Never thought I would ever review a Marathi movie. Let alone for my first movie review EVER! For those who don’t know me, I am as proficient in Marathi as Digvijay Singh is eloquent, in political matters.
Well , let’s get the ball rolling with some Wikipedia gyaan.
“Balak-Palak (meaning Children-Parents) (BP) is a 2013 Marathi language comedy-drama film on the topic of sex education. The film is directed by Ravi Jadhav and produced by Riteish Deshmukh, Uttung Thankur and Ravi Jadhav. This is the first film produced by actor Riteish Deshmukh. The story was written by Ganesh Pandit and Amber Hadap. Balak Palak was shot by Mahesh Limaye.“
B.P is a play made on the common vernacular for pornography (‘Blue Picture’) that is available on the sly, in our country, which is prohibited by law of course.
I had heard a lot about the movie, but was vary if I wanted to spend an afternoon of leisure, on a regional movie in an unfamiliar language. I was pleasantly surprised, to say the least.
First of all, the topic that it revolves around is taboo in our culture. And that is pan-India. Sex-education is still misunderstood and is a subject which makes us go red in the face. This results in half-knowledge and preposterous misconceptions , more often than you would think . What impressed me was the tact with which the makers handled it, not only breaching the topic, but also providing constructive solutions. All the actors, whether child or seasoned, have put in splendid performances and would have anyone convinced.
The movie is extremely relate-able and nothing shown is too over the top. I spent those 1 and half hours with the characters, laughing, swooning and weeping with them, and it all leads to an eye-opening ending. A recommended watch , even if it means having to deal with sub-titles.