A political rivalry, a love story, an environmentalist who is in minority, the fascination of reality TV and to capture this all, a film maker who wants to make an exciting documentary. While watching Valu, I could not help comparing them with the TV News channel. Each character has been well-defined, well-etched and does not look like a mere add-on. Valu biggest plus point is the script and the characters and the actors who play the characters. Valu does not have a hero or heroine but has characters each as important as the other in the movie and the plus point of the movie is the one-line story and a great script. It makes the story interesting as each person tries to be best in front of the camera a young couple who are separated because of the bull, the village priest who has a bowel problem, his wife who’s only dream is to build her own latrine, a couple who wants to see their daughter be a successful heroine, a villager who is helping the forest officer with everything and prides of his closeness to the officer, the forest officer’s brother who is making the documentary of the whole process make a long list of interesting character each different and each with its dreams and belief.Ĭapturing their every antics and goof-up is the documentary film maker. A reluctant forest officer who thinks catching a bull is below his status, a aging village headman (sarpanch), a wannabe sarpanch who wants each and every opportunity to be the sarpanch, a mad woman who is trying to protect the bull, an old woman who is the only one who feeds the bull. Its all about catching the bull but then it explores the socio-economic condition with respect to caste, gender and the political struggle. Valu is not as much of a story as in having a start or a climax. What happens after that is what the story is about. To counter the menace, a forest officer is called from the government forest department. The bull is free to roam anywhere in the small village of Kusavade until it goes berserk and starts destroying crops and the village. Valu is a village tradition in Maharahstra where a bull is let loose in the village in god’s name. The Marathi film “Valu” directed by debutant director Umesh Kulkarni has this one line story which forms the skeleton of a interesting two hour movie. The wild bull goes on a rampage destroying a lot in the village and to stop it, a forest officer is called to catch the bull. Maybe because it is earthly or maybe because the very essence is lack of exaggeration.Three characters, a wild bull, a reluctant forest officer and a village deep in the interior of Maharahstra. Valu’s charming simplicity, however, in combination with its repetitiveness makes it a good watch but only for the very patient. The most endearing part about Valu is its characters. And these characters add up to create the atmosphere of a village in the interiors of Maharashtra. ![]() The language has a strong dash of an every-day sense of humor. The rawness of the dialect adds to the overall appeal. But this could also keep it from being accessible to a larger audience. Unfortunately, the language that defines the characters shows only one facet of their personality and thus end up giving a one-dimensional feel to each character. And make them not-so-interesting once you get to know them. However, I cannot take away from the fact that each and every actor has played their role in an utmost convincing manner, making you laugh and understand the one point they are trying to make. Right from the politician’s sidekicks to the middle-class government worker (Atul Kulkarni) - each one enjoyable in his/her own right. The screenplay takes its own sweet time in establishing these characters. And it has all the time in the world because there is no great story to narrate here. The baseline story is as one-line as it can get. The villagers want to get rid of a bull that has become a menace. But there are layers if you are interested in peeling them. Underlying the superficial “nothing happening” feel of the screenplay are a couple of strong themes. ![]() Something about the way this one line is narrated makes you think about human nature. Is every human just trying to find some excuse to blame for his/her misfortune? “Is the bull really a menace?” Nothing about its behavior on screen justifies the behavior of some of the villagers. ![]() Why are they the only ones who are seemingly content with their existence? There are three people in the village who don’t want the bull to go. Is the bull a metaphor for any argument concerning society - abortion, affirmative action? There are pros and there are cons.
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