FANDRY
A film by Nagraj
Manjule
2013/ Marathi with
English subtitles/ 103 minutes
2nd Nov
2014/ 5.45pm/ Perks Mini Theater
This is not a story
of adolescent love, nor is it a satire on the haves and have nots. Yes, there
are a few funny incidents in the film, but they are hardly worth laughing at
because the jokes are always against the backdrop of the shattered dreams of
the downtrodden. Everyone has a right to dream. And everyone aspires for,
desires a better life.Fandry is the
story of Jabya's dreams, his impossible, one-sided attraction towards an upper
caste girl from his class—the right to education has put them both in the same
classroom, but it has done nothing to erase deep-rooted social prejudices.
The symbolism of the final kill and carrying of the pig’s
carcass in front of portraits of the very social reformers who fought against
untouchability such as Savitribai Phule and Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, is just one
of Manjule’s angry flourishes.
Fandry is a contemporary film on a subject that should have
become history by now. Unfortunately though there are people in shining India
who are still treated like pigs and there seems no end in sight to their suffering.
Manjule makes a fervent appeal to the humanity we seem to have left behind
somewhere.
(Excerpts
from the essy by By Y.M.Deosthalee http://www.filmimpressions.com/home/2014/03/essay-fandry-and-the-question-of-social-inclusion.html
)
Nagraj Manjule
Nagraj Manjule
is a National Award-winning Indian filmmaker and screenwriter known for his
first short film Pistulya. He hails from a small village in Maharashtra and has
written and directed his first Feature film called Fandry. He is a writer and a
poet and has published a book of poetry in Marathi called Unhachya Katavirudhha
which won very prestigious award called " Bhairuratan Damani Sahitya
Puraskar. At the 61st National Film Awards, Fandry won the Indira Gandhi Award
for Best First Film of a Director while Somnath Awghade was awarded with best
child actor prize. And also his First Short Film Pistulya won Best First
Non-Feature Film and Special Mention For the Suraj Pawar at 58th National Film
Awards.
Born and
brought up in Jeur Tal village in Karmala taluka, a small town of Solapur
district in Maharashtra, Manjule has closely seen how one has to struggle while
getting an education if one belongs to a poor, backward family of a rural
India. He has pursued his M.A. in Marathi literature from University of Pune,
followed by Masters in communication studies from New Arts, Science and
Commerce College, Ahmednagar
His first
National Award winning short film Pistulya is a reflection of his 'felt
experience',[1] Thereafter he made his debut feature film, Fandry in 2014,
which was commercially released in February 2014. Fandry' literally means pig
in the Kaikadi language, spoken by nomadic Kaikadi tribe, which is considered
untouchable in Maharashtra and film deals with the issue of caste system-based
discrimination.
He is one of
the important poets in Marathi literature in the last decade. His collection of
poems 'Unhachya Kataviruddha' has received a very warm welcome in contemporary
Marathi literature, and book won very renowned 'Damani literary Award', also
praised by the stalwarts from Marathi literature.
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