{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=March 2018}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Ashi Hi Banwa Banwi
| image =
| caption =
| director = [[Sachin Pilgaonkar]]
| producer = Kiran Shantaram
| writer = Vasant Sabnis
| starring = {{plainlist|
* [[Ashok Saraf]]
* [[Sachin Pilgaonkar]]
* [[Laxmikant Berde]]
* [[Siddharth Ray]]
* [[Ashwini Bhave]]
* [[Supriya Pilgaonkar]]
* [[Priya Arun|Priya Arun Berde]]
* [[Nivedita Joshi-Saraf|Nivedita Joshi Saraf]]
* Nayantara
* [[Viju Khote]]
* [[Sudhir Joshi]]
}}
| narrator =
| cinematography =
| editing =
| studio = V. Shantaram Productions
| distributor =
| released = {{Film date|1988|09|23|df=y}}
| runtime = 156 minutes
| country = [[India]]
| language = [[Marathi language|Marathi]]
| budget =
| gross = [[Indian rupee|₹]]3 [[crore]]
}}
'''''Ashi Hi Banwa Banwi''''' (translation: ''This Is Being Street-Smart'') is a [[List of Marathi films of 1988|1988]] [[Cinema of India|Indian]] [[Marathi language|Marathi]]-language comedy film written by Vasant Sabnis, directed by [[Sachin Pilgaonkar]] and produced by Kiran Shantaram. Released in [[Maharashtra]] on 23 September 1988 and now considered to be a [[cult film]] in [[Marathi cinema]], the film stars an [[ensemble cast]] of [[Ashok Saraf]], [[Sachin Pilgaonkar]], [[Laxmikant Berde]], [[Siddharth Ray]], [[Ashwini Bhave]], [[Supriya Pilgaonkar]], [[Priya Arun|Priya Arun Berde]], [[Nivedita Joshi-Saraf|Nivedita Joshi Saraf]], Nayantara, [[Viju Khote]] and [[Sudhir Joshi]].<ref>{{IMDb title|0267277}}</ref> The film revolves around four friends who are searching for rented accommodation when a landlady insists only on married couples, so two of the friends are forced to dress as women and pretend to be the wives of the other two. The film borrows the basic plot from the Hrishikesh Mukherjee's ''[[Biwi Aur Makan]]'' (1966) which was based on the [[Bengali language|Bengali]] film ''Joy Maa Kali Boarding'',<ref>https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/marathi/movies/photofeatures/laxmikant-berde-superhit-comedy-films-of-the-actor-you-should-not-</ref> and was remade in [[Kannada]] as ''Olu Saar Bari Olu'' (2003), in [[Hindi]] as ''[[Paying Guests]]'' (2009), in Punjabi as ''[[Mr & Mrs 420]]'' (2014) and in Bengali as ''[[Jio Pagla]]'' (2017).<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.livemint.com/Consumer/KYhiSTqNNAPN9bzm8JlAhP/Ten-Marathi-films-remade-in-other-languages.html |title = Ten Marathi films remade in other languages|date = 11 September 2017}}</ref> The film was also an inspiration for the 1991 [[Telugu language|Telugu]] film ''[[Chitram Bhalare Vichitram]]'' which was remade in Kannada as ''[[Bombat Hendthi]]'' (1992) and in Tamil as ''[[Aanazhagan]]'' (1995).

