With solid performances—especially from Bharat Ganeshpure and Sukanya Kulkarni Mone as the aging parents— Popat proves that Marathi cinema can do smart comedy without losing its cultural soul. It’s a film that leaves you smiling, not just because of the jokes, but because you recognize your own family in the chaos.

: Unlike typical slapstick comedies, the film received praise for delivering a sweet-voiced social message.

The film subtly critiques the “popat” mindset we all fall into—following trends blindly, valuing appearances over emotions, and forgetting to listen to each other. Yet, it never turns preachy. The climax, where the family finally learns to communicate without the parrot as a middleman, is both hilarious and heartwarming.

The story follows three inseparable friends—Janardan, Mukunda, and Raghunath—who live in a small village. Their lives take a chaotic turn when they decide to form a film production company to make a video documentary. They stumble upon a local "Vidushak" (folk artist) who they believe is the perfect lead for their project. However, the plot thickens when a series of misunderstandings regarding a medical report leads the village to believe that one of them has tested positive for HIV.

The film’s pacing allows for a slow transition from discord to harmony. Initially, the characters are driven by selfish or naive motivations—Anna is manipulated by a fraudulent 'godman' figure (Baba), while the others are drawn by the lure of money. However, the narrative arc pivots when the pretense is stripped away. The act of creation—making the film—forces these men to confront their own realities. The paper posits that the film’s structural brilliance lies in its second half, where the 'making of the movie' becomes a therapeutic process for the characters rather than just a plot resolution.

Here’s a short piece on the Marathi movie Popat :

The performances avoid melodrama, utilizing a naturalistic style that enhances the film's realism.

The title, Popat , which literally means “parrot” but colloquially implies a “simpleton” or someone easily fooled, is cleverly layered. The film follows the life of a middle-class Maharashtrian family whose mundane existence is turned upside down when a quirky, talking parrot named Popat enters their home. But this is no ordinary bird; Popat becomes the unintentional catalyst for exposing secrets, challenging hypocrisies, and uniting fractured relationships.

Technically, the film is well-crafted. The music by Avinash-Vishwajeet complements the rural setting, and the cinematography captures the vibrant, earthy tones of the Maharashtrian countryside.