''Balkadu'' is a 2015 Indian

Marathi language Marathi (; ''Marāṭhī'', ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language predominantly spoken by Marathi people in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the official language of Maharashtra, and additional official language in the state o ...

film. The film stars

Umesh Kamat Umesh Kamat (born 12 December 1978) is an Indian actor and model, who predominantly works in Marathi regional films, Marathi television series, Marathi plays and TV commercials. He is known as a star of daily soaps with a series of great daily ...

Neha Pendse Nehha Pendse Bayas (born 29 November 1984) is an Indian film and television actress. She was born and brought up in Mumbai. Pendse was introduced on India-based satellite television channel Zee Marathi's ''Bhagyalakshami''. She has acted in sev ...

and

Prasad Oak Prasad Prabhakar Oak (Marathi pronunciation: ɾəsaːd̪ oːk born 17 February 1975) is an actor, director, writer, singer, anchor, poet and film producer. In 2007 he participated in Sa Re Ga Ma Pa (Celebrity Round) and won, became Ajinkyata ...

in lead roles and stars

Supriya Pathare Supriya Pathare is a Marathi television, theatre, and film actress. She is known for her portrayal in ''Pudhcha Paaul'' as Kanchanmala & ''Honar Sun Me Hya Gharchi'' as Mothi Aai. She had participated in '' Fu Bai Fu'' as a contestant. Currentl ...

Tiku Talsania Tiku Talsania (born 7 June 1954) is an Indian actor, who works in the Bollywood industry. Apart from acting in films and television serials, he also performs as a freelance theatre artist, working for Gujarati theatre. Career Television Tiku h ...

Pushkar Shrotri Pushkar Sudhakar Shrotri is a Marathi, Hindi film & theatre actor, producer, and director. Early life and education Shrotri was born in Mumbai in 1970. He graduated with a commerce degree from M. L. Dahanukar College in Mumbai. Career Pushkar ...

, Anand Ingale in supporting roles. Balkadu was directed by

Atul Kale Atul Kale is an Indian actor, singer, musician and director. He directed ''Matichya Chuli'', ''De Dhakka'' and ''Shahanpan Dega Deva''. He has won MATA Sanman and Zee Gaurav awards for his singing, music direction, acting and directing. Early ...

and produced by

Swapna Patker Swapna Patker is a film producer and business woman better known for 2015 Marathi film ''Balkadu'', a biopic of Shivsena founder Balasaheb Thackeray. She is chief managing director of The Royal Maratha Entertainment, a film production company. P ...

. ''Balkadu'' is loosely expected to be based on the ideologies of late Indian politician

Bal Thackeray Bal Thackeray (; 23 January 1926 – 17 November 2012), also known as Balasaheb Thackeray, was an Indian politician who founded the Shiv Sena, a right-wing pro-Marathi and Hindu nationalist party active mainly in the state of Maharashtra. ...

, the film contains voice clippings of Thackeray's political career.

Cast

as Balkrishna Patil *

as Sai *

as Balkrishna's mother *

as Nandu Patil, Balkrishna's father (Special appearance) *

Mahesh Shetty Mahesh Shetty (born 21 May 1984) is an Indian actor who works in television serials and Bollywood films. He made his television debut with '' Kis Desh Mein Hai Meraa Dil'' (2008) as Balraj Sahni. He is known for portraying Siddhant Kapoor in So ...

as Jehangir Singh *

Anand Ingale Anand may refer to: People * Anand (name), a surname and given name (including a list of people with the name) * Anand (actor), Indian actor * Anand (Maoist), Indian communist * Anand (writer) (born 1936), Indian Malayalam writer Places * Ana ...

as Principal *

Bhalchandra Kadam Bhalchandra Kadam (born 3 March 1970), popularly known as Bhau Kadam, is a Marathi theatre and film actor. He is known as a comedian, particularly when working in commercial Marathi cinema and drama. He began his acting career in 1991, when he ...

as Peon *

as Local Political Leader who is slapped by Nandu Patil (Guest Role)

Production

Casting

, who has acted previously in Bollywood movies like ''

Andaz Apna Apna ''Andaz Apna Apna'' () is a 1994 Indian Hindi-language comedy film directed by Rajkumar Santoshi and produced by Vinay Kumar Sinha. It stars Aamir Khan, Salman Khan, Raveena Tandon, Karishma Kapoor, Paresh Rawal (in a dual role) and Shakti Kap ...

'' and ''

Ishq Ishq ( ar, عشق, ''‘išq'') is an Arabic word meaning "love" or "passion", also widely used in other languages of the Muslim world and the Indian subcontinent. The word ''ishq'' does not appear in the Quran, which instead uses derivatives o ...

'' was signed on for the film as his debut in the Marathi cinema. Tiku portrays the role of a school principal in the film.

Music

Soundtrack for ''Balkadu'' was composed by the duo Ajit-Samir who have worked on '' Kaksparsh'' previously and have contributed to movies like ''

Me Shivajiraje Bhosale Boltoy ''Mi Shivajiraje Bhosale Boltoy'' (English: I'm Shivajiraje Bhosale Speaking) is a 2009 Indian Marathi-language film produced by Sanjay Chhabria along with Ashwami Manjrekar and directed by Santosh Ramdas Manjrekar. The film follows an underdog ...

'' as the trio Ajit-Atul-Sameer.

Release

''Balkadu'' released on the birth anniversary of late

Balasaheb Thackeray Bal Thackeray (; 23 January 1926 – 17 November 2012), also known as Balasaheb Thackeray, was an Indian politician who founded the Shiv Sena, a right-wing pro-Marathi and Hindu nationalist party active mainly in the state of Maharashtra. ...

on 23 January 2015.

Critical reception

Upon release, Balkadu opened to negative reviews from critics. Koimoi.com rated the film with one star out of five saying "Other than enjoying his cartoons at the start of the film, there is nothing that wooed me." ''Pune Mirror'' gave the film 2 stars out of five, stating "I am sure his alasaheb'slife and ideology can be well expressed in a film. Sadly, Balkadu is not that film. At best, Balkadu is a case of wishful thinking. At worst, it's a propaganda the oSena does not need at the moment."

References

External links

* {{Youtube, T0KpFIAf4_M, Official trailer Bal Thackeray 2015 films 2010s Marathi-language films