Pondicherry (film)

Pondicherry
Pondicherry
	Film Poster
Directed by	Sachin Kundalkar
Written by	Tejas Modak; Sachin Kudalkar
Produced by	Akshay Bardapurkar ; Neil Patel
Starring	Sai Tamhankar ; Vaibhav Tatwawadi ; Amruta Khanvilkar ; Neena Kulkarni ;
Cinematography	Milind Jog
Edited by	Abhijit Deshpande
Music by	Music:; Debarpito Saha; Songs:; Abhay Jodhpurkar ; Mohan Kanan; Lyrics:; Tejas Modak; Sunil Suptankar.
Production; companies	Creative Vibe Productions ; Planet Marathi
Distributed by	A.P. Communications
Release date	25 February 2022;
Running time	113 minutes
Country	India
Language	Marathi

Last updated August 07, 2025

Pondicherry is a 2022 Indian Marathi-language relationship drama^[1] film directed by Sachin Kundalkar ^[2] and produced by Planet Marathi and Creative Vibe Productions shot entirely on smartphone.^[3]^[4]^[5] The film stars Sai Tamhankar, Vaibhav Tatwawadi and Amruta Khanvilkar are in lead roles.^[6]Pondicherry was scheduled to be theatrically release on 25 February 2022.^[7]^[8] Planet Marathi OTT is the official streaming partner of this film.^[9]

Plot

Nikita and her eight-year-old son, Ishan, stay in an old family villa in Pondicherry that Nikita lets out as a homestay for travelers. Nikita is from Maharashtra and her Tamil husband Vishnu who worked in the Merchant Navy has been missing in a maritime accident. A broker specializing in getting people to sell old family homes – through deception or force – to hospitality companies arrives at Nikita's homestay, giving all their lives an unexpected twist.

Cast

Sai Tamhankar as Nikita
Vaibhav Tatwawadi as Rohan
Amruta Khanvilkar as Manasi
Bhupendra Jadawat as Antonio
Tanmay Kulkarni as Ishan
Neena Kulkarni as Aai
Mahesh Manjrekar
Gaurav Ghatnekar

Production

In January 2019, Manjrekar joined the cast.^[10] The film was entirely shot on iPhone with only 15 crew members.^[2]

Soundtrack

The music for the movie was composed by Debarpito Saha, with songs featuring Abhay Jodhpurkar and Mohan Kanan. The lyrics were written by Tejas Modak and Sunil Suptankar.

Track list
No.	Title	Lyrics	Singer(s)	Length
1.	"Tu Jaa Theher"	Sunil Sukthankar	Mohan Kannan	3:07
2.	"Saavali"	Tejas Modak	Abhay Jodhpurkar	2:42
Total length:				5:49

Reception

Mihir Bhange from The Times of India wrote "Pondicherry may not strike the perfect chords with regular viewers. But for those who follow global cinema, this film is a treat to watch".^[11] Nandini Ramnath from Scroll.in wrote "Sai Tamhankar, among the few actors who can effortlessly suggest enigma and reserve, is the most compelling member of the cast. Vaibhav Tatwawadi and Amruta Khanvilkar are saddled with uneven and implausible character graphs. Neena Kulkarni is a hoot as the scandal-mongering mother, but there’s nothing in her performance that we haven’t seen before".^[12]

