''Dithee'' () is an Indian

Marathi-language Marathi (; , 𑘦𑘨𑘰𑘙𑘲, , ) is a Classical languages of India, classical Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language predominantly spoken by Marathi people in the Indian state of Maharashtra and is also spoken in Goa, and parts of Guj ...

drama film written and directed by Sumitra Bhave under her banner Sumitra Bhave Films along with

Mohan Agashe Mohan Agashe (born 23 July 1947) is an Indian psychiatrist and actor. He was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1996 in theatre. Early life Agashe was born in Bhor, Maharashtra. He studied in B. J. Medical College, Pune for his MBBS ...

. The movie is about a simple ironsmith's journey of undergoing the pain of his son's death and experiencing the non-duality of life and death. The movie was also showcased at the Cannes Film Market in 2019. Dithee also marks the last directorial film of filmmaker Sumitra Bhave. The film was released on 21 May 2021 as a liv original directly on

Sony Liv Sony LIV is an Indian subscription video-on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Culver Max Entertainment. Sony LIV was introduced in 2013 as the first OTT service in India. As a streaming service, it provides live sports, origina ...

. It is inspired by the story ''Aata Amod Sunasi Ale,'' penned by D.B. Mokashi.

Cast

Kishor Kadam Kishor Kadam (born 9 November 1967) is an Indian actor and poet who has acted prominently in Marathi and Hindi movies. He has also acted in Tamil movies and has appeared in some television serials as well. He is a veteran Marathi poet, writin ...

as Ramji *

as Joshibuva *

Dilip Prabhavalkar Dilip Prabhavalkar (born 4 August 1944) is an Indian Marathi actor, director, playwright and author. He has a career spanning over five decades in Hindi and Marathi theatre, television and movies. He was awarded the National Film Award for Best ...

as Santu *

Uttara Baokar Uttara Baokar (5 August 1944 – 12 April 2023) was an Indian stage, film, and television actress. She acted in several notable plays, such as Padmavati in ''Mukyhamantri'', Mena in ''Mena Gurjari'', Desdemona in Shakespeare's ''Othello'', t ...

as Santu's wife *

Amruta Subhash Amruta Subhash is an Indian actress who works in Marathi and Hindi films, television, and theatre. She is a graduate of the National School of Drama, National School of Drama, New Delhi. She has received several awards, including a National Fil ...

as Parubai *

Girish Kulkarni Girish Pandurang Kulkarni (born 25 November 1977) is an Indian actor, writer, and producer. He is a recipient of two National Film Awards namely, National Film Award for Best Actor in 2011 for his performance in '' Deool'' and National Film Aw ...

as Govinda *

Shashank Shende Shashank Shende is an Indian actor, screenwriter, director and producer who works in Hindi and Marathi films. He received Prestigious Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Marathi For his critically acclaimed movie Baaplyok and also won Zee Chit ...

as Shiva *

Anjali Patil Anjali Patil is an Indian actress who works in Hindi, Marathi, Telugu and Tamil film productions. She has received several awards including a National Film Award and a Filmfare Marathi Award. She received the IFFI Best Actor Award (Female) ...

as Tulsa * Kailash Waghmare as Kailash * Onkar Govardhan as Ramji's son

Synopsis

The film tells the story of Ramji, a simple iron-smith from a small village, who is a devotee of

Lord Vitthal Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are e ...

. For years he followed the Waarkari (a devotional sect) tradition of going on a pilgrimage with thousands of other devotees. One tragic incident and his world comes crashing down. Ramji became not only sad but also angry at God. The story is further built upon how this tragedy affects the family and everyone trying to make sense of the tragedy. One rainy night unfolds a tale of grief and ecstasy - where the seeming opposites just collapse and dissolve into the oneness of being. Life offers Ramji a chance to 'see' the non-duality of birth and death, and make peace with his grief.

Reception

Dithee received appreciation not only from the audience but also from the critics. ''

The Times of India ''The Times of India'' (''TOI'') is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by the Times Group. It is the List of newspapers in India by circulation, third-largest newspaper in India by circulation an ...

'' gave a rating of 3.5/5 and stated "Sumitra Bhave’s swansong speaks about the coexistence of life and death". Further, it mentioned, "while the story and acting are strongholds of the film, the cinematography (by Dhananjay Kulkarni) and background score (by Saket Kanetkar) complete the film’s identity". ''

Firstpost Firstpost is an Indian news website owned by Network18 Group, which also runs CNN-News18 and CNBC TV18. It has posted misinformation on multiple occasions. The Network 18 group was originally owned by Raghav Bahl. In January 2012, the gro ...

'' gave a rating of 3.5/5 and stated a positive review of the film: "Sumitra Bhave’s last film delivers an astonishingly relevant view on life and death" and added that the film "delights you with a soulful tale of mourning and celebration all at once". Subhra Gupta from ''

The Indian Express ''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932 by P. Varadarajulu Naidu. It is headquartered in Noida, owned by the ''Indian Express Group''. It was later taken over by Ramnath Goenka. In 1999, eight y ...

'' gave 3 stars and stated "Kishore Kadam’s portrayal of Ramji is at the heart of the film". ''SpotboyE'' gave a rating of 3.5/5 and praised Kishore Kadam's performance "brilliance as a birthright". ''Cinestaan'' stated Dithee as a "Visually breathtaking story of loss, grief and healing". Namrata Joshi of ''

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was founded as a weekly publication in 1878 by the Triplicane Six, becoming a daily in 1889. It is one of the India ...

'' states "The film operates more in the realm of ideas than action and takes viewers into the mind of a distressed soul."

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, tt11155460 2019 films Indian drama films Marathi-language drama films 2010s Marathi-language films 2019 drama films