Marathi filmmaker Hemant Dhome kicks off 2026 by ringing in Maharashtra Day as well as Teachers Day early. The Jhimma and Fussclass Dabhade director’s latest movie is set in Nagaon in Alibaug, where the Marathi-medium Krantijyoti Vidyalay is under threat.
The school run by Dinkar Shirke’s family for generations has been declared a dilapidated structure, to be replaced by an English-medium, swankier structure. Shirke (Sachin Khedekar) rallies his favourite students to save the school. Every one of them has migrated except for Baban (Amey Wagh). Conveniently, all of them are from the same batch, giving their return to Nagaon the flavour of a reunion.
Deep (Siddharth Chandekar), Anjali (Prajakta Koli), Salma (Kshitee Jog), Rakesh (Harish Dudhade), Vishal (Pushkaraj Chirputkar) and Suman (Kadambari Kadam) revisit old pleasures and lasting grouses. The flame between Deep and Anjali still burns, as does resentment. Rakesh and Vishal look up the man who used to sell bhajis outside the school. Salma recalls her time in the classroom as being less pleasant than the others. Baban scampers about like a puppy happy to be reunited with his litter.
For half of its runtime, Krantijyoti Vidyalay affectionately observes adults becoming children again. The episodic-nature of Dhome’s screenplay best suits these portions, in which the pupils remember Shirke’s highly…
Source: ‘Krantijyoti Vidyalay Marathi Madhyam’ review: A battle cry to save the Marathi language
