Kulkarni Chaukatla Deshpande

Story: Jaya scripts a new life for herself after walking out on marriage. Refusing to accept outdated norms a woman should abide by in a marriage, she finds love and a career in Mumbai but faces a new set of challenges when their kids find it difficult to accept their courtship...


Review: Filmmaker Gajendra Ahire’s film Kulkarni Chaukatla Deshpande belongs to the league of cinema where simple storyline is the king. With the right blend of emotions weaved with comedy and good acting by Sai Tamhankar, Neena Kulkarni and Rajesh Shringarpure, the story is told with sensitivity and a progressive approach, that rings true with today’s viewers.


Struggling to find her self-worth in a marriage, Jaya (Sai Tamhankar) dare to divorce her husband (Nikhil Ratnaparkhi) who is far from a progressive thinker. The MBA graduate goes to Mumbai, does well professionally and manages to find love again in Satish (Rajesh Shringarpure) who is a chilled-out guy. They both have kids from previous marriages— Ameya and Rahul. All seems to be going well until they go on a vacation in Ladakh and their two sons struggle to wrap their heads around the modern family.


Jaya’s son Ameya feels that his identity is getting lost in the new setup as Satish’s son keeps teasing him to change his last name from Deshpande to Kulkarni. With a new challenge arising, Jaya must choose between love and her son’s happiness.


Some scenes in the film really touch your heart; one of them is when Jaya and Satish explain their relationship to the kids. The film's dialogues are memorable and Sai’s character resonates with women from a working-class family struggling to find a voice in a marriage. Neena Kulkarni does a fantastic job playing Jaya’s mother in the film and actor Nikhil Ratnaparkhi portrays the character of an insecure yet prude husband in a marriage, convincingly. Gajendra Ahire captures each nuance of the story with finesse, making it so appealing and relatable.


If you are looking for a new age and progressive Marathi film to watch this weekend, Kulkarni Chaukatla Deshpande won’t disappoint you.