Fandry

Fandry

Film Poster
Directed by Nagraj Manjule
Produced by Navalakha Arts
Holy Basil Productions
Starring Kishor Kadam
Somnath Avghade
Suraj Pawar
Chhaya Kadam
Nagraj Manjule
Rajeshwari Kharat
Music by Aloknanda Dasgupta
Ajay-Atul (Theme Song)
Cinematography Vikram Amladi
Edited by Chandan Arora
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
Language Marathi
Budget ₹1.75 crore (US$260,000) [1]
Box office ₹7 crore (US$1.0 million) (Lifetime)[2][3]

Fandry is a 2013 Indian Marathi-language film, written and directed by Nagraj Manjule in a directorial debut. It stars Somnath Avghade and Rajshree Kharat as the film leads. The story focuses on a young boy's infatuation amidst caste-based discrimination. The film set in Akolner, a village near Ahmednagar is about a teenager from a Dalit (lower caste) family, who lives at the village fringe, and falls in love with an upper caste girl.[4][5]

The film won the Grand Jury Prize at the Mumbai International Film Festival.[6] The film released theatrically on Valentine's Day 14 February 2014.[7] At the 61st National Film Awards, it won the Indira Gandhi Award for Best First Film of a Director.[8]

Plot

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

Jambhuvant Kachru Mane (nickname: Jabya) (Somnath Awghade), a pre-teen 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 a low-caste community (Kaikadi) and earns its 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 the 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 gotten married to 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, a face of social politics is displayed over and over again as members of the segregated village exploit and ruthlessly dehumanize Jabya and his family who co-operate in the act due to poverty, fear and social hierarchies. The film reaches its climax in one such exploitation where Jabya finally reaches his tipping point and explodes in an impulse driven intense backlash against the oppressors. He hurls a stone at one of the high-caste boys, who were teasing Jabya and his family by calling them "Fandry" (pig). The stone is seen fast approaching towards the audience and the film ends. The closing scene deliberately aims the stone at the audience, which is not only a victim but also a carrier of the exploitative caste-based social system.

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.

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

Awards and festivals

Official Selections:[7]

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

References

  1. ↑ http://www.hindustantimes.com/regional-movies/only-movie-villains-have-names-like-mine-sairat-director-nagraj-manjule/story-11sG7GmFBSjblydjwHPhdO.html
  2. ↑ http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/marathi-film-bollywood-mumbai/1/570052.html
  3. ↑ "1st Week Box Office Collection Of Marathi Film FANDRY". Box Office Capsule India
  4. ↑ "Fandry review: A charming film about caste, identity and young love". Firstpost. 14 February 2014. Retrieved 2014-03-01.
  5. ↑ "Movie review: Suhani Singh gives four stars to 'Fandry'". India Today. 14 February 2014. Retrieved 2014-03-01.
  6. ↑ "Golden Dream, Fandry win top prizes at Mumbai Film Festival". screendaily.com.
  7. 1 2 3 "Fandry to release on 150 screens in February". DearCinema.com.
  8. ↑ "61st National Film Awards For 2013" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. 16 April 2014. Retrieved 2014-04-16.
  9. ↑ "`फँड्री`नं ओलांडली भाषेची सीमारेषा!". 24taas.com.
  10. ↑ "Fandry – Timeline Photos | Facebook". facebook.com.
  11. ↑ "Fandry – Timeline Photos | Facebook". facebook.com.
  12. ↑ "Nagraj Manjule – FIPRESCI India-Film Critics Award | Facebook". facebook.com.
  13. ↑ "Fandry – Timeline Photos | Facebook". facebook.com.
  14. ↑ "Fandry – 'Fandry' wins hearts at the Kerala Film Festival... | Facebook". facebook.com.
  15. ↑ "Fandry the official selection at Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles". The Times of India.
  16. ↑ "Fandry – Cover Photos | Facebook". facebook.com.
  17. ↑ "Nagraj Manjule – Mobile Uploads | Facebook". facebook.com.
  18. ↑ "Reel Asian Film Festival 2014 Awards Announced!". reelasian.com.
  19. ↑ "Fandry – Photos from Fandry's post | Facebook". facebook.com.
  20. ↑ "National Film Awards: List of winners". NDTVMovies.com.

External links

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