Kho Kho

Plot: Shrirang Deshmukh, a school teacher goes back to his village with dreams to settle down in his sprawling ancestral home, only to find out that a powerful builder is hounding him to sell the same. Will he succumb to money or will he retain his home?

Review: When a movie boasts of a star cast that has Bharat Jadhav, Vijay Chavan and Siddharth Jadhav you know a fun filled fare is in store for you. And Kho Kho is this and much more. A simple, timid, middle-class school teacher Shrirang Deshmukh (Bharat Jadhav) gets his dream posting when he is transferred to his native village called Badvebudtruk (wish the director had used this cute name some more in the film).

As he plans to settle down in his ancestral waada (home), he realizes after some goons beat him up on arrival that his home is a prime piece of land that a rich builder Mehta (Uday Tikekar) wants for his mall. Just as he wonders how to tackle this situation, he lays his hand upon an old book that has his family’s history. As he turns the pages of the book, he is in reality taking stock of his ancestors (saat peedi), who are waiting to be liberated from this locked waada, by a person from “their Deshmukh” family.

And it is here that the fun begins. As Deshmukh meets his ancestors - ape man, a colonel in Ashoka's army, a saint, Shivaji Maharaj's Maavla (army person), a 'Laavni' folk dancer, a Gandhian and a follower of sanyukt Maharashtra (a la Balasaheb Thackeray) – who are visible to only him, it is comedy all the way. Rather a “spirited” comedy as the spirits speak to only him!

Director Kedar Shinde has done a good job of writing a script that’s different. Bharat Jadhav’s comic timing is good and rarely does he go over the top. However, it is Siddharth Jadhav’s fabulous performance as the ape man that is commendable. His garbled speech is gonna be a hit in times to come. How he manages his act, without ever losing a bit of the energy is truly amazing!

With so much going for this film, there are some twists and turns in the second half and a Marathi asmita awakening dialogues, which though are justified and in parts fun too, they remind you of the film Mee Shivaji Raje Boltoy. This slows down the pace of fun in the second half. But, all in all Kho Kho is fun and for fans of the Jadhavs – a comic treat.