In Marathi theater, there is a hallowed tradition of ‘sangeet natak’ or musical plays. The tradition goes back over centuries and an eminent member of this elite league was Sangeet Maanapmaan, a triangular love story set against a backdrop of valor and war with the evergreen theme of rich girl and poor boy. Written and staged first in 1911, it is now challengingly filmed by Jio Studios and director-actor Subodh Bhave as a 2025 musical that is perfect entertainment for every generation—and every (that is, even non-Marathi) viewer.

Judiciously and exemplarily filmed with terrific lines, performances, music and technical values, it is the perfect example of how a universal theme can transcend eras in appeal when executed in the right way.

Sangeet Maanapmaan is about Dhairyadhar (Subodh Bhave) who herds cattle and is the son of a martyred soldier. The brave-heart has a compassionate nature but is adept in combat. He wishes to join the army but his widowed mother (Neena Kulkarni) will not risk her son’s life after her loss. Both mother and son think the world of each other.

In Sangrampur’s royal court, the Senapati or commander-in-chief (Shailesh Datar) tells the queen (Nivedita Saraf) that it was high time he retired, and that he will find his replacement within a year. The successor must not only be a tough and strategic warrior but also one who loves his people and is “as soft as cotton” with them. His deputy, Chandravilas (Sumeet Raghavan), he says, does not fit these requirements.

Chandravilas, who has hopes of succeeding his superior, is a childhood friend of the army supremo’s beautiful and firebrand daughter, Bhamini (Vaidehi Parshurami), who considers him her best friend, but the former is infatuated with her and takes it for granted that she will marry him.

The kingdom has a foe in the exiled Dhiren (Upendra Limaye), who lives with his ailing father in neighboring Khushalpur and dreams of taking over Sangrampur (which he feels rightly belonged to his father and not the late husband of the queen, who was younger to him).

Meanwhile, during the Dhiren-orchestrated attack on Senapati, Dhairyadhar saves his life by valiantly fighting the attackers and the impressed chieftain suggests that he join his army. Dhairyadhar manages to persuade his mother and now heads a covert guerilla-like unit that manages to foil enemy plans.

His mother is summoned by the Senapati on Bhamini’s birthday and he suggests that Bhamini marry Dhairyadhar. Enraged at the prospect of marrying a poor man, the girl insults her and on learning of this, Dhairyadhar is enraged. Bhamini is sent by her father to apologize to both. This time, Dhairyadhar refuses to meet her.

Egged on by Chandravilas, Bhamini decides to expose the man who has dropped out of nowhere and is suspected by Vilas of having pecuniary ambitions and ulterior motives. When Dhairya, after two successful break-ins into enemy territory, is assigned the task (with his team) of building a protective wall in the South of their kingdom, Bhamini decides to go there and pose as a rural worker, Vanamala. What happens next forms the rest of the story.

Director Subodh Bhave’s triumph lies in making cinema that is based on an old, and much-repeated rich girl-poor man theme in a way that gratifies the audience at every level and of every age. The cinematic presentation is the perfect blend of culture, modernism and tradition, also focusing on gender equality, the evils of patriarchal thinking and of espousing merit and courage over bloodline.

The screenplay at 165 minutes does not seem stretched at all, and in fact, the dialogues (Prajakt Deshmukh) in particular in the Vanamala-Dhairyadhar segment are outstandingly conceived and hit the perfect emotional chords. Bhamini’s gradual but certain realization of how much she was wrong about Dhairyadhar and how apt was her father’s judgment of him is the highlight.

About six of the immortal songs from the original play are used brilliantly along with fresh but weighty compositions by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy.

The new lyrics (Sameer Samant) are supple and remind us of the best written works in both Marathi and Hindi cinema. They have the depth and emotional connect along with the incredibly simplicity of giants like G.D. Madgulkar in Marathi or Anand Bakshi, Rajendra Krishan and Shailendra. Standing out among them are Aala re aala rutu premaachaa  and Vandan ho, though all the classic melodies like Naahi mee bolat and Shoora mee vandeeleare re-treated are used with tremendous sagacity. The background music (Santosh Mulekar) is brilliant as well.

Subodh Bhave’s direction is simply fabulous in its mix of old-time weight and contemporary charm. His own performance is flawless as well and he gets magnificent support from two powerhouse performers—Vaidehi Parshurami as Bhamini and Shailesh Datar as Senapati. It is great to watch Neena Kulkarni as Dhairya’s spitfire yet caring mother away from her standard long-suffering image. The versatile Sumeet Raghavan is the scheming and finally vicious Chandravilas—though made to play a typical blackguard, he succeeds in repelling us. Upendra Limaye is also effective as Dhiren. Archana Nipankar is excellent as Bhamini’s aide and Nivedita Saraf makes for a firm yet kind queen.

The film may come across to detractors as something very 1960s to 1980s, or TV serial-ish, but when the emotions connect and you feel for the characters, the filmmakers’ victory lies in making a movie that even today’s viewers will adore and take back home. If we can accept blood-soaked movies from the South solely because of the emotions, let me remind you that a film like this will remain timeless, and the music will help as well.

All in all, Sangeet Manapmaan is an experience that must be cherished as much for form as for content.

Rating: ****1/2

Jio Studios & Shree Ganesh Marketing & Film’s Sangeet Maanapmaan Produced by: Jyoti Deshpande, Nikhil Sane & Sunil Phadtare  Directed by: Subodh Bhave Written by: Krushnaji Prabhakar Khadilkar, Subodh Bhave, Shirish Gopal Deshpande, Urja Deshpande & Prajakt Deshmukh Music: Govindrao Tembe & Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy Starring: Subodh Bhave, Vaidehi Parshurami, Sumeet Raghavan, Shailesh Datar, Neena Kulkarni, Upendra Limaye, Keya Ingle, Nivedita Saraf, Archana Nipankar & others Sp. App.: Bela Shende, Amruta Khanvilkar & Shankar Mahadevan 

(Used with permission)

Related posts:

Grand Music Launch For An 18-Singer Marathi Magnum Opus Gharat Ganpati Yet Another Proud Moment for Marathi Cinema Mysore Brothers Perform Violin Concert in Support of the JSS Spiritual Mission in Maryland ‘I promise to be a President for all Americans. You can always trust me to put country above party and self’