==Plot==
Dhananjay Mane ([[Ashok Saraf]]) is a street-smart salesman in a cosmetics store in [[Pune]] and is secretly in love with his employer, Madhuri ([[Ashwini Bhave]]). He is the tenant of a stingy landlord, Mr. Vishwas Sarpotdar ([[Sudhir Joshi]]), and is soon joined by his younger brother, Shantanu ([[Siddharth Ray]]), who is a [[Medicine|medical]] student. Though prohibited by Mr. Sarpotdar, Dhananjay and Shantanu allow their [[Kolhapur]]-based childhood friends, Sudhir ([[Maza Pati Karodpati|Sachin Pilgaonkar]]) and Parshuram ([[Laxmikant Berde]]), also known as Parshya, to secretly live with them as they both have come to Pune in search of jobs. Sudhir has been miserably disowned by his abusive uncle (Suhas Bhalekar) for his negligence towards job and income and participation in the village dances out of interest. Meanwhile, Parshya worked as a domestic worker for Chhaburao ([[Jayram Kulkarni|Jairam Kulkarni]]), a drama contractor, who fired him from his job after finding out that Parshya is in love with his daughter, Kamli ([[Priya Arun|Priya Arun Berde]]). One midnight, Dhananjay, Sudhir and Parshya insult Mr. Sarpotdar in a drunken state and are taken away from his house by Shantanu who arrives at the scene a little late. Enraged by his harassment, Mr. Sarpotdar orders the four friends to vacate the place within four days.

After several unsuccessful attempts in finding rented accommodation, Dhananjay and Shantanu finally come across the palatial house of a rich, old, kind and cataractic widow, Leelabai Kalbhor (Nayantara), who lives with her shrewd domestic worker, Tanu (Gulab Korgaonkar), and is often harassed for her money by her estranged nephew, Bali ([[Viju Khote]]). She is willing to rent some rooms at her house provided that her tenants are married couples. In order to comply with Leelabai's condition, Dhananjay and Shantanu have no other option but to force Sudhir and Parshya to dress as women and thus begins the comedy of errors; Parshya shaves off his moustache and transforms himself into "Parvati", Dhananjay's wife, while Sudhir transforms himself into "Sudha", Shantanu's wife. Shortly after the arrival of the four friends at Leelabai's residence as married couples, Leelabai's niece, Manisha ([[Supriya Pilgaonkar]]), and her childhood friend, Sushma ([[Nivedita Joshi-Saraf|Nivedita Joshi Saraf]]), who is also coincidentally Shantanu's girlfriend from [[Miraj]], come to stay with Leelabai for some months.

Sudhir, now a successful [[Singing|singer]] and music educator, falls in love with Manisha and courts her in his original form, stating that he is the twin brother of Sudha and that he is disappointed with her marriage with Shantanu and is thus not on talking terms with both Sudha and Shantanu. On the other hand, Shantanu, having passed to become a successful doctor, cooks up a fake story of the deadly stomach cancer of Sudha in front of Sushma as she is deeply upset at his betrayal with her and his marriage with Sudha. Elsewhere, Parshya reunites with Kamli when she comes to Pune with Chhaburao's drama troupe and also shares the news of Parshya having become a successful playwright back in Kolhapur. Meanwhile, Madhuri is heartbroken to see Dhananjay married with Parvati during her visit at Leelabai's residence, but Dhananjay confides the truth in Madhuri through a letter and the two eventually confess their love for each other.

While the four friends develop a bond of motherly love with Leelabai, Tanu confides in Bali the truth about Parvati and Sudha's true identities after she notices Parshya's wig and Sudhir wearing earrings while jumping out from the window in his original form. Eventually, the four friends decide to leave Leelabai's house after finding a new accommodation with the help of Madhuri and stage a drama before Leelabai for their way out. However, in the process, they all are unfortunately exposed by Bali and three of his henchmen in front of Leelabai, Manisha and Sushma and are handed over to the police called in by Tanu. However, at the police station, Leelabai surprisingly disowns Bali as her nephew and absolves the four friends of their deception instead because she genuinely feels that the four friends staged the drama out of their desperate need for a roof over their heads and that their intention was not to steal from her or take advantage of her cataract and that they treated her only like their own mother if anything. Hence, Leelabai decides to take them all in as her own sons with the marriages of Dhananjay, Sudhir, Parshya and Shantanu with Madhuri, Manisha, Kamli and Sushma, respectively. The film ends with the all four newlywed couples taking a family photograph along with Leelabai.

