I can't believe I forgot to make a post about this, but Sabar Bonda, a queer Marathi film that initially screened at Sundance Film Festival 2025 (the first Marathi film to ever premiere at the festival! and it won the grand jury prize!!) is now streaming online on netflix!
It's about Anand, a man living in Mumbai who has to return to his village for a 10 day mourning period when his father dies, and the romance he rekindles with his childhood friend, Balya. It's a really good film, with fantastic emotional depth and excellent explorations of relationships and society. I'm going to try to also get a post up about my thoughts on it in detail sometime soon, but in the meantime, you should definitely check it out, this movie deserves far more attention than its gotten.
Oh! I forgot to make a post about it sooner, but there's a Marathi film having its global premiere at the ongoing Sundance Film Festival.
It's called साबर बोंड [sābar boṅḍa] ("Cactus Pears"), and it's a very gay love story about a Mumbai resident re-encountering his childhood friend in an Ahmednagar village.
The director, Rohan Parashuram Kanawade, grew up in a Mumbai slum and trained himself as a filmmaker despite having a background in interior design. The film is described as a very personal piece stemming from the director being gay himself.
Nandini Ramnath interviewed him for Scroll.in here, so have a read!
Rohan Parashuram Kanawade’s feature debut will be globally premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.
I look forward to catching it when it (hopefully) makes its way to the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival late in the year.
Raja Shivaji Just Rewrote Marathi Box Office History 🔥👑
I walked into Raja Shivaji expecting another over-the-top historical drama… and walked out completely stunned.
Riteish Deshmukh didn’t just act in this film — he delivered what might genuinely be the biggest cinematic gamble in Marathi cinema history. And somehow, it paid off massively.
🎬 ₹100 Crore Budget
💥 ₹114+ Crore Worldwide Gross
🏆 Highest Grossing Marathi Film Ever
The moment Ajay-Atul’s background score hits in the theater, you instantly understand why audiences are going crazy for this movie. The energy is unreal.
What worked for me: ✔️ Riteish Deshmukh’s career-best performance
✔️ Goosebumps-inducing BGM by Ajay-Atul
✔️ Massive action set pieces with real cinematic scale
✔️ Sanjay Dutt’s terrifying screen presence
✔️ Pure single-screen mass moments 🔥
But honestly? The movie isn’t perfect.
Some historical arcs feel rushed because the film tries to cover too much in one runtime. A few emotional moments needed more breathing space. Still, the sheer passion behind the film makes it incredibly easy to forgive those flaws.
And yes… THAT Salman Khan cameo? Absolute chaos in theaters 😭🔥
⭐ Director’s Cut Rating: 4/5
A massive, emotional theatrical experience that proves regional cinema can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the biggest Bollywood spectacles.
If you love:
Historical epics
Powerful background music
Big-screen action
Emotion-driven cinema
Movies like Baahubali, Tanhaji, or RRR
…then this deserves a theater watch.
👉 Read my full detailed review here:
🔗 The Director's Cut
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