balak-palak-movie-review

Balak Palak(BP) – Movie Review!

Balak Palak movie review

Cast- Rohit Phalke, Madan Deodhar, Prathamesh Parab, Bhagyashree Shankpal,Shashwati Pimplikar, Sai Tamhankar, Kishor Kadam

Director- Ravi Jadhav
Music – Vishal-Shekhar
Language – Marathi

BP – Balak Palak, is a story of 4 friends , who entered their teenage. The movie starts with Avya thrashing his 11 yr old son as he catches him red handed with Porn DVD’s. It then takes us to the flashback , where we witness the mis-adventurous life of  4 friends – Avya, Bhagya, Dolly and Chiu.

They are best friends who are inseparable. In their colony, they learn about a friend, Jyoti Tai’s sudden exit as she brought disgrace to her family. Dolly is shocked as she observes her Jyoti tai being ousted from their colony. She informs her other three friends about this incident and they all strive hard to decipher the reality behind that. They ask their parents about the same and everyone gets thrashed when they ask the  Marathi idiom ‘Shen Khane’ which means ‘Eating Dung’. This term is used to describe someone  who brings shame to her family. When they ask this to their parents, everyone gets vexed. Bhagya then takes the others to a friend Vishu. Vishu ,a flamboyant character of the movie brings light to the group and is solely responsible for spoiling and ruining the innocence of the kids. Vishu, played by Prathamesh Parab has done justice to his role of a mischief monger. Vishu guides them and enlightens them about his knowledge on blue films. He believes that to know  about sex , one needs to read, observe and  perform ,if needed to know the true meaning of Sex. He knew the meaning and explains them and further supplies them adult story books.
The kids seem to like the adult erotic novels  and read them with alacrity. Their inept mind, fails to reason the right and the wrong ;finally they get addicted to it, blame the hormones. Meantime, there is a young girl called Neha in the neighbourhood who is friendly to everyone and the 4 call fondly addressed her as – Neha Tai. Tai is a Marathi word which means ‘Sister’. Vishu ,then advises them to watch porn movies instead owing to which the guys visit a Video Parlour to buy Porn VCD’s. Initially , I felt odd and weird when I saw the scene where all  5 of them, Bhagya, Chui, Avya, Dolly and Vishu see the Porn movie. I appreciate the directors brazen attempts  to highlight this particular scene. The emotions and expressions exhibited by the actors were awesome. Life totally changes after this particular episode. Bhagya  seems to be smitten by the VCD and his avarice to see more leads to a conflict amongst the friends. Dolly and Chiu protest that it was wrong and they should refrain from that. But Bhagya went way too ahead. He likes Neha Tai and once he falls for her. He dresses like the 80’s Bollywood hero, sporting colourful full sleeves shirt and trousers. While trying to impress her, he falls from the bicycle and injures himself. Neha, soon rushes to his rescue and applies medicine to his injury. As she bends, Bhagya could observe her cleavage. I would like to give full score to the director for capturing this emotions. He proposes her at a temple and runs away. There is an old man in the colony who is fondly called as – Kadam Kaka by everyone. Neha, played by  gorgeous Sai Tamhankar, informs Kadam Kaka about Bhagya’s behavior. Kadam Kaka played by veteran actor Kishor Kadam, is upset and plans to tell his father about the same. That night he explains this to  Bhagya’s father. He was a fun loving person, also a playwright. He tells Kaka that this was a good script for a play. Kaka wants him to talk to Bhagya but he fails in the attempt of explaining him. He further plans to explain the kids. He devises a plan with Neha; invites all the 5 including Vishu at Neha’s room. He  explains them about their age and its importance. I love the way Kaka tries to explain them. Finally he is successful in his attempt. The story then comes  back to present, where we see Avya talking to his wife Dolly. They decide that it was the right time to talk to their son about such things. The songs are too good and meaningful.
This story brings a strong message with it. Parents do have an important role in every individuals life and as our children grow old, they tend to know many unwanted things. There is  Vishu in every group, who plays an important role in spoiling our children as they plunge through adolescence. As a parent, take responsibility to talk to kids and explain them. There is a need for sex education and parents should take the responsibility to educate their kids in such sensitive matters. I personally felt that the cinematography could have been better. The story had everything in it. It gives a very strong message and is a must watch for everyone although it comes up with U/A rating.
I would give it a 3 star.

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The Solitary Writer
Step right up, it's Ste's show! Join me on my writing journey where I dish out witty tales, thought-provoking poems, and quirky musings on life. I'm a social justice warrior who sneaks in some humor wherever I can. Book, movie, and cultural critiques included. Buckle up, it's gonna be a wild ride!