Duniyadari

Plot

Duniyadari opens with grandma Shirin (Sai Tamhankar) with a streak of grey accompanying grandpa Pritam (Sushant Shelar) to Pune, grandchildren in tow. The story traces itself back to presumably the late 1970s (seen through the bell-bottom pants on the gentlemen and the polka-dot dresses and 'Asha Parekh' salwar kameezes on the ladies). Nothing is spelt out, but each character and its relevance in the plot is unveiled through the narrative that revolves around Shreyas Talwalkar (Swapnil Joshi). He is thrown into college in Pune on his mother's insistence. Under circumstances which are reminiscent of college life in the Hindi cinema of the 80s, Shreyas makes friends with DSP aka Digya (Ankush Choudhary) and his Katta gang. A do-gooder standing tall for friendships in the face of a creepy Saai (Jitendra Joshi), Shreyas becomes the voice of reason for the rustic gang.

He finds himself attracted to Shirin, but Meenu (Urmila Kanetkar) get attracted to Shreyas which creates a love triangle. Shirin is a student of Medical college and sister of Pritam. They are children of an MLA from Kolhapur, who hates Shirin, his own daughter. Shreyas accepts Meenu's proposal out of spite for Shirin (as she repeatedly turns down his advances) but is not sure about their future. Saai fixes his marriage with Shirin against her wish. Meenu later understands that Shreyas is deeply in love with Shirin. On Saai and Shirin's wedding day, Shreyas and his friends fight with Saai's gang. Finally Shirin gets married to Shreyas. She is aware that Shreyas is a patient of a deadly disease [probably cancer?] and has only few months of life in his hands. They are about to enter parenthood.

The film ends with a touching scene where all the friends, now in their early 50s, meet at the same katta of their college on Shreyas's birthday and express their feelings for him.

Cast

Production

Sanjay Jadhav ace cameraman of films like Dombivali Fast, Jogwa, Mumbai Meri Jaan and director Checkmate, Ringa Ringa, Fakta Ladh Mhana is the man behind the production house Dreaming 24/7. What makes Duniyadari more special with Jadhav's directing is the plot inspired from one of the all-time best seller's Duniyadari by eminent writer late Shri Suhas Shirvalkar. Though primarily it's a story of the 1970s, it remains related to the today's youth.

Release

Duniyadari was released in Maharashtra and Gujarat, Goa, Karnataka etc. acclaiming huge success outside Maharashtra. The film had a record 710 shows daily and more than 5,000 shows weekly across 270 theatres.

Reception

The film has received highly positive reviews. Duniyadari is a huge financial success in Marathi film industry and an all-time blockbuster. ABP Maaza, a Marathi news channel, gave 4 out of 5 stars acclaiming film for its story, direction and brilliant acting of all the actors.