आत्मपॅम्फ्लेट

"If you're intrigued by the evolving political landscape's impact on the emotional world of our children, as Indians, 'AatmaPamphlet' is a must-watch. This film bravely navigates the tumultuous waters of politics, fraternity, and secularism, capturing the seismic shifts that have rocked the foundations of Ambedkar, Nehru, and Gandhi's India since the 90s.

It's noteworthy that for the first time in Marathi cinema, a film has emerged that subtly yet powerfully portrays the ripple effects of this decade's significant events on children's emotional worlds. As Marathi cinema drifts further from authentic political commentary, this compelling film by director Ashish Bende, with a story by Ashish Bende and Writer Paresh Mokashi, remains true to the cinematic medium's grammar.

The film's tight and cohesive structure allows each actor's performance to shine brightly, leaving a refreshing aftertaste once the credits roll. The film's strength lies in its clear, simple, beautiful, and captivating story, screenplay, direction, music, and performances. This film challenges the notion that good cinema in Marathi requires substantial financial investment. Kudos to all artists involved in this production.

Crafted with exceptional intelligence, this film is not just a unique experiment in Marathi cinema but a landmark in Indian cinematic history. It's a must-see for anyone interested in the power of cinema as it unfolds through every frame, context, and presentation."

Aatmapamphlet (2023) : Movie Review -

Ashish Bende has his stamp all over Aatmapamphlet. The protagonist is named after him, and that's the only realistic thing about the film. Aatmapamphlet carries a humour that has all chances to go bouncer over the heads of Marathi audiences. This kind of peculiar humour hasn't been attempted in Marathi cinema, or, for that matter, in Indian cinema. The best I can remember is Italian cinema and British capers, and the most universally known example is Amelie (2001) in French cinema. Aatmapamphlet is one step ahead because it has out-of-the-world theories and is very poignant about lifestyle and social commentary. There's nothing so cinematically attractive in the film, and that's why you relate to it very quickly. Numerically, you'll have about 45-50 laughs in 90 minutes. Believe me, this average is too high for any comedy you remember from recent times.

Aatmapamphlet is a narration of the biopic of our hero, Ashish Bende (Om Bendkhale). He is not a famous person; his story can't be called a biographical, autobiography, or anything of that sort, so he gives it a new, unique name, "Aatmapamphlet". The film is about his childhood as he falls in love at first "hand'' with his girlfriend, Srishti (Pranjalii Shrikan). Ashish gets support from his friend Borya and his classmates to approach Srishti and set things up. The film is all about their conversions, how they look at society and its norms, social events, and the nation's current affairs, including every big thing that happened in our country. Then there is a climax, about which I'll speak later.

Aatmapamphlet has a weird title, and somewhere it helps you understand what kind of sky-level humour it is going to serve you. I am not exaggerating, but this is the only adjective I could have thought of: "Aatmapamphlet has a God-level humour!" That's it. That's the headline. I have been through thousands of films and many Marathi movies, but I haven't been able to relate to such humour in a children-oriented film like this. Even Woody Allen needed sexual comments and female sex appeal to explore his weird comedies. The last memories are almost a decade old now with Balak Palak, Timepass, and Killa. Aatmapamphlet overtakes them because it is damn intelligent and intellectual. Like the protagonist says, "It's getting symbolic". I say it's metaphorical too. There are dozens of moments where I was like, "Waah.. wahh.. kadakk.." I don't remember when the last time I had so much laughter was, and that also put my brain to work. Paresh Mokashi is a humorous version of Satyajit Ray. That's not an exaggeration or a paid statement; that's the truth. Ray made many intense and dark films, but with Hirak Deshe, he went wild and crazy, and Mokashi's thoughts always take me back to those days. We may or may not get a creative force like him again who can generate a product that's massy, classy, and ahead of time. So better value him right now. I don't need to explain his previous works here because you are all aware of them. He is just getting better with different genres. Aatmapamphlet is the craziest comedy with the uttermost sensible context ever written in Marathi cinema, while most of the great comedies are illogical and brainless. Hail Mokashi and Bende for that.

