Hemalkasa (2014) User Reviews

Biopic of epic personalities

[netamitxi · 10/10 · 14 October 2014]

This movie is released in three languages, Marathi, Hindi & English.

It is the story of legendary social worker, Doctor, wildlife conserver Magsaysay award winner Dr. Prakash Baba Amte. Son of renowned social worker, founder of leprosy care center 'Anandwan' & Magsaysay award winner Baba(Murlidhar) Amte. It's really a biopic of Amte family, Father & two sons, Prakash & Vikas. Executed brilliantly by national award winning actor Nana Patekar & Sonali Bendre.

Story begins with naxalite background of region where Amte family works, Vidarbh, part of Maharashtra, India. Then it introduces Prakash Amte (Nana Patekar) thru scene of journalists taking interview. Then the ground reality of situation of tribal people, their life, their conflict. Dr. Prakash & his wife(Sonali Kulkarni) have been invited to USA for event, but consulate rejects the visa, it becomes sensational news & US embassy has to apology to Dr. duo. After reaching hotel in New York, a young tribal man from Vidarbha visits duo by surprise, then movie goes in flashback via thru that young man's mystical story.

From narration of (Nana Patekar) story unfolds from his childhood, who was Baba Amte, how he raised children, with his principles & social cause. His college days & decision to work in Hemalkasa, Gadchiroli district, on government given land as a sole health care Doctor among the tribal people who don't really understand the concept. Then it's all about the struggle, hard work, empathy. Trying to convince people that medical science is to their benefit & not some cruel, strange rituals. His practice without sufficient facility, operations performed in colossal pressure.

The story of how he used to merge in nature easily, be it with snakes, tiger or leopard, or dear. Dr. Prakash in real life plays with wild animals easily.

How government of India realized their work & importance when foreign nations gave them award. Then India government awarded these people.

All in all, it's a must watch movie.

A must watch!!! for each and everyone.

[AdityaChaphekar · 9/10 · 20 November 2014]

Do watch "Dr. Prakash Baba Amte, The Real Hero"... No, you don't need to understand Marathi Language. You only need to know the Human Language - which is universal and, anyway, not taught in text books. You will learn as you watch! Its a Stupendous film! There is really a lot to learn from the film and Dr.Prakash Baba Amte, who selflessly contributed to the betterment of the Adivasis in the jungle, living in forbidding conditions. Dr. Prakash Amte and his wife Dr. Mandakini Amte has been Magsasay Award Winners for their work, where they treated and cured thousands of Adivasis and tried to make them civilized and they could do so, without even understanding their native language. Very subtle performances by Nana Patekar and Sonali Kulkarni. Yes! I want to watch the film again.

Could have been more than merely good.

[MuviFan73 · 9/10 · 20 September 2020]

Could have been better if...

equal medical status was given to wife (after researching I found out she was MBBS too),

aspects like padmashree & caged animals were given proper closure,

& no vfx tiger was used,

I would like to mention I envied his relationship with animals😜.

Awesome life... awesome movie!

[vipul_bondal · 10/10 · 16 October 2014]

Biopics rarely do justice to the person whose life is depicted. Partly because its not always possible to show all the trials and tribulations that the person goes through in real life in 120-180 minutes.

Not so, fortunately, in this case. "Dr Prakash Baba Amte - the real hero" bring out the trials that Dr Prakash Amte faced, be it with facing ostracism from society as a young child or thereafter while setting up his Ashram, the struggle is very apparent and comes alive. The Government's non-co-operative attitude comes out brilliantly on a couple of occasions. Nana Patekar has "lived" the character completely. Hats off to the producer-director Adv. Samruddhi Porey and her team for a classic!! Hats off to Dr Prakash Amte and Dr Mandakini for being who they are in real life and their awe-inspiring contribution to Maharashtra and India. Thanks also to Nana Patekar and Sonali Kulkarni for playing these roles. I would think, in terms of standards, these two roles are right up there with Ben Kingsley and Rohini Hattangadi (playing the Mahatma and Kasturba) in Richard Attenborough's "Gandhi".

This movie must get an Oscar!

A definite must-watch if you'd like to hear an amazing real story

[great_guns · 8/10 · 20 October 2014]

This film does something which I wasn't sure it'd be able to do. I'd just read about and heard some interviews of Dr. Prakash Baba Amte and was surprised by how simple, soft-spoken and chilled out a person he was despite doing what he does. I was wondering how a film could bring this attitude of his to the screen and still be entertaining. The film actually managed to pull it off really well.

The credit for how good the film is, has to go to Nana Patekar and to some extent, also to Sonali Kulkarni and the support cast. Nana is in nearly every scene in the movie and how he never falters. He is known for his angry, witty, slightly off-the-rocker roles which are replete with long powerful monologues and entertaining one-liners. This performance, on the other hand, is exactly the opposite with Nana playing a calm, collected and motivated middle-aged and older Dr. Prakash Amte. Even then, he is strong, powerful and inspiring. Nana really is a pure gem.

A lot has already been written about the tacky and badly done graphics work in a couple of scenes of the movie. I personally think these scenes were completely unnecessary and if they weren't able to execute a believable job of the graphics, they should have just edited the scenes out - they wouldn't have made any difference to this excellent performance by Nana and team.

I wasn't also 100% convinced with the direction. With a larger budget and a director of the caliber of say, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra or a Raju Hirani or an Ashutosh Gowariker, this story had the potential of being an absolute classic. A great example is the huge chasm between the finish and presentation of two biopics - "Bhaag Milkha Bhaag" directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra and "Mary Kom" directed by Omung Kumar. The latter looked like a B-movie compared to the former despite having an A-list star in Priyanka Chopra at the helm.

The bottom line is that this film is most definitely watchable and I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to hear a beautiful and inspiring story and see power packed performances from two of Marathi cinema's most talented actors.

Excellent Movie-the truth

[rahul123678 · 10/10 · 12 October 2014]

A must watch movie.

It is real story Dr.Prakash Aamte. A famous social worker and inspiration to many. The movie is based on the true story and shows that what a man can achieve if he has only will power and pure heart to help people. Also the actors Nana and Sonali has played a smooth role and acting will touch your heart. Movie shows the real condition of tribal from India and their struggle for life.Also throws some light on government negligence and local police rash attitudes.Also shows how animals like tiger can be your friend if treated with love.Its a marvelous movie which will change your view about the life and will inspire us.

Misogynist towards Mandatai

[ranadedeepika9 · 5/10 · 13 November 2015]

The movie starts with Nana Patekar emerging out of the river with a very CGI tiger. This might have worked if there were no other animals in the movie. But since there were 2 leopards, multiple monkeys, a bear, multiple snakes, one wonders why couldn't they have used a real leopard instead of the CGI tiger. The movie is very misogynist towards Mandatai. In one scene, Mandatai, who is a trained doctor herself, asks Dr Amte to verify that a child has fever and then asks what should she do. There are many other such scenes which portray mandatai in a bad light. In reality, the altruistic task of Dr Amtes would not have even started, let alone bear fruition without Mandatai.

Nana Patekar shines in his portrayal of Dr Amte. Few scenes here and there do show that the director might be talented. For instance, after Dr Amte's beloved leopard Negal dies, the Amtes plant a tree at the spot where the leopard is buried. Nana later walks past the tree and nuzzles the tree.

The task undertaken by the Amtes is beyond doubt unparalleled. The movie could have done better justice to the Amtes. 10 votes on 10 for Nana Patekar. Minus 5 for bad direction, non fact checking, and the disparaging attitude towards Mandatai.