A multi-talented person; painter, poet, singer, orator.. Thats Bajyaa for you in his college days.
On the other hand; there was a timid, introvert, weak kneed who happened to be Bajyaa’s bestie. Thats Alok.
A flamboyant horse vs a persistent mule. Adrenaline rush vs steadfastness. Can they co-exist? Can they overcome their differences?
“The Last Wish” is a Marathi short movie, which is penned by Gautam Marathe and directed by Anand Gokhale.
The story begins with Alok barging in to the unwelcoming Bajyaa’s apartment. He is there for a purpose.
As this slow burner unfolds, we are taken in to their college days through conversations and we are introduced to Maitrayee who was the girlfriend of Bajyaa and now the wife of Alok.
The story slowly slips in to the details of their relationships and the reasons of their feud since college. The half face of Alok shown behind the blurred suggestion of Bajyaa cements the characterization. The “Last Wish” is also the resolution between these friends. It is a progression from hatred to acceptance. Their love for each other was an ember; blown to be revealed by a dwindling breeze. Maitrayee was their breeze!
The actors, both Amit Joshi and Gautam Marathe has given their one hundred percentage to breathe life into Alok and Bajyaa.
The way Amit emotes the pain while watching the video in the washroom, and the aloofness that Gautam portrayed is remarkable. They jelled well and complimented each other. It was impressive to watch these two talents carrying the heaviness of the characters with such an ease. Archana Nipankar who played Maitrayee did justice to the role.
The director has tried to give visual symbolism to this linear story. The choice of shots and the angle to convey the tension and later their helplessness worked well in manifesting the underlying emotions. I wished if the story could be taken outside the Bajyaa’s apartment and utilized potentials of cinematic narration in its fullest. Cinematography was brilliant, and the editing and coloring were up to the standard that the story demanded.
As an end note; here are few punch lines that we could take home :
“Because friends always know..” & “Opportunitist Saala..”
Cast –
Bajyaa – Gautam Marathe
Alok – Amit Joshi
Maitraiyee – Archana Nipankar
Crew –
Director and Screenplay- Anand Gokhale
Music – Suhit Abhyankar
Lyrics- Niranjan Nagarkar
DOP – Suneel Borkar
Story – Gautam Marathe
Producers – Amit Joshi and Gautam Marathe