==Cast==
* [[Ashok Saraf]] as Dhananjay Mane; Madhuri's lover-turned-husband, Shantanu's older brother, Sudhir and Parshya's childhood friend, Manisha and Sushma's accquaintance, Mr. and Mrs. Sarpotdar, and later, Leelabai's tenant
* [[Sachin Pilgaonkar]] as Sudhir / Sudha Shantanu Mane (fake); Manisha's lover-turned-husband, Dhananjay, Parshya and Shantanu's childhood friend, Sushma's accquaintance, Mr. and Mrs. Sarpotdar, and later, Leelabai's tenant
* [[Laxmikant Berde]] as Parshuram (a.k.a. Parshya) / Parvati Dhananjay Mane (fake); Kamli's lover-turned-husband, Dhananjay, Sudhir and Shantanu's childhood friend, Manisha and Sushma's accquaintance, Mr. and Mrs. Sarpotdar, and later, Leelabai's tenant
* [[Siddharth Ray]] as Shantanu Mane; Sushma's lover-turned-husband, Dhananjay's younger brother, Sudhir and Parshya's childhood friend, Manisha's accquaintance, Mr. and Mrs. Sarpotdar, and later, Leelabai's tenant
* [[Ashwini Bhave]] as Madhuri Dhananjay Mane; Dhananjay's lover-turned-wife
* [[Supriya Pilgaonkar]] as Manisha; Sudhir's lover-turned-wife, Sushma's childhood friend, Dhananjay, Parshya and Shantanu's accquaintance, Leelabai's niece
* [[Priya Arun|Priya Arun Berde]] as Kamli; Parshya's lover-turned-wife, Chhaburao's daughter
* [[Nivedita Joshi-Saraf|Nivedita Joshi Saraf]] as Sushma Shantanu Mane; Shantanu's lover-turned-wife, Manisha's childhood friend, Dhananjay, Parshya and Shantanu's accquaintance
* Nayantara as Leelabai Kalbhor; Dhananjay, Sudhir, Parshya and Shantanu's landlady, Manisha's maternal and Bali's estranged paternal aunt, Tanu's mistress
* [[Viju Khote]] as Bali Kalbhor; Leelabai's estranged nephew, Tanu's accomplice
* [[Sudhir Joshi]] as Mr. Vishwas Sarpotdar; Mrs. Sarpotdar's husband, Dhananjay, Sudhir, Parshya and Shantanu's former landlord
* Lata Thatte as Mrs. Vishwas Sarpotdar; Mr. Sarpotdar's wife, Sudhir, Parshya and Shantanu's former landlady
* Gulab Korgaonkar as Tanu; Leelabai's domestic worker, Bali's accomplice
* [[Jayram Kulkarni|Jairam Kulkarni]] as Chhaburao; Kamli's father, Parshya's ex-employer
* Suhas Bhalekar as Sudhir's uncle
* Bipin Varti as Police Inspector
* Madhu Apte as Sudhir's visitor

==Soundtrack==
The lyrics were penned by Shantaram Nandgaonkar and Sudhir Moghe. Well known Marathi song ''Hridayi Vasant Phulta Na'' was sung by [[Anuradha Paudwal]], [[Suresh Wadkar]], [[Sudesh Bhosale]], Uttara Kelkar, [[Shailendra Singh (singer)|Shailendra Singh]], Amit Kumar, Suhasini, Aparna Mayekar, and Sachin Pilgaonkar.

==References==
<references />

== External links ==
* {{IMDb title|0267277|Ashi Hi Banwa Banwi}}
* [http://www.marathimirchi.com/marathi/categories.php?cat_id=24 Movie Stills]

[[Category:Marathi-language films]]
[[Category:1980s Marathi-language films]]
[[Category:Indian films]]
[[Category:Indian comedy films]]
[[Category:Marathi films remade in other languages]]
[[Category:Marathi remakes of Hindi films]]
[[Category:1988 comedy films]]
[[Category:1988 films]]
[[Category:Films directed by Sachin (actor)]]

