omkar1984 Review of Farzand

Farzand (2018)

Resurrection of period films about the Maratha empire.

[7/10 · 23 February 2019]

Someone at least dared to create such a movie after decades of lull itself is an achievement! The movie highlights the perils, issues and actions of Shivaji's era - the rampant slave trade of women by the Islamic rulers, the incessant martyrdom attained by the Maratha warriors on different missions, Shivaji's attempts to counter the invasion of Pharsi(Arabic) script and language, Shivaji's ultra efficient spy network, his delegation of securing inaccessible terrains to the local tribals, his concern for his subjects and his men e.g: he gifts the golden bracelet to Kondaji even before the mission commences because he regrets that he couldn't appreciate and honour the valiant men who accomplished the earlier missions but were killed in action. The music isn't great but does justice to the plot and the situations. Most of the actors have done their part well and despite the initial incoherence, the script progresses and builds well. The movie, nevertheless, suffers from woes typical to Indian cinema and the budget and resource constrained Marathi film industry. The VFX should have been far better since the forts are no longer close to their pristine glory! The melodrama/'masala' overwhelms the logical and professional behaviour of the commanders and soldiers - Kondaji risking life by charging alone in the palace, Anaji's assault not taking place quickly, the diction of Bahirji Naik, Shivaji himself leading the assault via the main entrance and so on. The loud, incessant background score is one of the banes of Indian cinema but it irritates the most in the battle scenes. Several scenes are repetitive and could have been curtailed e.g: Khan and Kondaji's final duel(which itself seems fictional). Let's hope that this movie encourages and brings forth hundreds of more movies about the glorious Maratha empire ...