Classmates

A group of college buddies meet at the reunion where a surprise visit from a long lost friend surprises them all but there is a secret that this friend holds.

Review: When the news about a south film being remade in Marathi came out, little did we know that it wouldn’t be a typical action entertainer; the kind that Bollywood generally prefers whilst making south remakes. On the contrary, the Malayalam film by the same name that has inspired the Marathi 'Classmates' is a youthful college drama laced with ample amount of suspense.

Aniruddh (Siddharth Chandekar), the lively and affable first-year student, has only one wish – to build a music department in his college. Unfortunately the music lover’s sudden demise leaves this dream unfulfilled but his classmates complete it. On the inauguration day of the department, all the old buddies – Appu (Sai Tamhankar), Amit (Suyash Tilak), Rohit (Sachit Patil), Heena (Pallavi Patil), Aditi (Sonalee), Ghatta and Sasaa – meet. A surprise visitor is Satya (Ankush Chaudhary), Ani’s best friend who resurfaces after 20 years. As the group catches up on old memories, one of them falls off the terrace of the college building. Investigating officer Pratap (Sushant Shelar), another ex-student of the same college, finds a suicide note but suspects that the fall is a case of attempt to murder. Hence unfolds the story of these classmates and their journey in life.

Frankly, the first half of the film lacks pace and is a tad bit boring with all the lovey-dovey sequences and excessive use of one-liners. Yes we agree these are necessary to establish the characters and plot but a faster pace could’ve helped tremendously.

The film picks up pace and goes great from the college election sequence and keeps up the tempo till the very end. Aditya Sarpotdar has masterminded the unfolding of events in such a way after the said event that you cannot afford to blink lest you want to miss out on some action. Regular twists and skillful jumping between the present and the past combined with some great performances from Ankush, Sai Siddharth and Sachit are highlights of the film. The rest of the cast including Sonalee, Suyash and Pallavi too have essayed their roles with effortless ease. Watch out for Pallavi in Heena’s role.

On the whole, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that 2015 has started on a high note with the first two releases pulling crowd to theatres and living up to the expectations. We hope the trend continues and we have more gems to watch on the silver screen.