turtle". IMDb.
  5. ^ a b c d Mascarenhas, Anuradha (8 April 2017). "It's about helping beat depression with acceptance, love: Kaasav director Sumitra Bhave". The Indian Express. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  6. ^ a b Chatterji, Shoma (9 April 2017). "Kaasav, A Marathi Film That Has Won Laurels But Where Are the Distributors?". The citizen. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  7. ^ Janjali, Arwa (24 October 2016). "Allow youngsters space and they will explore life on their own". Sakaal Times.