''Bangarwadi'' ( mr, बनगरवाडी) is a

Marathi film Marathi cinema is an Indian film industry of Marathi-language motion pictures. It is based in Mumbai, Maharashtra. Based in old Mumbai, it is the oldest film industry of Indian cinema. The first Marathi film to be released in India was '' S ...

directed by

Amol Palekar Amol Palekar (born 24 November 1944) is an Indian actor, director and producer of Hindi and Marathi cinema. Career Palekar studied fine arts at the Sir JJ School of Arts, Mumbai, and commenced his artistic career as a painter. As a painter, he ...

. It is based on an eponymous novel written by

Vyankatesh Madgulkar Venkatesh Digambar Madgulkar (5 April 1927 - 27 August 2001) was one of the most popular Marathi writers of his time. He became well-known mainly for his realistic writings about village life in a part of southern Maharashtra called Maandesh, se ...

and published in 1955. It is the story of a young school teacher and his experiences in a small village of shepherds in the princely state of Aundh during the 1940s.

Plot

The story begins with a young school teacher, played by Chandrakant Kulkarni, walking alone towards a village called Bangarwadi, across a deserted landscape. When he reaches Bangarwadi, he finds that the school has shut down and that the people of the village are reluctant to send their children to school. With the support of the ''Karbhari'' (the village head), the teacher convinces the villagers to send their children to school. He runs the school for the next few months and helps the illiterate and the needy in the village, which sometimes lands him into trouble. Soon, he convinces the villagers to set up a gymnasium through community participation. He invites the king of the state, ''Pant Pratinidhi'' for its inauguration. The sudden death of the village head leaves the village and the teacher shocked. Then comes prolonged drought. The teacher tries his best to get help from the government, writing frequent letters describing the graveness of situation, but he gets no response. Drought forces the people of Bangarwadi to abandon the village, leaving the school teacher alone and with no students.

Cast

Chandrakant Kulkarni Chandrakant Kulkarni (born 1963) is an Indian director, script writer and actor associated with Marathi theatre and film. He is known for his works of directing the plays ''Wada Chirebandi'', ''Dhyanimani'', ''Gandhi Virudh Gandhi'' and most r ...

as the school teacher *

Chandrakant Mandare Chandrakant Mandhare ( mr, चंद्रकांत मांडरे, (13 August 1913 – 17 February 2001) was a well-known Marathi Film actor and an artist. He played different roles in Marathi films and devoted his life to art. He was a ...

as ''Karbhari'' (the village head) * Adhishree Atre as Anji *

Nandu Madhav Nandu Madhav is an Indian actor known for his works in Marathi cinema and theatre. He is known for the his titular role in Paresh Mokashi's ''Harishchandrachi Factory'' which won the Best Feature Film in Marathi award in the 56th National Fi ...

as Ananda Ramoshi *

Sunil Ranade Sunil (सुनील) is a first name for males, often found in the South Asian community. The Sanskrit word ' means "dark", "very blue", and is also an epithet of Krishna. Notable people * Sunil (actor), Indian Telugu film actor * Sunil ( ...

as Aayub *

Nagesh Bhonsle Nagesh Bhosale is an Indian film, television and theatre actor. He has worked on the 2018 Hollywood film '' Hotel Mumbai'', alongside Jason Isaacs, Armie Hammer and Dev Patel. Nagesh has acted in more than a hundred Indian films and thousands ...

as Daddu Baltya * Hiralal Jain as Kakabu *

Kishor Kadam Kishor Kadam (born 9 November 1967) is an Indian actor and poet who has acted prominently in Marathi and Hindi movies. He has also acted in Tamil movies and has appeared in some television serials as well. He is a veteran Marathi poet, writin ...

as Rama *

Upendra Limaye Upendra Limaye (born 8 November 1969) is an Indian actor, who won the National Film Award for his role in the Marathi film ''Jogwa''. On the centenary of Indian cinema in April 2013, '' Forbes'' included Limaye's performance in the film ''Jogwa ...

as Sheku *

Ravi Kale Ravi Kale is an Indian actor known for his works in Kannada, Tamil, Hindi, Telugu and Marathi films. Filmography ;Marathi *'' Bangarwadi'' (1995) *'' Sumbaran'' (2009) *'' Pipani'' (2012) *'' Vanilla,Strawberry & Chocolate'' (2018) ;Hindi * ...

Awards

* National Award for the best Feature Film in Marathi, 1996 * Kalnirnaya Award Best Film, 1997 * Filmfare Award for Best Film and Direction, 1997 * Maharashtra state awards in five categories, 1996

Film festivals

Bangarwadi was screened at several international film festivals: * Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, 1996 * Birmingham International Film Festival, 1996 * London Film Festival, the UK, 1996 * 15th FAJR International Film Festival, Iran, 1997 * Cairo International Film Festival, Egypt, 1996 * Bogota International Film Festival, Colombia, 1996 * Sarajevo Film Festival, Prague 1996

References

External links

*
title Bangarwadi review-New York Times
* 1995 films 1990s Marathi-language films Films directed by Amol Palekar Best Marathi Feature Film National Film Award winners {{1990s-Marathi-film-stub