An independent Kannada film about a Dalit worker and his struggle to educate his children is ready for release. Matangi Deevatige, shot entirely in North Karnataka, is hoping to enter the film festival circuit before it hits the big screen. It is based on a Kannada book with the same title written by Samata Deshmane, daughter of a poor worker in MSK Mills of Kalaburagi Baburao Deshmane.
The film features Baburao Deshmane who brings up his seven daughters and a son, despite several economic and social challenges. The biggest challenge for the Dalit family is to boycott the social evil of Devadasi system and protect the daughters from ending up as Devadasis. The protagonist also participates in the freedom movement.
Baburao Deshmane, though not well educated, is a man of progressive ideas. By his association with social reformers and labour union activists, Baburao Deshmane develops a strong personality, that poses a challenge to social evils such as the Devadasi system.
“He has a constructive way of resistance. He will come up with creative ways to fight all social evils. That is what I have tried to reflect in the book,’’ says Samata Deshmane, professor of sociology in Bengaluru University. She recalls how her parents struggled, pawning her mother’s mangalsutra and other possessions to send them to school and college.
She describes the biography as the first Kannada Dalit biography by a woman author from North Karnataka. Her elder sister, Vijayalakshmi Deshmane, is a cancer specialist and has served as the director of Kidwai Memorial Hospital earlier.
The film was shot in and around Kalaburagi. As many as 106 local artists acted in the 11-day shoot. The film underwent editing, sound mixing, music, adding titles and other post-shoot processes.
The film has been cleared by the Censor Board and is ready for release.
“However, we are waiting for the Bengaluru International Film Festival. We have applied for entry to the festival and are hopeful of getting screening,’’ said D.S. Chougale, who plays the protagonist Baburao Deshmane in the film. Apart from writing several plays and translating some others from Marathi to Kannada, he has acted in a Marathi film before. “The title refers to the local rituals where young girls are pushed into the Devadasi system. It is also a metaphor for Baburao Deshmne who held the lantern in darkness,’’ he said.
Mr. Chougale points out that this is a film with a strong social message against caste discrimination, poverty and the Devadasi system that continues to persist after seven decades of Independence.
“The film has the potential to earn the respect of critics, while gaining popularity among the masses. Such films should be encouraged,’’ Mr. Chougale said. Another prominent feature is the use of the North Karnataka dialect in the film. It also showcases the local culture and language, he said.
Most of the actors who played other roles are theatre personalities. Theatre artist Hanumakka D. Mariammanahalli has played the role of Baburao Deshmane’s wife. Veteran theatre personality Shankarayya Ghanti has played the role of S.K. Kanta, former Minister and labour leader. Prabhakar Joshi, director of Rangayana, Kalaburagi, Srinivas Prabhu and M.D. Koushik have played guest characters.
Director Manju Pandavapura has adapted the biography with the help of G.M. Prahlad, who wrote the screenplay and dialogues. P.V.R. Swamy is the cinematographer. G.Y. Padma is the producer of the film created by Deshmane creations.