JS Vinay The Marathi short film Pavsacha Nibandh, literally meaning essay on/of the rain was released on Zee5, an OTT platform in the month of July. It is directed by Nagraj Manjule, who is known for his successful films with strong and assertive themes like Fandry and Sairat. To begin with, I am not a …
Jayanti: A celebration of Bahujan history and autonomy
JS Vinay The recently released Marathi movie ‘Jayanti’ is creating waves in the Marathi circles. Based on my understanding , I will try to share some points (not in order of preference) as a viewer and as also someone who belongs to the Vidarbha region where the movie & characters are based. Use of …
Chaityabhoomi Film Project
Somnath Waghmare Dear all, I am plannning to edit our Chaityabhoomi film project this month. We plan to complete the edit by mid-July. After that, I want to organize film screenings online and with organisations who are interested in it. We will release the film to all on 6th December, 2021.
Cancel Culture and Saviour Syndrome
Anand Silodia A few days ago, Richa Chadha shared the poster of her new movie, ‘Madam Chief Minister’, and it was immediately criticized for the depiction of the dalit protagonist. The protagonist, played by Chadha, was shown to be wearing a dirty t-shirt and holding a broom[1]. The gist of the criticism was that …
Bhima Koregaon: The battle between writer and director
Rahul Pagare Bhima Koregaon is an epitome of glory, bravery, and courage that our ancestors gifted us by sacrificing their lives. The freedom which we got in 1818 is more significant than any other kind of independence. This freedom gave birth to the revolutionary Mahatma Phule, the super courageous Shahu Maharaj, and the nation …
How to look ‘Dalit’ in the Savarna imagination
Bobby Kunhu When I first watched the classic 1972 Luis Bunuel comedy, The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeouise, in 1994 or 95, I could not have imagined that it was possible to adapt the movie in an Indian context. Hypothetically, since I did not imagine that it could happen, I presume the reasons for …
Serious Men – Not so Serious about Dalit Realities
Neeraj Bunkar The recently released ‘Serious Men’ is an Indian Hindi language comedy drama film directed by Sudhir Mishra. The film is based on a book of the same name by Manu Joseph. This movie revolves around the issue of child genius scams. Nawazuddin Siddiqui (Ayyan Mani) plays a migrant Tamil Dalit man who lives …
Rajgruha Stands Tall
Rahul Bhise, Somnath Waghmare & Pranjali Kureel Rajgruha, a custom made bulding in Mumbai which Babasaheb built to house his impeccable collection of books and where he lived many years is a very special monument for Ambedkarites. Now a museum it attracts large number of vistors from all age groups. This iconic site was …
A film that celebrates the memory of Bhima Koregoan
Amarnath Sandipamu In January of 2017, at the screening of my film Bommalollu – The Puppeteers in Bangalore, Karthik Navayan, who then worked at Amnesty, introduced me to a young man as an apprentice at his organisation. He said he was interested in filmmaking and was enthusiastically happy about meeting me and another friend …