Film Review - Fandry

Shaken And Stirred

Film: Fandry (Marathi with English subtitles)

Cast: Somnath Awghade, Kishore Kadam

Directed by: Nagraj Popatrao Manjule

Duration: 1 hr 43 mins

Rating: * * * *

It is not very often that when you come out of the theater your mind and heart is racing with so many emotions. Anger, exhilaration, joy, sadness, not necessarily in that order, you feel it all at the same time. Most films nowadays hardly evoke even one those sentiments.

I felt anger because that is what the main protagonist went through, I was exhilarated because of the craft shown by the director, I felt joy because films like these are getting made and the sadness came from the fact that the brutal reality shown in it is true and still exists in the country.

Set in a village in Maharashtra, Jabuwant aka Jabya (Somnath Awghade) a young boy hails from the lower caste and is in love with a girl from his school who happens to be from the upper caste. Given his dark complexion, he even applies that tinge of talcum powder to look fair. The discrimination and taunts that he faces everyday keep reminding him of who he is and where he stands. His father (Kishore Kadam, terrific as usual) does small time jobs in the village, mostly those that no one else will, like catching pigs (Fandry means pig) that cause upheaval there.

Jabya’s sympathizer is the local villager (played by the director) who asks him to burn a black sparrow and sprinkle its ashes to bring good fortune. The young boy’s quest for the elusive sparrow is very effectively used as device to rein in the change.

The last 20 odd minutes where the family chases the pigs will knock your socks off. There is irony (people using Facebook to update the proceedings), dark humor and exceptionally brilliant scenes. I can’t think of a film in recent times whose climax weighed in so heavily on the overall impact of the film.

Manjule depicts the facts as they are – there is no sugar coating or any preachy social commentary. The music score by Alokananda Dasgupta (daughter of the acclaimed film maker Buddhadeb Dasgupta, she also composed the music for Shaala) is evocative. On the acting front, Somnath Awghade is convincing, especially in those parts where it matters the most and Kishore Kadam plays his part to perfection. 

Do yourself a favor and watch Fandry. At the end of it if you don’t feel emotions stirred in you, go and see a doctor immediately.    

Published in The Navhind Times on 16th Feb 2014

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