Dashavtar (दशावतार)

 "Dashavtar (दशावतार)"

Watched Marathi movie "Dashavtar (दशावतार)". 

This film is directed by Subodh Khanolkar. Written by Subodh Khanolkar. Produced by Sujay Hande and others . Music by AV Prafullachandra. Cinematography Devendra Golatkar. The film stars Dilip Prabhavalkar, Siddharth Menon, Priyadarshani Indalkar, Mahesh Manjrekar, Bharat Jadhav, Ravi Kale and Mahesh Manjrekar. The film runs for about 2 hours 35 minutes and was released on 12th Sep 2025. I watched it in Cinema on 21st Sep 2025 with Dada, Jayant, Sucheeta, Vijay Jyoti, Prakash, Swati, Gargi and Sameer. This show was organized by Maharashtra Mandal Abu Dhabi.

Babuli Mistry (Dilip Prabhavalkar) is an aged actor, a Dashavtari. It's a specialization of playing the ten Avatar's of Vishnu. He is also a conservationist and loves the jungle. His son keeps asking him to stop acting as advised by doctor but the old man doesn't listen. Finally they have an agreement. If the son (Siddharth) gets a job Dilip will stop acting. He gets a job in a local mining company and Babuli announces his last performance.

But then comes the twist in the tale. A major shock. It's interval. After this the movie takes a turn toward a thriller. The movie keeps the audience interested from the word go, thanks to a good story, good direction and good acting. The end is predictable. A little too predictable. Could have been better.

Dilip Prabhavalkar dazzles in the role of honest, determined, nature loving father. He has ominous screen presence. He gives full justice to the role. I couldn't imagine any other acting playing this role. Excellent! Siddharth plays the loving son who is ready to sacrifice jobs in the city to stay close to his father. He is sweet. Priyadarshani plays his love interest. Her career is on an upward swing and she has become new heartthrob of Maharashtra. Ravi Kale impresses in his small role. Mahesh Manjrekar plays police officer who comes in after the interval and brings in a lot of style. Bharat Jadhav plays the forest officer. I don't understand why he agreed to do this role. The role has neither substance, nor depth. Bharat was completely wasted in it. Another wrong casting was of Vijay Kenkre. He looks adorable and doesn't look like a villain from any angle. Abhinay Berde plays a cameo.

Cinematography is top class. The angles, the way camera pans and the jungle scenes are very good. Special effects needed a little more work. The black jaguar doesn't look authentic. The fireflies also don't look real. There is one good song.

I won't be surprised if this year Dilip Prabhavalkar gets an award for this role. At the age of 81, his performance and energy are commendable.

A good movie.

Positives: Story, Acting, Direction.

Negatives: The predictable end.

Recommend watching.