Directed by Makrand Mane
Run time: 105min
Language: Marathi (with English subtitles)
Country: India
Year: 2016
Synopsis
A debt-ridden farmer and his young son decide to visit Pandharpur, home to Vithal, Maharashtra’s beloved deity. The father is suicidal and the son is on a quest to find his mother. Throughout the story, the duo grapples with the daily struggles of a low-income family, and with emotional baggage.
DIRECTOR’S BIO
People entered temples full of sorrow and despair and left them feeling energized. This is something that 31-year-old Makarand Mane noticed as a child when he was living in Pandharpur. While the Wari festival holds a special place in his heart because of the devotion he feels for the lord, it is also his source of inspiration for his debut film as a director and screenwriter. Working on a single script for nearly four years, he paid utmost attention to every detail and nuance of the film. The National Award for the Best Marathi Feature Film this year stands tall among many achievements the film has bagged since its release. It was also selected to part of the 12th Stuttgart Indian Film Festival 2015, where Makarand got a special mention for the film.
An assistant director for a long time, Makarand who started off by studying interior designing, but quit after just a year, is a graduate in Performing Arts from the Lalit Kala Kendra Academy. While no one from his family has been a part of the film industry, it was one of his friends, whose play he had gone to see that got him interested in theatre. “My family was quite furious with me when I decided to walk down this road. The uncertainty of funds was their biggest concern. Today, they could not be more proud of me,” he smiles, adding that he feels extremely blessed.