After a long sabbatical in acting, Renuka Shahane tries her hand at direction. For her first attempt, she has selected a story based on her mother Shanta Gokhale’s award winning Marathi book titled Rita Welinkar.
Life for young Rita is smooth till her father Mr Welinkar loses his job. Somehow things move on till Rita now a 17- year old (played by Pallavi Joshi) is made to quit her studies to support her family. Slowly her parents (Mohan Agashe and Suhasini Mulay) burden her with all the family responsibilities and she has to look after her two younger sisters as well. Rita takes up a job as a stenographer and begins to enjoy it. Realising her passion for education, Salvi, her boss, (Jackie Shroff) decides to finance her education. She passes with flying colours. While her parents feel she is wasting time studying, Salvi is full of encouragement. Gradually Rita and Salvi come close. Rita gets one sister married. Time flies by and Rita buys herself a house so that Salvi can visit her without any inhibitions. Slowly, she asks him to choose between her and his family. And Salvi chooses his family and Rita suffers a nervous breakdown. All this is unfolded to Saraswati Iyengar (Renuka Shahane) Rita’s best friend in school, through a letter and how Saraswati, who herself is in an unhappy, loveless marriage, helps bring her friend out of trauma is what Rita is all about.
TECHNICAL EXPERTISE:
Renuka has shown immense maturity during some of the most sensitive and touching scenes. The scene wherein Rita loses her mental balance was a difficult one but the director’s touch is evident in the way Pallavi has portrayed the scene. The final scene also has been conceived beautifully. The way Pallavi Joshi has gelled into the character of Rita and has brought out her trauma effectively doesn’t seem like she is making a comeback to acting after a gap of 14 years. Jackie Shroff is good in his role of Salvi, a soft-hearted guy who is in love with Rita but cannot leave his wife and grown-up children because of social constraints. He is compassionate and generous. The scene wherein Rita bids him a final goodbye is worth a watch, for Rita’s confidence in herself and Jackie’s distress that is evident on his face. Mohan Agashe and Suhasini Mulay as the insensitive parents of Rita bring out the feeling of unrest for treating their daughter badly. Sachin Krishn’s camerawork is outstanding.
RATING:
Three stars each for Pallavi Joshi’s brilliant and heart-rending performance, Jackie Shroff’s excellent debut attempt in Marathi and Renuka Shahane’s maiden endeavour at directing a very sensitive subject.
