Zombivli | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Directed by | Aditya Sarpotdar |
Written by | Mahesh Iyer |
Produced by | Vikram Mehra Siddharth Anand Kumar |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Lawrence D'Cunha |
Edited by | Jayant Jathar |
Music by | Rohan-Rohan |
Production company | |
Distributed by | AA Films |
Release date |
|
Country | India |
Language | Marathi |
Budget | est.₹7 crore (US$840,000) [1] |
Box office | est.₹11 crore (US$1.3 million) [1] |
Zombivli is a 2022 Indian Marathi-language Zombie-comedy film directed by Aditya Sarpotdar. [2] [3] The film stars Lalit Prabhakar, Vaidehi Parshurami, Amey Wagh and Trupti Khamkar in lead roles. [4] It was released in theaters on 26 January 2022 and aired on ZEE5 on 20 May 2022. [5]
Vishwas (Lalit Prabhakar) is a firebrand local leader from Janata Nagar, Dombivli, who is fiercely proud of his community and objects to anyone casting slander against its residents. He aids in carrying a sick man to a hospital, only to find it crowded with people suffering similar symptoms. The patients are unresponsive to the medication, and a patient staggers out of the hospital, exhibiting zomboid behaviour.
Sudhir (Amey Wagh) is an engineer working at a local bottling company owned by a shady local leader Appa Musale (Vijay Nikam). He lives in an apartment next to Janata Nagar with his pregnant wife, Seema (Vaidehi Parshurami). On his first day at work, he encounters Vishwas, who is protesting against the bottling companies' unfair policies that's depriving residents of their rightful share of water.
Meanwhile, the zombie epidemic begins spreading through town. Sudhir is almost bitten by a zombie when running an errand, but Vishwas's timely intervention saves him. A panicked Sudhir lodges a report at the police station, causing Vishwas to be picked up and detained after the police agree to open an investigation into the issue.
Sudhir attempts to discover the source of the epidemic by looking through the PCB (Pollution Control Board) files but is forestalled by his boss, who asks him to meet Musale. At a party hosted by Musale, the latter warns Sudhir not to pry into affairs not concerning him.
As Sudhir returns home, the zombies attack the Police Station, and Vishwas, taking advantage of the chaos, makes good his escape and heads towards Janata Nagar. Sudhir returns home in his car, but is attacked by zombies. Vishwas and Sudhir meet Seema and her maid Malti (Trupti Khamkar), who are out shopping at the time, and manage to escape in the nick of time along with a couple of other residents, including Bhide (a senior citizen) and Rajendra (an arrogant flat owner) in a journalist's car when Sudhir's car breaks down. They attempt to flee Dombivli but are prevented by a police barricade put in place by the Government to stop the infection from spreading. An altercation ensues in which Bhide is shot by the police, forcing the rest of the group to rush towards a hospital for urgent medical aid.
The group arrives at the hospital to find it completely overrun by zombies, but a doctor holed up there was able to treat Bhide's wound, leaving him weak but otherwise capable of holding up. After a brief scare in which Sudhir believes himself to be infected (but is found to be healthy), Vishwas, Sudhir, and the journalist decide to go to the source of the infection, a restricted area in the factory, which Sudhir had noticed on his first day at work. They stealthily sneak past the zombified guards and discover Musale's "immunity boosting" tablets, which left toxic wastes during manufacturing and were allowed to leak into the local water supply due to the callous attitude of the management. Musale arrives on the scene and shoots Vishwas but is bitten and turned into a zombie when trying to escape with the money stashed at the factory.
Meanwhile, Seema and the others attempt to escape the hospital but are betrayed by Rajendra who harbours prejudice against the so-called "slum-dwellers" of Janata Nagar. When a fire alarm goes off in the hospital, the zombies are showered with water, stopping them in their tracks. Seema abandons Rajendra and reaches the factory with a fire engine. Vishwas, Sudhir, and the journalist, weary from fighting off zombies, are struggling to hold them off when Seema and her group reach there and shower the zombies with the fire engine's hose, allowing everyone to escape.
