Rege (Marathi) / The curious tale of the underworld

Cinematography: Mahesh Limaye

Music:Avdhoot Gupte

Cast: Aroh Welankar, Mahesh Manjrekar, Pushkar Shrotri, Santosh Juvekar, Pravin Tarde, Viju Mane, Anant Jog, Uday Sabnis, Ramesh Pardeshi

By Sunil Nandgaonkar

It is for the first time in Marathi cinema that a film not only shows the underworld but also emphasises on the curiosity of today’s youth about the crime world which takes them to a dead end in their life. The treatment of the newly released film Rege is new to the Marathi audiences and director Abhijit Panse has succeeded, to a great extent, in his debut venture in trying to bring out the real facts of the anti-social elements.
Aniruddha Vikram Rege (Aroh Welankar) is a medical student. Though he aspires to be a doctor like his parents, he is fascinated by the people of the underworld. He is intrigued about their dangerous yet glamourous lifestyle and the power that they possess. Incidentally, he comes across M bhai (Santosh Juvekar) and some unforesaken incidents occur with Rege that changes his life completely.
It is a fact that today’s youth have a tremendous fascination for the underworld gangs. But only the one who is a part of that world is aware of its dark side and the risk to one’s life. That is what happens to the main protagonist Rege who gets involved in some unfortunate incidences that ruin his life. Though the story leads you through some sad incidents, the director tries to focus on the harsh reality. Considering this is one genre that has rarely been used in Marathi films, Panse has convincingly dealt with it ably. The plot starts with Aniruddha Rege’s birthday and ends on the same day. The film has been made more effective with the use of several flashbacks.
Full points must be given to the cinematography by Mahesh Limaye and background score by Monty Sharma besides the brilliant acting by all the lead actors. The names of real life police officers like Pradeep Sharma and Sachin Waje have been used in the film though the director mentions that this is fictional film. Aroh Welankar as Aniruddha Vikram Rege is brilliant. He has expressed the curiosity about the underworld and the fear of the third degree treatment by the police excellently. The fact that the director has not given importance to a heroine in the film also needs a mention.