Accolades

Award	Year	Category	Recipient(s)	Result	Ref.
Fakt Marathi Cine Sanman	2022	Best Actress in a Lead Role	Sai Tamhankar	Nominated	^[13]
Filmfare Awards Marathi	2023	Best Film Critics'	Pondicherry	Nominated	^[14]^[15]
		Best Actress	Sai Tamhankar	Nominated
		Best Actress Critics'	Sai Tamhankar	Won
		Best Supporting Actress	Amruta Khanvilkar	Nominated
		Best Story	Tejas Modak, Sunil Sukthankar	Nominated
		Best Production Design	Divya Goswami	Nominated
		Best Cinematographer	Milind Jog	Nominated
		Best Background Score	Debarpito Saha	Nominated
		Best Sound Design	Anita Kushwaha	Nominated
		Best Costume Design	Amit Divekar	Nominated
Pravah Picture Puraskar	2022	Best Film	Pondicherry	Nominated	^[16]
		Best Director	Sachin Kundalkar	Nominated
		Best Actress	Sai Tamhankar	Won
		Best Actor	Vaibhav Tatwawadi	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actress	Amruta Khanvilkar	Nominated
		Best Child Actor	Tanmay Kulkarni	Won
		Best Singer	Mohan Kannan	Nominated
		Best Background Music	Debarpito Saha	Nominated
		Best Dialogue	Tejas Modak, Sunil Sukthankar	Nominated
		Best Story		Nominated
		Best Screenplay		Nominated
		Best Sound Scheme	Anita Kushwaha	Nominated
		Best Costume	Amit Divekar	Nominated
		Best Cinematography	Milind Jog	Nominated
		Best Editor	Abhijit Deshpande	Won
Planet Marathi Film and OTT Awards	2023	Best Art Direction	Divya Goswami	Won	^[17]
Maharashtra State Film Awards	2025	Best Film II	Pondicherry	Won	^[18]^[19]
		Best Social Film	Pondicherry	Nominated
		Best Director II	Sachin Kundalkar	Won
		Best Social Film Director	Sachin Kundalkar	Nominated
		Best Screenplay	Tejas Modak, Sunil Sukthankar	Won
		Best Actor	Vaibhav Tatwawadi	Nominated
		Best Actress	Sai Tamhankar	Won

References

↑ Scroll Staff. "'Pondicherry' trailer: Relationship drama has been shot entirely on a smartphone". Scroll.in. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
1 2 "National award-winning filmmaker Sachin Kundalkar explains why he chose to make "Pondicherry" on a smartphone". The Hindu.
↑ BKD (17 February 2022). "'Pondicherry', a film shot entirely on smartphone releases on February 25 in theatres!". National Herald. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
↑ "Pondicherry's Sai Tamhankar, says, 'I fall in love easily'". Hindustan Times. 12 March 2022. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
↑ "Exclusive! Sachin Kundalkar on filming 'Pondicherry' on a smartphone: Cinema can be done in many fold ways - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
↑ "Pondicherry cast, review". Filmibeat.
↑ "Sai Tamhankar, Vaibhav Tatwawadi's Pondicherry to Hit Theatres on February 25". News18. 14 February 2022.
↑ "'Pondicherry': Sachin Kundalkar announces wrap of the film with a new poster - Times of India". The Times of India.
↑ "Film Review: PONDICHERRY". punemirror.com. 22 February 2022. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
↑ "Mahesh Manjrekar joins the team of Pondicherry". The Times of India. 15 January 2019. ISSN 0971-8257 . Retrieved 27 November 2023.
↑ "Pondicherry Movie Review: Sai Tamhankar and Vaibhav Tatwawadi shine in this beautiful film". The Times of India . 7 April 2022.
↑ "'Pondicherry' review: Relationship drama is caught in a tourist trap". Scroll.in . 7 April 2022.
↑ "Fakt Marathi Cine Awards 2022". Perfect Woman Magazine & Events. 28 July 2022. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
↑ "Nominations announced for the Planet Marathi presents Filmfare Awards Marathi 2022". filmfare.com. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
↑ "7th Planet Filmfare Marathi Awards 2022: Complete winners' list". The Times of India. 31 March 2023. ISSN 0971-8257 . Retrieved 26 June 2023.
↑ टीम, एबीपी माझा वेब (29 August 2022). "दिमाखात पार पडला 'प्रवाह पिक्चर पुरस्कार नामांकन सोहळा 2022', दिग्गजांची खास उपस्थिती!". marathi.abplive.com (in Marathi). Retrieved 23 January 2023.
↑ Navarashtra (5 May 2023). "पहिलावहिला 'नवराष्ट्र प्लॅनेट मराठी फिल्म ॲन्ड ओटीटी अवॉर्ड' सोहळा दिमाखात संपन्न". Navarashtra (in Marathi). Retrieved 23 February 2025.
↑ "६० व्या राज्य मराठी चित्रपट पुरस्कारासाठी नामांकने जाहीर". www.mahamtb.com (in Marathi). Retrieved 1 February 2025.
↑ ससाणे, सायली (6 August 2025). "'पाँडिचेरी' चित्रपटासाठी सर्वोत्कृष्ट अभिनेत्री म्हणून सई ताम्हणकरला पटकावला महाराष्ट्र राज्य चित्रपट पुरस्कार!". Navarashtra (in Marathi). Retrieved 6 August 2025.