Vishwas is elected President of a local political organization for his contribution, and Sudhir is blessed with a baby daughter. A zombie Rajendra ends up on the railway tracks where he is run over by a speeding train.
The screenplay was ready by the time Maharashtra lifted its lockdown of COVID-19 in early June 2020. But Dombivli, still had a high case count. Therefore Latur which was low on the list of COVID-19 positive patients. The team conducted research on storyboarding scenes and designing the looks of Zombies. [6]
Except for a few top-angle and exterior shots, they were filmed in Dombivli, and 90% of the film was shot in Latur. [6] Overall filming was done with safety precautions. [7]
The film was theatrically released on 26 January 2022. [8]
Zombivli received positive reviews from the critics for portraying the class divide during a zombie apocalypse. [9] Mihir Bhanage of The Times of India called it "Zombie apocalypse with a dash of humour," and wrote: "The film begins on a high note and picks steam soon. However, midway, it loses steam and becomes a drag-fest before picking up pace again during the climax." [10] Scroll.in reviewer Nandini Ramnath opined that the film was a tribute to Edgar Wright’s Shaun of the Dead . "Zombivli plays out largely as a comedy with mostly harmless bodies jerking about. It's the humans of Dombivli, including the venal Musale and Sudhir's selfish neighbours, who prove to be far more dangerous," Ramnath added. [11] Writing for Maharashtra Times , Kalpeshraj Kubal reviewed the technical aspects and stated: "The makeup, VFX, cinematography in the film is excellent and linear. A. V. Prafulla Chandra has done the background music. It stays in mind even after the movie is over. This zombie will love to see, hear and experience[ sic ]." [12]
Filmmaker Tarun Wadhwa filed a petition in The Bombay High Court claiming that Saregama India Limited had allegedly made Zombivili using his idea, and without his permission. According to Wadhwa, he had shared the idea about the film with the Screen Writer's Association, which was shared to Saregama through Yoodlee Films, one of Saregama's divisions. [13] Saregama then asked Wadhwa to submit a screenplay on his idea, but was told by Saregama India Limited that there was no intention of developing his concept any further. [13] [14] Judge Gautam Patel ruled that Wadhwa could not prove his claim, and nullified his plea to restrain the release of the film. [15] [16]
Suresh Ishwar Wadkar is an Indian playback singer. He performs in both Hindi and Marathi films. He has sung songs in some Bhojpuri films, Odia albums and bhajans and in Konkani films.
Siddharth Jadhav is an Indian actor, entertainer and comedian widely known for his work in several Hindi and Marathi films and stage productions. He has received several awards including a Filmfare Award Marathi.
Yatin Karyekar is an Indian actor who primarily works in Hindi films. He was also part of long running television serial Shanti. He appeared in the role of Aurangzeb in popular Marathi serial Raja Shivchhatrapati.
Ugramm (transl. Anger) is a 2014 Indian Kannada-language action thriller film directed by Prashanth Neel in his directorial debut, and produced by his brother Pradeep Neel. It stars Sriimurali and Hariprriya in the lead roles, with Tilak Shekar, Avinash, Atul Kulkarni, and Jai Jagadish in supporting roles. The music was composed by Ravi Basrur. Bhuvan Gowda serves as the main cinematographer with Ravi Varman as a guest cinematographer, marking his debut in Kannada cinema.
Dil Dosti Duniyadari is a Marathi television sitcom produced by Sanjay Jadhav and Deepak Rane. It started airing on Zee Marathi from 9 March 2015. It revolves around six friends living as paying guests in Mumbai with the home owner's nephew Sujay, in a house they affectionately call "Mazghar". The serial's first season concluded on 20 February 2016. The series second season, Dil Dosti Dobara, was a reboot sequel.
