Rita

Marathi theater and cinema has been making waves for its creativity and innovation interminently. Rita is a movie that surely lives up to the benchmark, in regards of well-presented story, that we come to expect from the Marathi movie industry. It is a women-oriented movie. However, we all can learn a few things from this movie, like: There is no need to change a broken mirror, but it is always necessary to change the way you look at it :-).

Right from the first frame, Rita holds on to your attention with an excellent background score and gripping direction. Rita is based on a Marathi novel Rita Welinkar, written by Renuka Sahane's mother Shanta Gokhale. It is a story of Rita Welinkar, a middle class woman (played by Pallavi Joshi) who had to bear the responsibility of her family at a very young age as her father lost her job on charges of financial irregularities. Rita has god-foresaken parents who are never thankful to her for putting aside her own dreams and ambitions for the family. However, they just keep stressing her to deliver more and more for themselves and their daughters.

Living thanklessly stresses out Rita to the core and she finds compassion in the company of her married boss, Salvi, a role played by Jackie Shroff. They get fond of each other and  predictably have an extra-maritial affair. As the story unfolds, it puts forth several questions regarding the morality of such affairs and whether the protaginists in the movie are portraying the right moral conduct. The story is more or less predictable, but its treatment and the questions it raises deserve accolades.

Performance by all characters are good except for Rita's parents. They seem to ham their roles at several instances. Certain parts of the movie seem sterotypical, but overall it's a well-packaged movie with its fair dose of sensible humour (thanks to Makrand Deshpande's cameo). Pallavi Joshi might snatch an award or two for her performance. She is a wonderful actor who we don't see much, unfortunately, in Hindi cinema. Rita is the first Marathi movie that I've seen on the big screen and it was a nice experience. Rita is not a great movie, but it will surely make you think after it's over.