External links

Media related to Mobile phone films at Wikimedia Commons
Pondicherry at IMDb

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[1] Scroll Staff. "'Pondicherry' trailer: Relationship drama has been shot entirely on a smartphone". Scroll.in. Retrieved 13 December 2022.

[:0-2] 1 2 "National award-winning filmmaker Sachin Kundalkar explains why he chose to make "Pondicherry" on a smartphone". The Hindu.

[3] BKD (17 February 2022). "'Pondicherry', a film shot entirely on smartphone releases on February 25 in theatres!". National Herald. Retrieved 13 December 2022.

[4] "Pondicherry's Sai Tamhankar, says, 'I fall in love easily'". Hindustan Times. 12 March 2022. Retrieved 13 December 2022.

[5] "Exclusive! Sachin Kundalkar on filming 'Pondicherry' on a smartphone: Cinema can be done in many fold ways - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 13 December 2022.

[6] "Pondicherry cast, review". Filmibeat.

[7] "Sai Tamhankar, Vaibhav Tatwawadi's Pondicherry to Hit Theatres on February 25". News18. 14 February 2022.

[8] "'Pondicherry': Sachin Kundalkar announces wrap of the film with a new poster - Times of India". The Times of India.

[9] "Film Review: PONDICHERRY". punemirror.com. 22 February 2022. Retrieved 13 December 2022.

[10] "Mahesh Manjrekar joins the team of Pondicherry". The Times of India. 15 January 2019. ISSN 0971-8257 . Retrieved 27 November 2023.

[11] "Pondicherry Movie Review: Sai Tamhankar and Vaibhav Tatwawadi shine in this beautiful film". The Times of India . 7 April 2022.

[12] "'Pondicherry' review: Relationship drama is caught in a tourist trap". Scroll.in . 7 April 2022.

[13] "Fakt Marathi Cine Awards 2022". Perfect Woman Magazine & Events. 28 July 2022. Retrieved 15 February 2023.

[14] "Nominations announced for the Planet Marathi presents Filmfare Awards Marathi 2022". filmfare.com. Retrieved 26 June 2023.

[15] "7th Planet Filmfare Marathi Awards 2022: Complete winners' list". The Times of India. 31 March 2023. ISSN 0971-8257 . Retrieved 26 June 2023.

[16] टीम, एबीपी माझा वेब (29 August 2022). "दिमाखात पार पडला 'प्रवाह पिक्चर पुरस्कार नामांकन सोहळा 2022', दिग्गजांची खास उपस्थिती!". marathi.abplive.com (in Marathi). Retrieved 23 January 2023.

[17] Navarashtra (5 May 2023). "पहिलावहिला 'नवराष्ट्र प्लॅनेट मराठी फिल्म ॲन्ड ओटीटी अवॉर्ड' सोहळा दिमाखात संपन्न". Navarashtra (in Marathi). Retrieved 23 February 2025.

[18] "६० व्या राज्य मराठी चित्रपट पुरस्कारासाठी नामांकने जाहीर". www.mahamtb.com (in Marathi). Retrieved 1 February 2025.

[19] ससाणे, सायली (6 August 2025). "'पाँडिचेरी' चित्रपटासाठी सर्वोत्कृष्ट अभिनेत्री म्हणून सई ताम्हणकरला पटकावला महाराष्ट्र राज्य चित्रपट पुरस्कार!". Navarashtra (in Marathi). Retrieved 6 August 2025.

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