Manas Tondwalkar and Om Bendkhale play Aashish Bende with the most honesty, and it couldn't have gotten better than them. The older version has a limited time frame, but that's okay. Shrishti, played by Khushi Hajare and Pranjali Shrikant, is mostly silent but extremely gorgeous. That's natural beauty, marriage material, a pure girl, or whatever you want to term it. Chetan Wagh as Borya is hilarious, as Bhimrao Mude, Ketaki Saraf, and others add good support.

Satyajeet Shobha Shriram's cinematography is fine, the editing is super edgy, and the production value is top-class considering the budget. Aatmapamphlet has everything to make you crazy: go clapping, go wild, go hysterical, and scream. It lacks only one thing, and that's a good "climax". In 90 minutes, we have 85 minutes built so high that those 5 minutes in climax and pre-climax of boring and soapy 'happy ending'. Remove those 10 minutes, and this would have been a modern classic for ages. It just missed it due to the regular climax, which isn't suitable for an irregularly classy film like this. Ashish Bende should be proud of himself for getting things done the way he wanted. Of course, you need a genius like Mokashi close to you, but how about creating another genius? If he can continue in the same vein with his next film, then Bende could be the next big thing for me. I should call him the "Woody Allen" of Marathi cinema. As a whole, Aatmapamphlet is a brainstorming comedy that you have been dreaming of being made in Marathi cinema. Go and enjoy, and make sure you go with your gang and create a hysteria inside the cinema hall.

RATING - 6/10*

The review title sums up the movie. What if forrest gump was an Indian movie? What events would the protagonist witness and trigger? And if the movie was directed not by spielberg but by wes Anderson and you'll get aatmapamphlet

Good fun movie with lot of dark undersides and jokes. Subtle example of dark humor? Lower caste boy is helping his Brahmin friend with a thorn in the shoe. Both fall down but the Brahmin boy is still interested in the the thorn in his shoe. So many layers in that and a lot of other scenes.

The movie is made such that even of you don't get the dark humor yum still love the movie. True adaption of Forrest Gump.

Happy Thoughts 🙏 This movie will not only create History but also create peace' in Mankind, hat's off to Writer Paresh Mokashi &Director Ashish Bende,Thank to all Team,Great work World will follow Sure , I always belive in oneness all are one,God is always with us without reason you have to be aware that awareness & Acceptence & forgiveness is most powerful quality of God,This Movie showing come together & Growth,Love hasn't any borders, spread love,joy & Happiness for the bestest Life, Every one is unique but comes from one'Soul ,we are one say one save one Sevan thanks

Dhanyvad Sirshreeji 🙏

Aatmapamphlet

It's a Marathi movie but I am writing this in English so that more people understand it and more people watch this movie. It's definitely beyond a language!

A Love letter to the 90s but so much above and beyond nostalgia. Every scene is loaded with meaning and one feels like pausing, rewinding and watching it again. Rather than the typical nationalistic, jingoistic, "in your face"nonsense which sells like hot cakes today this was a breezy, understated movie yet stating so much without actually saying it aloud. There was an underlying innocence not just due to the child actors but throughout the expression of the movie itself and at the same time it was sarcastic and witty. I felt like this should be a compulsory watch for all Indians let alone maharashtrians. Religious and caste discrimination is sadly rampant or rather has increased now and a better film hasn't been made on this topic. What seemingly is a coming-of-age story of the protagonist is actually the coming of age story of our nation. Even the way they chose to end it was so clever, they could have gone down the harsh realistic route but instead they chose utopia which may look like a nicely tied red bow but actually shows the impact every small story can have on a larger scale.

The saddest part was even in a city like Pune the theatre was only half full. We need to encourage regional cinema and brave storytelling as an audience. Please give this movie a chance, it deserves it.