Sairat

Sairat
Theatrical release poster
Marathi	सैराट
Directed by	Nagraj Manjule
Produced by	Nittin Keni, Nikhil Sane
Story by	Nagraj Manjule Avinash H. Ghadge
Starring	Rinku Rajguru Akash Thosar
Music by	Ajay−Atul
Cinematography	Sudhakar Reddy Yakkanti
Edited by	Kutub Inamdar
Production company	Essel Vision Productions, Aatpat Production, Zee Studios
Release dates	29 April 2016 (2016-04-29)
Running time	180 Minutes
Country	India
Language	Marathi
Budget	₹40 million (US$590,000)[1]
Box office	est. ₹1.1 billion (US$16 million)[2][3][4][5]

Sairat (English: Wild) is a 2016 Indian Marathi-language musical romantic drama starring Rinku Rajguru and Akash Thosar. It is directed by Nagraj Manjule and produced by Nagraj Manjule, Nitin Keni, and Nikhil Sane under the banner of Aatpat Production, Zee Studios and Essel Vision Productions. The music, produced by Ajay-Atul, was released on 6 April 2016. The film was released in India on 29 April 2016.^[6] It emerged as the biggest weekend opener for a Marathi film breaking record previously held by Natsamrat.^[7] Sairat was the first Marathi film to cross ₹50 crore (US$7.4 million) mark.^[8] The film has become the first Marathi film to gross over ₹100 crore (US$15 million) worldwide.^[9]

It will be remade in Kannada, Telugu, Hindi and Punjabi and later in Malayalam and Tamil.^[10][11] Punjabi version will be directed by Pankaj Batra.^[12] The remake rights for the four southern languages are acquired by Rockline Venkatesh ^[13][14][15] The remake rights for Hindi are acquired by Karan Johar.^[16]

Plot

The film follows the story of Parshya, a low-caste young boy, and Archi, a daughter of a rich "upper caste landlord". Parshya, although poor, has an excellent academic record and excels at reading and is the captain and star player of the local cricket team. On the other hand, Archi is a strong willed girl, who is also academically proficient, but more importantly, known as a headstrong girl who enjoys ‘masculine’ tasks like driving a tractor or riding a Royal Enfield motorcycle. As they both study in college together, it is observed that they slowly start falling for each other. Early on, Archi’s large and muscular cousin tries to intervene and beat up Parshya, but is ordered to stand down by Archi. They slowly find ways to spend time with each other, and fall in love.

At a celebration of Archi’s misbehaved younger brother, Prince’s birthday, they are discovered by Archi’s family. Archi’s father, being politically connected proceeds to thrash Parshya and his friends. Eventually realizing that there is no way out, Archi and Parshya make an attempt to elope. However, they are discovered by police and taken into custody. There, Archi’s father forces the police to register a false complaint alleging that Archi was gang raped by Parshya and his friends. Realizing this, Archi intervenes and destroys the complaint, insisting that Parshya and his friends be released. Soon after they are released, however, Archi’s father’s goons begin to thrash Parshya and his friends. Seeing this from a distance, Archi intervenes and seizes a pistol from the goons, threatening to fire unless they are released. Soon Parshya and Archi catch a running train and escape the confines of a small town.

In the city, Archi and Parshya are broke and desperate. Surviving off what little they have, they sleep at the station, contemplating their next move. One night, a few men come and awaken them, insisting that they come to the police station. On the way, they begin to drag Parshya and beat him up, while another attempts to rape Archi. However, a lady from the nearby slum, Suman Akka bravely intervenes, brandishing a stick, stepping in and saving the duo.

Akka is very kind and generous understanding the lover’s plight. Realizing their desperate condition, she offers them a spare shanty to live in, where Parshya and Archi take up residence. She is also kind enough to help Archi find employment in a nearby factory, while Parshya starts working as a cook at her Dosa stand. The two being making a meager hand to mouth existence, trying to make the most of the situation with love. Initially, Archi misses home terribly and they go through many hurdles, as she misses the upper class living she is used to. after an ugly argument Archi leaves Parshya to return her home, but on the way seeing a begging couple and how they have been together through thick and thin she returns repenting her mistake. on the other side Parshya is seen broken and disturbed because of Archi's absence. However they have a teary reconciliation and Archi and Parshya are married and she is shown pregnant and the story moves forward a few years.

It would seem they are economically better off, wearing better clothes and living in a far more hospitable location. Archi is shown calling her mother, and handing the phone to an infant, hers and Parshya’s son. She talks about how they’re doing better and how she misses home. Soon, her brother Prince and his goon friends arrive, bearing gifts from her mother, hinting at reconciliation. One of the neighbors insists on taking their child for a while before her brother and relatives come to meet her. Archi then asks the guests to take a seat in the living room while she prepares tea. Parshya soon comes home and is stunned at their house guests, and Archi reminds him that they are her guests, her family, and so it is his duty to serve them tea.

