Fandry

StarringCinematographyVikram AmladiEdited byChandan AroraMusic bySongs:
Ajay-Atul
Score:
Alokananda DasguptaDistributed by104 minutesCountryIndiaLanguageMarathiBudget₹1.75 crore (US$210,000)^[1]Box office₹7 crore (US$840,000) (Lifetime)^[2][3]

Fandry (The Pig)^[a] is a 2013 Indian Marathi-language film, written and directed by Nagraj Manjule in his directorial debut. It stars Somnath Awghade and Rajeshwari Kharat. The story focuses on a young boy's love amidst caste-based discrimination. The film, set in Akolner, a village near Ahmednagar, revolves around the issue of discrimination in India's caste system and narrates the story of a teenager from a Dalit family who lives at the village fringe, and falls in love with an upper-caste girl.^[4][5]

The film won the Grand Jury Prize at the MAMI Film Festival.^[6] The film was released theatrically on Valentine's Day 2014.^[7] The film received critical acclaim. At the 61st National Film Awards, it won the Indira Gandhi Award for Best Debut Film of a Director.^[8]

In the village of Akolner, a pre-teen named Jambhuvant Kachru Mane, nicknamed Jabya (Somnath Awghade), lives in a makeshift house on the outskirts of a caste-segregated village with his parents and two older sisters (one a widow with a toddler). The family belongs to the Kaikadi community, an oppressed caste, and earns a living by doing menial jobs. Owing to the caste-ridden power structure of the village society, the boy's father has a fearful and submissive personality which is exploited by upper-caste villagers.

Jabya is disillusioned by the predicament of his family and shows interest in school where he has also fallen in one-sided love with a forward caste girl named Shalini, nicknamed Shalu (Rajeshwari Kharat), who he has never talked to but tries desperately to get her to notice him. He, along with his school friend Pirya (Suraj Pawar) and armed with a slingshot spend time after school trying to catch a black sparrow in the wilderness. However, the bird call that punctuates the film is that of the red-wattled lapwing (titawi), which is supposed to bring bad luck. The black sparrow, with its distinctive forked tail, and the call of the red wattled lapwing occur repeatedly throughout the film.

Jabya also befriends a bicycle mechanic named Chankya (Nagraj Manjule) who sees his young self in the boy. Chankya had once married a wealthy, upper-caste girl, but she was soon forcefully taken away by her brother, who beat him very badly. Since then he has renounced family life and taken up refuge in spirituality, mysticism and liquor. Jabya seeks support from Chankya in his quest to obtain his love, which Chankya readily extends.

Back in the village, Jabya's family members comply as they are exploited and dehumanized by the villagers over and over again. A marriage proposal arrives for Jabya's sister and his father agrees to pay a ₹20,000 dowry to the groom's family, placing further financial stress on the family. He is eventually contracted to kill a pig that has been rampaging the village by its upper-caste members, who see it as a bad omen. This requires the help of the whole family, deeply embarrassing Jabya as they have to chase the pig in front of his classmates, including Shalu.

The embarrassment too much to bear, he hides in an alley, refusing to help his family. There, he finally spots the black sparrow, and his objective becomes clear: according to a local legend, it is believed that when the ash obtained by burning the black sparrow is sprinkled on someone, it hypnotizes them to fall in love with the person sprinkling it. The idea, however, is executed only in Jabya's dream—his father finds him and chases away the bird, then beats him publicly.

In the film's climax, the family catches the pig as they are jeered at and harassed. In the procession following immediately, the taunts and insults towards Jabya intensify, including calling him "fandry", meaning pig in the Kaikadi language. Collected against all insults up to this point, he finally explodes in rage, dropping the pig and starting to throw rocks at his oppressors. In the final shot of the film, he throws a rock directly at the camera, subtly breaking the fourth wall.

• Somnath Awghade as Jambuwant Kachru Mane (Jabya)
• Suraj Pawar as Piraji (Pirya)
• Chhaya Kadam as Nani
• Kishor Kadam as Kachru Mane (Nana)
• Rajeshwari Kharat as Shalini (Shalu)
• Bhushan Manjule as Dada Patil
• Nagraj Manjule as Chankeshwar Sathe (Chankya)
• Sohail Shaikh as Sangram
• Sanjay Chaudhri as Teacher
• Vikas Pandurang Patil as Navhi
• Prashant Kamble
• Jyoti Subhash
• Suhas Sirsat
• Moinuddin Inamdar as the Principal
• Pooja Dolas as Vedant's mother
• Shruti Awate as Rani
• Sakshi Vyavhare as Dhurpa
• Pravin Tarde as Sarpanch
• Suresh Vishwakarma as Patil

• Story, screenplay, dialogues & direction – Nagraj Manjule
• Producers – Nilesh Navlakha and Vivek Kajaria
• Executive producer – Vivek Wagh
• Costume designers – Gargee Kulkarni and Priyanka Dubey
• Art director – Santosh Sankhad
• Sound design – Nimish Chheda
• Chief assistant director – Gargee Kulkarni and Kutub Inamdar
• Assistant editor – Kutub Inamdar
• On location sound – Christopher Robleto Harvey

The film was praised at the Mumbai International Film Festival and was subsequently picked up by Zee Entertainment for distribution rights in Maharashtra in 125 to 150 screens. Vivek Kajaria, who produced the film along with Nilesh Navalakha, said "Fandry is one of the most awaited films of recent times and we have decided to go very strong on our marketing. Our partnership with Zee Entertainment has helped us a lot. We are trying our best to give it a wide release and hoping that the word-of-mouth will help us grow. Then it’s up to the audiences really."

The film released all over Maharashtra on 14 February 2014^[7] and it was released in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Goa along with 12 states on 28 February 2014.^[9]

The soundtrack album of Fandry received positive reviews from critics.

Official selections:^[7]

Festival / Awards	Category	Result
Mumbai International Film Festival	Best Film	Won
BFI London Film Festival	Best Film	N/A
Abu Dhabi Film Festival	Best Film	N/A
International Children's Film Festival of India	Best Film	N/A
International Film Festival of India	Best Film	N/A
Göteborg International Film Festival[10]	Best Film	N/A
Pune International Film Festival[11]	Best Film, Best Film (Audience), Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Actor	Won
International Federation of Film Critics[12]	Best Film (2013)	Won
Dharamshala International Film Festival[13]	Best Film	N/A
International Film Festival of Kerala[14]	Best Film	N/A
Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles[15]	Best Indian feature film	Won
Mata Sanman[16]	Best Film, Best Actor, Best Director, Best Child Artist, Best Script, Best Editor	Won
New York Indian Film Festival[17]	Best Director	Won
Reel Asian Film Festival 2014[18]	National Bank Best First Feature Film Award	Won
Seattle South Asian Film Festival[19]	Outstanding Film in Social Category 2014	Won
National Award[20]	Best Debut (Director), Best Child Actor	Won

• Fandry at IMDb