Dombivali Fast

Dombivli Fast (Marathi: ङोंबिवली फास्ट) is a critically acclaimed Marathi film by director Nishikant Kamat. It is the story of a middle class bank employee, Madhav Apte, who becomes so disgusted with the corruption he faces in his day to day life that he loses it one day and become a vigilante. The film stars Sandeep Kulkarni, Shilpa Tulaskar and Sandesh Jadhav.

Kamath remade the film in Tamil as Evano Oruvan with R. Madhavan playing the lead.
[edit] Awards and Storyline

* 2006 Star Screen Awards - Best Actor Male (Marathi) - Sandeep Kulkarni

It was heavily influenced by the Michael Douglas starrer 1993 film Falling Down.

A lower-middle age house in the Mumbai Suburb of Dombivli, an alarm rings in the morning, the household goes into a frenzy of activities where the man of the house, Madhav Shreedhar Apte gets ready for work, goes to work travelling in the Mumbai Locals, works and then comes back in the evening, feeds his young daughter and then goes to sleep. The next morning the same routine starts again, and the next morning.

The Marathi movie “Dombivli Fast” (DF)starts with the above routine scene about a middle class home but ends with the most under-rated climax of all, simple yet hard-hitting.

Madhav Apte is a common man with strong principles. He has strong values and he does not believe in bending any rules for anybody, even when the future of his children is involved. He fights with people around when he sees injustice and corruption, which include his colleagues, his boss, the shop keepers, man who delivers water in a water tanker, school principal and even his wife. His principles and his behavior is a cause of fights between his wife and him. She is tired of him only preaching of changing the world but not doing anything about it.

He is pushed to a corner by everybody who finds his policy of righted ness too difficult to handle and one day he snaps. He goes on a rampage trying to do right, everything that goes against his principles and then starts a mayhem on the street of Mumbai, ultimately ending in a tragic climax.

The story is very similar to Michael Douglas’s starrer Falling Down but DF stands out because of good acting and brilliant direction. There are many characters in the movie but the three main characters are Madhav Apte, His wife and a police Inspector.

The film has a cult status in Marathi cinema.

NEW YORK TIME REVIEW

In the tradition of Death Wish, Falling Down and Fighting Mad comes the urban vigilante drama Dombivli Fast - a tough, bitter dissection of the rage that lies at the core of contemporary society. The story concerns Madhav Apte (Sandeep Kulkarni), an Indian banker whose firm moral principles are constantly challenged by friends, family and associates. Ultimately, they goad him over the edge, and he suddenly cracks, physically attacking a street vendor in broad daylight for refusing to give him change. Apte then arms himself, wandering the streets and scouring the neighborhoods for any sign of wrongdoing that he can "correct," but leaving a nasty trail of destruction in his wake. The police are promptly alerted, but cannot decide whether to arraign Apte or treat his actions as necessary heroics. Co-writer-director Nishikant Kamat utilizes rapid fire editing and frenzied camerawork to capture the story's high-wire, cutthroat tension. Shilpa Tulaskar and Sandesh Jadhav co-star. ~ Nathan Southern.