Killa

Last night I caught this charming Marathi film 'Killa - The Fort'. I feel sorry over having missed this in the cinema. Oh well, at least DVD. Captured from the world-view of young Chinmay (Archit Deodhar) after he moves to a new town on account of his widowed mum's job transfer, the film strongly reminds me of RK Narayan's wonderful novel 'Swami & Friends'. With that literary classic it shares a gentle observational tone, the episodic nature of events told and the ability to see things from a child's point of view. The performances of the young actors are spot on (as also the adults, especially the lovely Amruta Subhash as Chinmay's mum), and although there's never any major unpleasantness, it doesn't try to sugarcoat / idealize the behavior of the kids or talk down to them. It also reminds me slightly of Francois Truffaut's 'The 400 Blows', though a lot more positive in its outlook.

Director Avinash Arun is also the DoP and he does a fabulous job, especially when capturing nature. The shots of dark clouds overhanging the titular fort and the subsequent shower are hugely atmospheric. Editing is also unobtrusively fine, and while there are no songs (thankfully) a lovely melodic instrumental score permeates several moments of the film.

The DVD from Video Palace is good. The image is somewhat soft but seems intentional in the cinematography. No extras, which is a bit of a bummer, but there's a short message from the director on the inside of the (nicely done) digipack talking about his childhood and how it inspired him to make the movie. On the whole highly recommended, unless you only see 100 crore movies.

Having spent my childhood in Konkan, I couldn't resist getting nostalgic feeling throughout the movie. The movie goes on in a smooth rhythm. All the characters and the events feel so real. All the actors are perfect in their respective roles.

In many scenes the surroundings speak more than the dialogs. Although, I thought the Marathi language was not exactly how people from Konkan would speak.

The photography is very beautiful. Especially the monsoon and the sea are shot beautifully. The sequence shot on the fort was a delight to watch. It is one of those few movies which stays with you even after it is over!

Killa is a simple tale of a young Chinmay Kale and his short time in a village in Konkan, and yet it has so many layers. His anger towards leaving his old city, the loss of his father, the anxiety about living in a new place and meeting new people, the joy of making new friends and being accepted and finally the realization of his mother's importance, her grief, her struggles and acceptance of his own life.

All of the above is showed beautifully --- without exploiting any emotion or incident by overplaying the drama. Despite of that, every scene grabs you and your attention.

Debut film-maker Avinash Arun has done a fantastic job with direction and cinematography. But then again the canvas to work with was also beautiful. As someone who has a house in Konkan I can vouch for its beauty. Its white-sand beaches, clear blue seas, gorgeous light houses and lots and lots of coconut trees. Goa maybe the go to destination for many, but there are many hidden gems above in Maharashtra on that coastal line.

Amruta Subhash has done a good job, but that is expected from an actress of her caliber. But the movie belongs to the kids. They are the ones who surprise you and all of them are amazing. Parth Bhalerao will take all the credits for his role as the naughty Bandya, but Archit Deodhar (who played Chinmay Kale), Gaurish Gawade, etc are all brilliant as well. A special mention must be made to Umesh Jagtap who has a very small role of a drunk fisherman and he still leaves a mark.

Killa makes you laugh a lot and makes you sad in places, but best of all it takes you back to your own childhood, which would have been sprinkled with similar moments and friends.

KILLA REVIEW- Wow is the only word when i left theater. Eagerly waiting for this movie because of its pre-release buzz and national award. So obviously expectations were high but i was expecting only quality or meaningful msg and film fulfill my expectations rather gave me surprise with its entertainment entertainment and entertainment. Shockingly film entertained me lot force me to laugh out loud and to throw whistles and claps to many scenes and dialogues. When you hear film has got national award we cant expect an entertaining film like there are films like Court from which we expected quality and it had quality overloaded.Films like this impresses us but fails to entertain but KILLA impresses us and entertain as well. Story starts with a simple plot a boy and his widow mother shifts to a small village due to her promotion in her government job. But the boy is not feeling friendly here in this village he is missing his cousin brother his uncle and his old place. He like to be silent always. Then he see a boys group having fun,doing naughty things,their vulgar conversation and how they are enjoying their lives. He starts to involve himself into that group and tries to be naughty like them but without leaving his interest in studies. One day they all go to a fort for a race but due to some misunderstanding and miss communication some circumstances comes into their friendship. And from here on story becomes meaningful that how the boy starts being smart and responsible. With the meaningful climax film ends on strong note. Acting is so natural that we all will fall in love with these boys. Each and every scene in school,their activities,dialogues are so natural. Audience were shouting, whistling, and clapping for those scenes. Really the most loved part of the film for me. Screenplay is tight and entertaining. With narrow runtime its completely enjoyable. There are no songs in the movie so cant talk about music but background music is impactful for scenes. I personally feel Sound work is awesome because whenever some vulgar words comes then sound goes low and we have to read subtitles to understand it. Camera work is good. Camera man succeeded in capturing beauty of nature. Direction wins the race here. I heard its his debut film but i just couldn't believe it after watching movie. He has done clap worthy job and i want to thank him for giving us such beautiful film. Final words,KILLA is masterpiece yet entertaining. Must watch for all ages and all kind of audiences like masses and classes. Classes will enjoy it and get some msg from the movie and masses will enjoy it if they doesn't understand the quality of film. Go and revisit your childhood and those golden moments of your school life. Kudos to the entire team of KILLA and thank you all from the bottom of my heart for giving yet another quality film to marathi cinema. 8 * Stars by me.

This movie has theme floating all around... primarily about what life has to offer is bizzare feeling..it's upon us to feel it in the right way. It deals with a single parent problem.It tells the challenges one face due to dislocation. It draws a picture of childhood and what we see through innocent eyes mean more than what it seems from distant. The movies setting..nature..ponds..ocean..bridge..lighthouse..these are those things that we remember from our own childhood. These places have stories of their own. Boy meets a fisherman to say..and has an experience that changes him or makes him realise..to be grateful. Dialogues are very precise.camera work is so delicate that u miss urself in the scene.and come out at the cut. This is one of the best coming of age that u will see.