Ashi Hi Banwa Banwi

2023-09-28T15:52:21Z

2409:40C0:104A:283F:8000:0:0:0: /* Cast */

{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=March 2018}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Ashi Hi Banwa Banwi
| image =
| caption =
| director = [[Sachin Pilgaonkar]]
| producer = Kiran Shantaram
| writer = Vasant Sabnis
| starring = {{plainlist|
* [[Ashok Saraf]]
* [[Sachin Pilgaonkar]]
* [[Laxmikant Berde]]
* [[Siddharth Ray]]
* [[Ashwini Bhave]]
* [[Supriya Pilgaonkar]]
* [[Priya Arun|Priya Arun Berde]]
* [[Nivedita Joshi-Saraf|Nivedita Joshi Saraf]]
* Nayantara
* [[Viju Khote]]
* [[Sudhir Joshi]]
}}
| narrator =
| cinematography =
| editing =
| studio = V. Shantaram Productions
| distributor =
| released = {{Film date|1988|09|23|df=y}}
| runtime = 156 minutes
| country = [[India]]
| language = [[Marathi language|Marathi]]
| budget =
| gross = [[Indian rupee|₹]]3 [[crore]]
}}
'''''Ashi Hi Banwa Banwi''''' (translation: ''This Is Being Street-Smart'') is a [[List of Marathi films of 1988|1988]] [[Cinema of India|Indian]] [[Marathi language|Marathi]]-language comedy film written by Vasant Sabnis, directed by [[Sachin Pilgaonkar]] and produced by Kiran Shantaram. Released in [[Maharashtra]] on 23 September 1988 and now considered to be a [[cult film]] in [[Marathi cinema]], the film stars an [[ensemble cast]] of [[Ashok Saraf]], [[Sachin Pilgaonkar]], [[Laxmikant Berde]], [[Siddharth Ray]], [[Ashwini Bhave]], [[Supriya Pilgaonkar]], [[Priya Arun|Priya Arun Berde]], [[Nivedita Joshi-Saraf|Nivedita Joshi Saraf]], Nayantara, [[Viju Khote]] and [[Sudhir Joshi]].<ref>{{IMDb title|0267277}}</ref> The film revolves around four friends who are searching for rented accommodation when a landlady insists only on married couples, so two of the friends are forced to dress as women and pretend to be the wives of the other two. The film borrows the basic plot from the Hrishikesh Mukherjee's ''[[Biwi Aur Makan]]'' (1966) which was based on the [[Bengali language|Bengali]] film ''Joy Maa Kali Boarding'',<ref>https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/marathi/movies/photofeatures/laxmikant-berde-superhit-comedy-films-of-the-actor-you-should-not-</ref> and was remade in [[Kannada]] as ''Olu Saar Bari Olu'' (2003), in [[Hindi]] as ''[[Paying Guests]]'' (2009), in Punjabi as ''[[Mr & Mrs 420]]'' (2014) and in Bengali as ''[[Jio Pagla]]'' (2017).<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.livemint.com/Consumer/KYhiSTqNNAPN9bzm8JlAhP/Ten-Marathi-films-remade-in-other-languages.html |title = Ten Marathi films remade in other languages|date = 11 September 2017}}</ref> The film was also an inspiration for the 1991 [[Telugu language|Telugu]] film ''[[Chitram Bhalare Vichitram]]'' which was remade in Kannada as ''[[Bombat Hendthi]]'' (1992) and in Tamil as ''[[Aanazhagan]]'' (1995).