Yoodlee Films is an Indian film production company, a division of Saregama India Limited. Founded in 2017, it is headquartered in Mumbai and is headed by Siddharth Anand Kumar. The studio credits itself for "fearless filmmaking". Their films are shot at real locations with a maximum duration not more than 120 minutes. Since its inception, Yoodlee Films has made 17 films across genres and languages, debuting with the critically acclaimed Ajji (2017).
Smile Please is an Indian Marathi language drama film directed by Vikram Phadnis. The film follows Nandini Joshi a photographer who is diagnosed with early-onset dementia and struggles to find a sense of purpose and dignity.
Hruta Durgule is an Indian actress who predominantly works in Marathi television and film productions. She is the recipient of several accolades, including a Filmfare Marathi Award, and has established herself as one of the most popular Marathi television actresses.
Vaidehi Parashurami is an Indian actress. She made her debut with Mahesh Kothare's movie Ved Lavi Jeeva in 2010.
Prabhakar Jog was a noted Indian violinist, music director and composer, who worked in Hindi and Marathi film industry. His critically acclaimed works were the Geet Ramayana series with Sudhir Phadke. He was also known for his stage shows, notably Swar Aale Duruni, Gaanare Violin and Gata Rahe Mera Violin.
Govinda Naam Mera is a 2022 Indian Hindi-language comedy thriller film written and directed by Shashank Khaitan and produced by Karan Johar, Apoorva Mehta, and Shashank Khaitan under the banner of Dharma Productions, in association with Viacom18 Studios. The film stars Vicky Kaushal, Bhumi Pednekar, and Kiara Advani. It premiered on 16 December 2022 on Disney+ Hotstar to positive reviews.
Dharmaveer is a 2022 Indian Marathi-language biographical political drama film written and directed by Pravin Tarde and produced by Mangesh Desai under the banner of Zee Studios. It covers the story of late Shiv Sena leader Anand Dighe. The film features Prasad Oak, Kshitish Date, Makarand Paddhye, Snehal Tarde and Shruti Marathe in the lead roles.
Dhurala is a 2020 Indian Marathi-language political drama film directed by Sameer Vidwans. It stars an ensemble cast including starring Ankush Chaudhari, Alka Kubal, Sai Tamhankar, Siddhartha Jadhav, Sonalee Kulkarni, Amey Wagh, Umesh Kamat and Prasad Oak. The film is and written by Kshitij Patwardhan and revolves around the story of gram panchayat elections in a small village in Maharashtra.
Asmita is an Indian Marathi language crime show which aired on Zee Marathi. It starred Mayuri Wagh, Yogesh Sohoni, Ashwini Mahangade, Raju Athawale, Yatin Karyekar, Pooja Pawar, Piyush Ranade, Sulabha Deshpande and Ajay Purkar.
Sunny is a 2022 Marathi-language drama film directed by Hemant Dhome and produced by Akshay Bardapurkar, Kshitee Jog, Viraj Gawas and Urfi Kazmi. Screenplay and dialogues written by Irawati Karnik. The film stars Lalit Prabhakar in the title role, Kshitee Jog, Chinmay Mandlekar, Abhishek Deshmukh.
Jaggu Ani Juliet is a 2023 Indian Marathi-language romantic comedy film directed by Mahesh Limaye. It is produced by Punit Balan Studios. The film stars Amey Wagh, Vaidehi Parashurami in leading roles. The film was theatrically released on 10 February 2023.
The 7th Filmfare Marathi Awards is a ceremony, presented by Planet Marathi, honored the best Indian Marathi-language films of 2022.
The Maharashtracha Favourite Kon? Awards are presented by the Marathi television channel Zee Talkies to honour excellence in Marathi cinema. It has been given annually since 2009, with the latest—the 14th edition—of the award-giving ceremony having been held in 2024. The awards are decided by a jury, consisting of noted film-makers, critics and technicians, while winners in a separate category named "Favourite awards" are chosen by public voting.
Maharashtracha Favourite Kon? Award for Favourite Actor is given by Zee Talkies as part of its annual Maharashtracha Favourite Kon? ceremony for Marathi films. The award was first given in 2009.