bal gandharva . crank 2

after 'natrang's world of lavani and 'harishchandrachi factory's nostalgia for a time when marathi culture actually meant something, here is another look back at a marathi cultural icon from the early part of the 20th century. 'bal gandharva' was a female impersonator, singer, performer and the film attempt s a bio pic by checking all the boxes- tilak's admiration, the rise to fame, the daughter's death, the ridiculous lengths he went to for the creation of the 'total work of art' including the spraying of every guest with attar, the celebrity fashion craze where women thronged sari shops to wear what he wore in the latest play, his eventual poverty and disgrace that led to his failed attempt at entering the world of cinema, and his downfall by his devotion to the reviled 'other woman'. and in all this the film steers clear of demonizing the man- content merely to blame something approximating a vague 'artistic temperament' for his eccentricities. this oversimplification is pat and unconvincing. examining his egomania and vanity; or the complexity of gender and sexuality shifts as he plays a woman; or the cult of celebrity and its repercussions; and so many more possibilities, are merely a scratch away and the film makers make sure that no such revelation is made for fear of alienating an adoring crowd.

in this case the adoring crowd was made of elderly maharashtrian couples some of whom has seen the man perform in the flesh - including my grandmother- who couldn't stop repeating the same stories of her and her brother going as children to watch the man perform in amravati, eating a dabba packed specially for the performance and the continuous 'once more's and dramatic changes of saris. sticking to the artist biography template got the film flattened and predictable. the only time that a possibility of some frission existed was in the very beginning of the film when the first night of his marriage is turned into a lesbian dream. while 'natrang' played more with the gender shifts and had better music; this film suffers from playing it too safe- although the music sometimes soars.

hadnt expected to enjoy 'crank 2' in its jittery jokey action packed madness. like a comic book on screen.