==Plot==
Dhananjay Mane ([[Ashok Saraf]]) is a street-smart salesman in a cosmetics store in [[Pune]] and is secretly in love with his employer, Madhuri ([[Ashwini Bhave]]). He is the tenant of a stingy landlord, Mr. Vishwas Sarpotdar ([[Sudhir Joshi]]), and is soon joined by his younger brother, Shantanu ([[Siddharth Ray]]), who is a [[Medicine|medical]] student. Though prohibited by Mr. Sarpotdar, Dhananjay and Shantanu allow their [[Kolhapur]]-based childhood friends, Sudhir ([[Maza Pati Karodpati|Sachin Pilgaonkar]]) and Parshuram ([[Laxmikant Berde]]), also known as Parshya, to secretly live with them as they both have come to Pune in search of jobs. Sudhir has been miserably disowned by his abusive uncle (Suhas Bhalekar) for his negligence towards job and income and participation in the village dances out of interest. Meanwhile, Parshya worked as a domestic worker for Chhaburao ([[Jayram Kulkarni|Jairam Kulkarni]]), a drama contractor, who fired him from his job after finding out that Parshya is in love with his daughter, Kamli ([[Priya Arun|Priya Arun Berde]]). One midnight, Dhananjay, Sudhir and Parshya insult Mr. Sarpotdar in a drunken state and are taken away from his house by Shantanu who arrives at the scene a little late. Enraged by his harassment, Mr. Sarpotdar orders the four friends to vacate the place within four days.

After several unsuccessful attempts in finding rented accommodation, Dhananjay and Shantanu finally come across the palatial house of a rich, old, kind and cataractic widow, Leelabai Kalbhor (Nayantara), who lives with her shrewd domestic worker, Tanu (Gulab Korgaonkar), and is often harassed for her money by her estranged nephew, Bali ([[Viju Khote]]). She is willing to rent some rooms at her house provided that her tenants are married couples. In order to comply with Leelabai's condition, Dhananjay and Shantanu have no other option but to force Sudhir and Parshya to dress as women and thus begins the comedy of errors; Parshya shaves off his moustache and transforms himself into "Parvati", Dhananjay's wife, while Sudhir transforms himself into "Sudha", Shantanu's wife. Shortly after the arrival of the four friends at Leelabai's residence as married couples, Leelabai's niece, Manisha ([[Supriya Pilgaonkar]]), and her childhood friend, Sushma ([[Nivedita Joshi-Saraf|Nivedita Joshi Saraf]]), who is also coincidentally Shantanu's girlfriend from [[Miraj]], come to stay with Leelabai for some months.

Sudhir, now a successful [[Singing|singer]] and music educator, falls in love with Manisha and courts her in his original form, stating that he is the twin brother of Sudha and that he is disappointed with her marriage with Shantanu and is thus not on talking terms with both Sudha and Shantanu. On the other hand, Shantanu, having passed to become a successful doctor, cooks up a fake story of the deadly stomach cancer of Sudha in front of Sushma as she is deeply upset at his betrayal with her and his marriage with Sudha. Elsewhere, Parshya reunites with Kamli when she comes to Pune with Chhaburao's drama troupe and also shares the news of Parshya having become a successful playwright back in Kolhapur. Meanwhile, Madhuri is heartbroken to see Dhananjay married with Parvati during her visit at Leelabai's residence, but Dhananjay confides the truth in Madhuri through a letter and the two eventually confess their love for each other.

While the four friends develop a bond of motherly love with Leelabai, Tanu confides in Bali the truth about Parvati and Sudha's true identities after she notices Parshya's wig and Sudhir wearing earrings while jumping out from the window in his original form. Eventually, the four friends decide to leave Leelabai's house after finding a new accommodation with the help of Madhuri and stage a drama before Leelabai for their way out. However, in the process, they all are unfortunately exposed by Bali and three of his henchmen in front of Leelabai, Manisha and Sushma and are handed over to the police called in by Tanu. However, at the police station, Leelabai surprisingly disowns Bali as her nephew and absolves the four friends of their deception instead because she genuinely feels that the four friends staged the drama out of their desperate need for a roof over their heads and that their intention was not to steal from her or take advantage of her cataract and that they treated her only like their own mother if anything. Hence, Leelabai decides to take them all in as her own sons with the marriages of Dhananjay, Sudhir, Parshya and Shantanu with Madhuri, Manisha, Kamli and Sushma, respectively. The film ends with the all four newlywed couples taking a family photograph along with Leelabai.

