''Nanak Shah Fakir'' is a 2015 Indian Punjabi-language

biographical film A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of a non-fictional or historically-based person or people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from docudra ...

based on the life of

Guru Nanak Gurū Nānak (15 April 1469 – 22 September 1539; Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਨਾਨਕ; pronunciation: , ), also referred to as ('father Nānak'), was the founder of Sikhism and is the first of the ten Sikh Gurus. His birth is celebrated wor ...

, and produced by Gurbani Media Pvt. Ltd. It was theatrically released on 17 April 2015. It won the awards for

Best Feature Film on National Integration The Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organization set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India. It is one o ...

, Best Costume Design and Best Make-up Artist at the

63rd National Film Awards The 63rd National Film Awards was an award ceremony during which the Directorate of Film Festivals of India presented its annual National Film Awards to honour the best films of 2015 in Indian cinema. The awards were announced on 28 March 2016 ...

. The film was mired in controversies with protests from Sikh groups asking for a ban on the film as it was claimed to depict Sikh figures through actors, which they said violated Sikh tenets.

Cast

Arif Zakaria Arif Zakaria (born 11 November 1966) is an Indian actor. He has had roles in many films, beginning with his debut film ''Darmiyaan'' (1997), ''1947 Earth'' (1998), ''Dance like a man'' (2004), and biographical projects '' Mardana'' and the contr ...

Bhai Mardana Bhai Mardana ( pa, ਭਾਈ ਮਰਦਾਨਾ; 6 February 1459 — 1534) was one of the first Sikhs and longtime companion of Guru Nanak Dev, first in the line of gurus noted in Sikhism. Bhai Mardana, a Muslim, accompanied Guru Nanak Dev on hi ...

, narrator * Puneet Sikka as

Bebe Nanaki Bebe Nanaki (, ; ), alternative spelt as Bibi Nanaki, was the elder sister of Guru Nanak, the founder and first ''Guru'' of Sikhism. Nanaki is an important figure in Sikhism, and is known as the first ''Gursikh''. She was the first to realize ...

Adil Hussain Adil Hussain () is an Indian actor who has worked in Indian cinema, including art house cinema and mainstream Bollywood, as well as international cinema, in films such as ''The Reluctant Fundamentalist'' and ''Life of Pi'' (both 2012). He rece ...

Rai Bular Bhatti Rai Bular, (died c. 1515 or 1518) was a Muslim Rajput landlord of the Bhati clan during the latter half of the 15th century. He inherited the position as ''zamindar'' of Talwandi from his father Rai Bhoi. Although a Muslim Rajput, Rai was in ...

* Shraddha Kaul as

Mata Tripta Mata Tripta ( Punjabi: ਮਾਤਾ ਤ੍ਰਿਪਤਾ; ''mātā tripatā'') was the mother of Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of Sikhism. Her father was Bhai Raam, a Jhangar Khatri from the village of Chaliawala (or Chahal), near Lahore, and he ...

* Anurag Arora as

Kalu Mehta Mehta Kalu, formally Kalyan Das, (1440–1520) was the father of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism. Kalu was born as 'Kalyan Das' to Shiv Ram Bedi and Mata Banarasi in a Hindu Khatri family of the '' Bedi'' gotra. He served as the ''patwar ...

Score

Original score by

Tuomas Kantelinen Tuomas Kantelinen (born 22 September 1969 in Kankaanpää) is a Finnish composer. He studied composition at the Sibelius Academy with Eero Hämeenniemi. He is best known for his scores for films such as ''Rukajärven tie'', '' Äideistä parhain'', ...

, with music by Uttam Singh and sound design by Resul Pookutty.

Controversy

The supreme Sikh body,

Akal Takht The Akal Takht ("Throne of the Timeless One") is one of five takhts (seats of power) of the Sikhs. It is located in the Darbar Sahib (Golden Temple) complex in Amritsar, Punjab, India. The Akal Takht (originally called Akal Bunga) was built by ...

announced a ban on the film, as it was claimed to depict Guru Nanak and other prominent Sikh figures (Bebe Nanaki, Bhai Mardana) through human actors, which it said violated Sikh tenets. A related resolution adopted by the

SGPC The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee ( SGPC; "Supreme Gurdwara Management Committee") is an organization in India responsible for the management of Gurdwaras, Sikh places of worship in states of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh and the union ...

in 2003 had prohibited human actors from playing the roles of Sikh Gurus or their family members. The Government of Punjab decided against allowing the release of the film. The film producers

Resul Pookutty Resul Pookutty (born 30 May 1971) is an Indian film sound designer, sound editor and audio mixer. He won the Academy Award for Best Sound Mixing, along with Richard Pryke and Ian Tapp, for ''Slumdog Millionaire''. Pookutty has worked in Hind ...

and Gurbani Media also appealed to the

Supreme Court of India The Supreme Court of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme judicial authority of India and is the highest court of the Republic of India under the constitution. It is the most senior constitutional court, has the final decision in all legal matters ...

to allow for the release of the film. The Supreme court cleared the film for release, citing the certification provided by India's

Central Board for Film Certification The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) is a statutory film-certification body in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of the Government of India. It is tasked with "regulating the public exhibition of films under the provision ...

Awards

;

National Film Award The National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directorate ...

– Director Sartaj Singh Pannu * Best Costume Design – Payal Saluja * Best Make-up Artist – Preetisheel Singh D'Souza and Clover Wootton

References

External links

*
Nanak Shah Fakir-- A Film, A Journey
''The Citizen''. {{Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration 2015 films Films about Sikhism Indian biographical films Cultural depictions of Sikh gurus Punjabi-language Indian films 2010s Punjabi-language films 2010s biographical films