Wagherya

Story: On his way back home from a ‘kirtan’, Zoting Anna (Ganeshpure) claims to have seen a tiger in a nearby farm. While some villagers believe it, others call it a hoax.

Review: It’s been a while since Marathi viewers saw a good satirical piece of cinema. Wagherya almost excels in giving them that. We’ll get to the pros and cons later. Let’s see what the film is all about, first.

As is hinted in the name and made clear by the promos, Wagherya revolves around the story of a village that is in a dilemma of whether to accept Zoting Anna’s claim of spotting a tiger or to dismiss it. Close on the heels of an election, the sarpanch (Kadam) of the village doesn’t want to take any risks. Fearing backlash from the villagers, he calls for a forest official (Joshi) to clear things out. However, despite much efforts, they are unable to sort the issue and come to a unanimous decision that the forest official is not really in favour of.

Based on a true incident, it perfectly depicts how a situation, that can be controlled easily, goes out of control due to various factors. In doing so, the director, Sameer Asha Patil, has covered many aspects of human behaviour, crowd mentality and our willingness to bend and break the rules as per our wish. The actors deliver stellar performances and get equal time to prove their mettle.

Director Sameer Asha Patil has handled different topics in his previous films (Chaurya, Yuntum) and one thing that stands out in all of them is the climax. Wagherya is no different. While the entire film has a situational comedy touch, the last few moments make a strong point; one that leaves you thinking about the damage our actions do to the environment.

On the flipside, the film feels stretched and gets repetitive at times. However, as a complete package, it clicks.