==Cast==
* [[Ashok Saraf]] as Dhananjay Mane; Madhuri's lover-turned-husband, Shantanu's older brother, Sudhir and Parshya's childhood friend, Manisha and Sushma's accquaintance, Mr. and Mrs. Sarpotdar, and later, Leelabai's tenant
* [[Sachin Pilgaonkar]] as Sudhir / Sudha (fake); Manisha's lover-turned-husband, Dhananjay, Parshya and Shantanu's childhood friend, Sushma's accquaintance, Mr. and Mrs. Sarpotdar, and later, Leelabai's tenant
* [[Laxmikant Berde]] as Parshuram (a.k.a. Parshya) / Parvati (fake); Kamli's lover-turned-husband, Dhananjay, Sudhir and Shantanu's childhood friend, Manisha and Sushma's accquaintance, Mr. and Mrs. Sarpotdar, and later, Leelabai's tenant
* [[Siddharth Ray]] as Shantanu Mane; Sushma's lover-turned-husband, Dhananjay's younger brother, Sudhir and Parshya's childhood friend, Manisha's accquaintance, Mr. and Mrs. Sarpotdar, and later, Leelabai's tenant
* [[Ashwini Bhave]] as Madhuri Mane; Dhananjay's lover-turned-wife
* [[Supriya Pilgaonkar]] as Manisha; Sudhir's lover-turned-wife, Sushma's childhood friend, Dhananjay, Parshya and Shantanu's accquaintance, Leelabai's niece
* [[Priya Arun|Priya Arun Berde]] as Kamli; Parshya's lover-turned-wife, Chhaburao's daughter
* [[Nivedita Joshi-Saraf|Nivedita Joshi Saraf]] as Sushma Mane; Shantanu's lover-turned-wife, Manisha's childhood friend, Dhananjay, Parshya and Shantanu's accquaintance
* Nayantara as Leelabai Kalbhor; Dhananjay, Sudhir, Parshya and Shantanu's landlady, Manisha's maternal and Bali's estranged paternal aunt, Tanu's mistress
* [[Viju Khote]] as Bali Kalbhor; Leelabai's estranged nephew, Tanu's accomplice
* [[Sudhir Joshi]] as Mr. Vishwas Sarpotdar; Mrs. Sarpotdar's husband, Dhananjay, Sudhir, Parshya and Shantanu's former landlord
* Lata Thatte as Mrs. Vishwas Sarpotdar; Mr. Sarpotdar's wife, Sudhir, Parshya and Shantanu's former landlady
* Gulab Korgaonkar as Tanu; Leelabai's domestic worker, Bali's accomplice
* [[Jayram Kulkarni|Jairam Kulkarni]] as Chhaburao; Kamli's father, Parshya's ex-employer
* Suhas Bhalekar as Sudhir's uncle
* Bipin Varti as Police Inspector
* Madhu Apte as Sudhir's visitor

==Soundtrack==
The lyrics were penned by Shantaram Nandgaonkar and Sudhir Moghe. Well known Marathi song ''Hridayi Vasant Phulta Na'' was sung by [[Anuradha Paudwal]], [[Suresh Wadkar]], [[Sudesh Bhosale]], Uttara Kelkar, [[Shailendra Singh (singer)|Shailendra Singh]], Amit Kumar, Suhasini, Aparna Mayekar, and Sachin Pilgaonkar.

==References==
<references />

== External links ==
* {{IMDb title|0267277|Ashi Hi Banwa Banwi}}
* [http://www.marathimirchi.com/marathi/categories.php?cat_id=24 Movie Stills]

[[Category:Marathi-language films]]
[[Category:1980s Marathi-language films]]
[[Category:Indian films]]
[[Category:Indian comedy films]]
[[Category:Marathi films remade in other languages]]
[[Category:Marathi remakes of Hindi films]]
[[Category:1988 comedy films]]
[[Category:1988 films]]
[[Category:Films directed by Sachin (actor)]]