Punha Gondhal Punha Mujra Movie Review

The film revolves around the protagonists Narayan Wagh and Vishwasrao Tope battling it out to become state ministers. What tactics do they refrain to and who will succeed?

Review: Very precisely timed and in sync with the upcoming elections, the film is a satirical take on the condition of politics in the country. Picking up from the first instalment, 'Gallit Gondhal Dillit Mujra', of the franchise, it revolves around the lives of two ambitious leaders Narayan Wagh (Makrand Anaspure) and Vishwas Tope (Sayaji Shinde) and their devious plans of helping themselves become ministers in the state assembly.

Few years have gone by and the aspiring politician Narayan from 'Gallit Gondhal Dillit Mujra' is now an MLA while his rival Vishwasrao, though powerful, is still dreaming of becoming a minister. Narayan’s cunning ideas and witty remarks help him get noticed in the higher ranks of his party and also the society in general. This poses a problem for the ruling party leaders who then decide to convince Narayan to join hands with them. The sly Chief Minister Mate (Vilas Ujawne) uses the ministerial post as bait and tells Vishwas to convince Narayan and he does. But when Narayan comes to know what’s in store for Vishwas in the deal, his political ambitions surface and he plots the downfall of Vishwas, step by step. In between all this is the forceful acquisition of a huge piece of land in the village by the ruling party for building a hi-tech city there.

In a perfectly timed release, director Balkrushna Shinde has put in every necessary element that goes into making a satirical entertainer. Publicity stunts by politicians, their taking digs at each other and huge posters that get put up overnight before a function are a just a few examples that are shown in the film.

The director and the dialogue writer Arvind Jagtap need to be appreciated for very cleverly putting in references to scams and people that were in the news of late.

If the story and portrayal of scenarios (many of which you can relate to), is not funny enough, Makarand and Sayaji’s acting and comic timing will surely evoke guffaws. Ashish Vidyarthi and our very own babuji Alok Nath make appearances in the film. Don’t miss the breaking news during the scene where Makrand appears on a news channel discussion.

Yes, the film goes over the top while making the situations humorous, but that’s what the film is all about. It is not just a mindless entertainer but a very clever one for those who can make out the references in it.