Fandry

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Fandry
Nagraj Manjule Film Poster Fandry.jpg
Film Poster
Directed by Nagraj Manjule
Produced by
  • Navalakha Arts
  • Holy Basil Productions
Starring
CinematographyVikram Amladi
Edited by Chandan Arora
Music bySongs:
Ajay-Atul
Score:
Alokananda Dasgupta
Distributed by
  • Reliance Media Works
  • Zee Entertainment
Release dates
  • 17 October 2013 (2013-10-17)(MIFF)
  • 14 February 2014 (2014-02-14)(India)
Running time
104 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageMarathi
Budget1.75 crore (US$210,000) [1]
Box office7 crore (US$840,000) (Lifetime) [2] [3]

Fandry (Pig) [lower-alpha 1] is a 2013 Indian Marathi-language film, written and directed by Nagraj Manjule in his directorial debut. It stars Somnath Awghade and Rajeshwari Kharat. The story focuses on a young boy's love amidst caste-based discrimination. The film, set in Akolner, a village near Ahmednagar, revolves around the issue of discrimination in India's caste system and narrates the story of a teenager from a Dalit family who lives at the village fringe, and falls in love with an upper-caste girl. [4] [5]

Contents

The film won the Grand Jury Prize at the MAMI Film Festival. [6] The film was released theatrically on Valentine's Day 2014. [7] The film received critical acclaim. At the 61st National Film Awards, it won the Indira Gandhi Award for Best Debut Film of a Director. [8]

Plot

Fandry is a fictional story set in the background of the caste-based discrimination in India while depicting the love of a 13-year-old boy.

Jambhuvant Kachru Mane, nicknamed Jabya (Somnath Awghade), is a pre-teen who lives in a makeshift house on the outskirts of a caste-segregated village with his parents and 2 sisters (one a widow with a toddler). The family belongs to the Kaikadi community, an oppressed caste, and earns a living by doing menial jobs. Owing to the caste-ridden power structure of the village society, the boy's father has a fearful and submissive personality which is exploited by upper-caste villagers.

Jabya is disillusioned by the predicament of his family and shows interest in school where he has also fallen in one-sided love with a forward caste girl named Shalini (nickname: Shalu) (Rajeshwari Kharat) who he has never talked to but tries desperately to get her to notice him.

The plot opens with Jabya and his school friend Pirya (Suraj Pawar) armed with a slingshot trying to catch a bird (the Black Sparrow) in the wilderness. However, the bird call that punctuates the film is that of the Red Wattled Lapwing (Titawi), which is supposed to bring bad luck. The black sparrow, with its distinctive forked tail, and the call of the red wattled lapwing occur repeatedly throughout the film. The duo keep trying to catch the bird in the entire film for an unknown reason which is later explained in the film. According to a local legend, it is believed that when the ash obtained by burning the black sparrow is sprinkled on someone, it hypnotizes them to fall in love with the person sprinkling it.

Jabya also befriends a bicycle mechanic named Chankya (Nagraj Manjule) who sees his young self in the boy. Chankya had once married a girl but she was soon forcefully taken away by her brother and left him beaten very badly. Since then he has renounced family life and taken up refuge in spirituality, mysticism and liquor. Jabya seeks support from Chankya in his quest to obtain his love, which Chankya readily extends. Perhaps the idea of sprinkling the ash of black sparrow on Shalu is suggested to Jabya by Chankya himself. The idea, however, is executed only in Jabya's dream.

Back in the village, Jabya's family members comply as they are exploited and dehumanized by the villagers over and over again. In the film's climax, Jabya finally acknowledges the existence of the kingdom and the boundaries of its residents (castes). He realises that he himself is the odd one out who is trying to assimilate in a world that prefers to stay within their own boundaries (a form of security).

He understands that his own boundaries have collapsed in his attempts to assimilate with the other castes and has thus become vulnerable to their attacks. Reaching self-awareness for the first time in his life, he suddenly explodes in rage and grabs a rock and throws it at his oppressors, thus re-establishing his boundary. His personal quest to assimilate with the others now broken by himself.

Cast

Crew

Production and release

The film was praised at the Mumbai International Film Festival and was subsequently picked up by Zee Entertainment for distribution rights in Maharashtra in 125 to 150 screens. Vivek Kajaria, who produced the film along with Nilesh Navalakha, said "Fandry is one of the most awaited films of recent times and we have decided to go very strong on our marketing. Our partnership with Zee Entertainment has helped us a lot. We are trying our best to give it a wide release and hoping that the word-of-mouth will help us grow. Then it’s up to the audiences really."

The film released all over Maharashtra on 14 February 2014 [7] and it was released in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Goa along with 12 states on 28 February 2014. [9]

Soundtrack

The soundtrack album of Fandry received positive reviews among the fans.

Track listing
No.TitleSinger(s)Length
1."Tuzya Priticha Vinchu Chawla" Ajay–Atul 5:10
2."Fandry Theme Song" Ajay–Atul 3:11
Total length:8:21

Awards and festivals

Official Selections: [7]

Festival / AwardsCategoryResult
Mumbai International Film FestivalBest FilmWon
BFI London Film FestivalBest FilmN/A
Abu Dhabi Film FestivalBest FilmN/A
International Children's Film Festival of IndiaBest FilmN/A
International Film Festival of IndiaBest FilmN/A
Göteborg International Film Festival [10] Best FilmN/A
Pune International Film Festival [11] Best Film, Best Film(Audience), Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best ActorWon
International Federation of Film Critics [12] Best Film of the year 2013Won
Dharamshala International Film Festival [13] Best FilmN/A
International Film Festival of Kerala [14] Best FilmN/A
Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles [15] Best Indian feature filmWon
Mata Sanman [16] Best Film, Best Actor, Best Director, Best Child Artist, Best Script, Best EditorWon
New York Indian Film Festival [17] Best DirectorWon
Reel Asian Film Festival 2014 [18] National Bank Best First Feature Film AwardWon
Seattle South Asian Film Festival [19] Outstanding Film in Social Category 2014Won
National Award [20] Best Debut (Director), Best Child ActorWon

Notes

  1. This word is from Kaikadi, a language related to Tamil (Pandry is the equivalent term in Tamil).

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References

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  8. "61st National Film Awards For 2013" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. 16 April 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 April 2014. Retrieved 2014-04-16.
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  11. Pune International Film Festival Award winners
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