There is very good news for moviegoers as the four-month-old row between the producers and the multiplex owners over revenue sharing has ended only this Friday. So, new releases will hit the screen next Friday, June 12. Since April 4 no new release have seen the light of the day. During this period, the exhibitors availed the opportunity to screen old hits. Then, they introduced the canned movies in the absence of new ones. We have three such movies releasing this Friday. They are Ajay Chandok's 'Team - The Force', starring Sohail Khan and Mallika Arora. The second one is Rajeev Nath's 'Anubhav' starring Sanjay Suri, Gul Panag and Jackie Shroff. And, the third is 'Maruti- Mera Dost'. All of them were made several years ago. Let's talk about the last one.
'Maruti- Mera Dost' is the story of an eight year old, Rameshwari played by Ritika who loses her mother during her birth and is brought up by her dad, Kunwar Raghavendra Singh played by Chandrachur Singh. The irony is that the dad remarries for getting her child a mother. Kokoi is diabolical and ready to kill her husband and daughter to acquire the entire property. Rameshwari seeks help from her favorite deity Lord Hanuman played by Dara Singh's son Vindoo. Dara Singh is famous for playing Hanuman in the Ramayan serial. Hanuman sends for her help a friend, Maruti (Erik) a small boy with magical powers. Kokoi uses black magic and the evil monstrous Tantrik Bhakshu, who has devils and spirits as his pets. She uses her brother, a murder convict Sadhu Pahalwan. But, all in vain! Then, Kokoi realizes that Maruti fails all of her nasty plans.
click for larger view
She then succeeds in creating a misunderstanding between the two kids (Rameshwari and Maruti) and creates a situation in which Rameshwari herself tells Maruti to go. Once Maruti leaves Kokoi, the latter is back to her devious plans. Here the story takes a turn. Maruti comes back and destroys Kokoi and her evil plans. Alas, today's children get superior content through domestic and foreign television channels. Hence, this mix of mythology doesn't suit modern kids. In fact, the kids have already tasted a similar movie titled 'My Friend Ganesha'. Moreover the director Manikya Raju adds to it certain adult material, which seems improper. How come the director includes hanuman Chalisa in the children's movie?
click for larger view
Analysing it on technical ground, we find the movie hitting the mark inasmuch as it has good special effects. And the director has very successfully handled certain situations. However, the movie fails to hold one's attention, leaving nothing like suspense. Again, the movie succeeds as far as acting is concerned. Chandrachur Singh of the 'Sarhad Paar' fame comes back after a long time and plays his role very well.
click for larger view
Murli Sharma as the evil tantrik and Shahbaaz Khan fall in the same category of good acting. Sushmita Mukherjee looks crude indeed. Vindoo fits well in the role of Hanuman. But, the movie's triumph cards are the two kids - Ritika Srivastava and Erik Nanda - who look natural and have thus excelled in playing their parts. The movie belongs to Chandrachud as he inspired his brother Abhimanyu Singh to enter production. The latter looked for a script in which Chandrachud fits in the main role. Luckily, he found one in Raju Manik's script that also was completely fit for an actor like Chandrachud.
