Dashavatar

It’s a rare phenomenon nowadays to find a movie that keeps one seated in a state of meditative silence, thinking of the feelings and learnings the movie has left us with. This is what I experienced after watching the movie ‘Dashavatar’. And maybe this is one of the reasons behind a regional Marathi movie becoming a pan-India superhit.The 155-minute movie is set in Konkan, the quaint area of coastal Maharashtra. It revolves around a simple, nature-loving, veteran Dashavatar performer, Babuli Mestri and his relationship with his son Madhav.Dashavatar is a popular traditional folk theatre, with a history of 800 years, performed in areas of Konkan (Maharashtra) and North Goa. It is typically performed at midnight during temple festivals/events. The performers use bright costumes and heavy makeup to depict the characters and perform with minimal props and impromptu dialogues. The play is typically divided into two parts— Purva ranga (the initial session), i.e. the preliminary presentation that precedes the main performance and the Uttar ranga (the latter session) or the main performance. The term ‘Dashavatar’ means the 10 avatars or incarnations of Lord Vishnu, namely, Matsya (fish), Kurma (tortoise), Varah (boar), Narasimha (lion-man), Vaman (dwarf), Parashuram, Ram, Krishna, Buddha and Kalki. The performers depict various characters, including Lord Ganesh, Goddess Saraswati, Lord Vishnu and any one of the incarnations of Lord Vishnu.The MovieBased in the Konkan region of Maharashtra, the movie is about veteran Dashavtari Babuli Mestri, who has dedicated his entire life to preserving the traditional theatre form of Dashavatar. Despite advancing age and failing eyesight, he stubbornly continues to perform, earning both ridicule and affection from the villagers, who call him ‘half mad’. His son Madhav worries about his health and urges him to retire, but Babuli promises to step away once Madhav secures stable employment.When Madhav finally gets a job, Babuli agrees to deliver one last performance on the night of Mahashivratri. However, as fate would have it, that night blurs the line between acting and reality. Therein begins Babuli’s fight for justice—for himself and, more importantly, for the environment and culture.The movie is seamlessly structured like a traditional Dashavatār play. The narrative begins with a Purva-ranga that introduces the viewers to the village culture, the father-son relationship, the entwinement of nature with human life and the beautiful, colourful Dashavatar theatre. Gradually, the movie builds into the Uttar-ranga where myth and present-day conflicts intertwine. The movie ends on a beautiful note of communal harmony and long-term solutions to man’s eternal greed..What I Found StrikingThe movie is a visual spectacle. Superb direction, lighting, camera angles, perspective, timely usage of the drone, background music, perfect costumes, etc. It is such a joy to see our regional cinema reach this level.Simple, heart-touching, and yet strong, with a takeaway for the viewers—the story keeps the viewer glued to the seat, and time passes flawlessly (especially the first half). The way the story covers the relationship of the main character Babuli, with his dedication to the Dashavatar theatre, his son Madhav, his simple village friends and not just humans but with God, nature, insects and animals too, is heartwarming.There is always that ace of cards that makes the winner. In this case, it is the 81-year-old actor Dilip Prabhavalkar. His acting, voice modulation, facial expressions, body language—everything is simply perfect. He is present in almost 90% of the screen time. I wonder how he must have preserved and built up energy for such intense acting.Language always adds a flavour to the movie that no other element can. The director has smartly and correctly maintained the Marathi dialect spoken in the Konkan. This gives the viewer the feel of the location and environment, and takes the movie to a different level. Of course, the movie has English subtitles to reach a wider audience.The movie leaves you with ‘food for thought’. It’s not mere entertainment. However, there are two things the director could have done better—the second half of the movie drags a little. Some unnecessarily lengthy and repetitive scenes, and one or two songs, could have been excluded to make the movie crisp. The interaction between the main actor and the police investigator could have been portrayed better. Nevertheless, this is a movie not to be missed! A regional movie that transcends borders. Do watch!

Dashavatar

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