Soon the neighbor sends the toddler home that comes into the house and discovers both his parents hacked to death. Visibly troubled and unable to comprehend the gruesome nature of the honor killing, he runs off.

Cast

• Rinku Rajguru as Archana Patil (Archi)
• Akash Thosar as Prashant Kale (Parshya)
• Tanaji Galgunde as Pradeep Bansode (Langdya/Balya)
• Arbaz Shaikh as Salim Shaikh (Salya)
• Chhaya Kadam as Suman Akka
• Anuja Mule as Annie
• Rubina Inamdar as Sapna
• Dhananjay Nanavare as Mangesh (Mangya)
• Suresh Vishwakarma as Archi's Father (Tatya)
• Geeta Chavan as Archi's Mother
• Suraj Pawar as Prince
• Sambhaji Tangde as Parshya's Father
• Vaibhavi Pardeshi as Parshya's Mother
• Nagraj Manjule as Commentator
• Bhushan Manjule as Shahid
• Jyoti Subhash as Saguna Aatya (Special Appearance)

Production

Nagraj Manjule wrote Sairat as a "classic love story" and aimed for it to be more commercial than his previous films. It was based on his own experiences and so he chose his own village Jeur, Karmala Taluka in Solapur, as the setting. Filming commenced in February 2014 and concluded in May 2015.^[17]

Release

The film was released with English subtitles in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Goa, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Kolkata, Bhilai, Raipur, Bhiwadi, Karnataka, and Telangana.^[18] The film screened at more than 450 theatres.^[19] Such has been the Sairat craze that two additional shows one at midnight and one at 3 a.m. have been introduced in a hall in Rahimatpur in Satara district.^[20] The film was released in about 200 screens in other parts of India (Outside Maharashtra) with English subtitles.^[21] Sairat will be the first Marathi film to get a cinematic release in the United Arab Emirates.^[22] It is going to release in Kerala on 10 June and in Chennai on 11 June.^[23]

Piracy

In April 2016, Nagraj Manjule, the director of Sairat, approached the Mumbai police after his movie was leaked online two days ahead of its release. The copy had a watermark indicating that it was a "censor copy", or a copy intended for censor board officials to review prior to the film's release.^[24][25][26] In May 2016, A 23-year-old mobile shop owner was arrested for allegedly indulging in piracy of Sairat.^[27] The cyber crime police arrested a Byculla-based cable operator for broadcasting the pirated version of Sairat on his network.^[28]

Critical reception

In addition to challenging the caste system in India, Sairat casts Archi (the main female character) in a leading role in the action scenes.^[29] In an article for DNA, Pratik Ghosh stated: "Manjule (movie director) has gone in for a role-reversal to challenge gender stereotypes and yet imbued the character with vulnerabilities to keep it real." The director was questioned about his decision to cast Rinku Rajguru as the main character, despite her not being "conventionally 'good looking'"; he disputed this and described most film actresses as "bimbettes" compared to the strong character played by Rinku.^[30] Ganesh Matkari of Pune Mirror rated the film with four star saying, "The word I will use to describe Sairat is 'significant'."^[31] Lalitha Suhasini, in an article for Indian Express stated the score of the movie is as audacious as its plot.^[32] In 4.0 star review for Times of India, Mihir Bhanage stated, "Sairat is not just a beautifully woven film; it also has elements of a mass entertainer".^[33]

Box office

Sairat took ₹3.60 crore (US$530,000) on its opening day, with a total of ₹12.10 crore (US$1.8 million) on its opening weekend.^[34] It has collected more than ₹65 crore (US$9.7 million) and enters 4th week at more than 525 screens,^[35] making it the best performing Marathi film of all time and the first to pass ₹100 crore (US$15 million).^[36][37][38]

Awards

The film was selected for the 66th Berlin International Film Festival under its Generation 14 Plus section.^[39][40] Rinku Rajguru was awarded a National Film Award – Special Jury Award / Special Mention (Feature Film) at the 63rd National Film Awards in 2015 "for her effective portrayal of a lively girl who defies societal norms but ultimately has to face the wrath of her family".^[41][42]

Soundtrack

The songs and background score for the film are composed by composer duo Ajay−Atul, who had earlier worked with director Nagraj Manjule on his debut film Fandry (2013).^[43] The soundtrack includes western classical pieces recorded at Sony Scoring Stage in Hollywood, California, a first for an Indian film.^[44] The orchestra of 66 musicians – including a 45-piece string section, 6-piece woodwind section, 13-piece brass section, 6-piece horn section, and 1 harp – was conducted by Mark Graham.^[6]

See also

• Highest grossing Marathi films
• List of most expensive Indian films

References

External links

• Sairat at the Internet Movie Database