Fandry

Fandry
Film Poster
Directed by	Nagraj Manjule
Produced by	Navalakha Arts Holy Basil Productions
Starring	Kishor Kadam Somnath Awghade Suraj Pawar Chhaya Kadam Nagraj Manjule Rajeshwari Kharat
Cinematography	Vikram Amladi
Edited by	Chandan Arora
Music by	Songs: 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
Country	India
Language	Marathi
Budget	₹1.75 crore (US$220,000)
Box office	₹7 crore (US$880,000) (Lifetime)

Fandry (transl. Pig) 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.

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

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

• Somnath Awghade as Jambuwant Kachru Mane (Jabya)
• Suraj Pawar as Piraji (Pirya)
• Chhaya Kadam as Nani
• Kishor Kadam as Kachru Mane (Nana)
• Rajeshwari Kharat as Shalu
• Bhushan Manjule as Dada Patil
• Nagraj Manjule as Chankya (Chankeshwar Sathe)
• Sohail Shaikh as Sangram
• Sanjay Chaudhri as Teacher
• Vikas Pandurang Patil as Navhi
• Prashant Kamble
• Jyoti Subhash
• Suhas Sirsat
• Moinuddin Inamdar as the Principal
• Pooja Dolas as Vedant's mother
• Shruti Awate as Rani
• Sakshi Vyavhare as Dhurpa
• Pravin Tarde as Sarpanch
• Suresh Vishwakarma as Patil

Crew

• Story, screenplay, dialogues & direction – Nagraj Manjule
• Producers – Nilesh Navlakha and Vivek Kajaria
• Executive producer – Vivek Wagh
• Costume designers – Gargee Kulkarni and Priyanka Dubey
• Art director – Santosh Sankhad
• Sound design – Nimish Chheda
• Chief assistant director – Gargee Kulkarni and Kutub Inamdar
• Assistant editor – Kutub Inamdar
• On location sound – Christopher Robleto Harvey

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 and it was released in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Goa along with 12 states on 28 February 2014.

Soundtrack

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

Track listing

No.	Title	Singer(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:

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	Best Film	N/A
Pune International Film Festival	Best Film, Best Film(Audience), Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Actor	Won
International Federation of Film Critics	Best Film of the year 2013	Won
Dharamshala International Film Festival	Best Film	N/A
International Film Festival of Kerala	Best Film	N/A
Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles	Best Indian feature film	Won
Mata Sanman	Best Film, Best Actor, Best Director, Best Child Artist, Best Script, Best Editor	Won
New York Indian Film Festival	Best Director	Won
Reel Asian Film Festival 2014	National Bank Best First Feature Film Award	Won
Seattle South Asian Film Festival	Outstanding Film in Social Category 2014	Won
National Award	Best Debut (Director), Best Child Actor	Won

External links

• Fandry at IMDb