Phule movie review: Pratik Gandhi starrer is a dull biopic despite a powerful story

PhuleU Biography dramaDir Ananth MahadevanCast Pratik Gandhi PatralekhaaRating 25The film Phule as in the biopic of social activist Mahatma Jyotirao Phule 18271890 is naturally set between mid to late 19th Century when India was under British ruleTherefore an uppercaste character in the film points to their common oppression under the colonial empireTo which Phule fighting for caste rights rightly points outmdashthat particular slavery is only 100 years old while the lower castes have suffered for agesThe exact words ldquofor 3000 yearsrdquo I realise has been knocked from that sentence as per Censor Boardrsquos suggestionsLikewise you notice the near if not absolute absence of the word casteldquojaatirdquo itself from this filmmdashreplaced by the supposedly more palatable fourtiered varna system insteadAs Phulersquos wife Savitribai puts it in this filmmdashhenceforth the Shudras shall be referred to as DalitsWhile some of these insertionsdeletions supposedly under the pressure of sundry brahmin groups might baffle any lay viewer even vaguely attuned to Indiarsquos caste issuesmdashthe fact is if it wasnrsquot for the Censor Board you may not have heard of the lowbudget arthouse type film PhuleFor whatever thatrsquos worth And the story is worth a lotSimply consider that only 177 years ago the act of ultimate rebellion performed by Phulemdashwalking alone battling raids altogether banished from his villagemdashwas admitting little girls into an underground school he set up so children could get basic educationIt was the first such revolt in Maharashtra Which is such an irony given as a line here puts it best ldquoSaraswati is the goddess of learning after allrdquoSadly we donrsquot savour films for the stories We watch them for the storytellingAnd thatrsquos where this uniformly dull dry biopic suffersmdashsorely lacking in any kinda absorbing energydramamdashwith a trustable narrator pretty much linearly taking us on a guided tour of events in the life of Mahatma Phule in masterwide shotsOffering us therefore no furtherdeeper insights than a Wikipedia page that Irsquove just read to feel equally enlightenedHence as you read or you hear in the film Phule was influenced by the French Revolution Thomas Painersquos Rights of Man and the abolition of slavery in the US under Abraham Lincoln while the uppercastes feared even his shadow polluting their pathThat he was once thrown out of a brahmin wedding He homeschooled his wife Savitribai also in English which he learnt attending a missionary school where he also befriended one Usman Sheikh and his sister Fatima who provided him shelter when he was ostracisedWhat do you see First off the lead actors Pratik Gandhi as Mahatma Phule and Patralekhaa as Savitribai of course Both fine understated actors no doubt But sometimes so understated that they feel laidback subsequently their audiences as wellPratik has popularly performed Mahatma Gandhi in the Gujarati play Mohan Na Masalo apart from currently shooting for Hansal Mehtarsquos India Before Gandhi as an OTT seriesWhat did I wish to see Anything that truly helps me gauge what makes mortals like Phule lsquomahatmarsquo in their own lifetimemdashgoing so severely against the grain given the society of their times that was so unwilling to see their point of view let alone engage with itWhat was that impetus that stood them apart making the charismatic Phule one of BR Ambedkarrsquos spiritual mentors laterThese require dramatic debates internal and external monologues scenes that illuminate a human onscreenConsequently shedding light on someone who never stopped from seeking help from the British government and Christian missionaries since he saw a larger picture for the lowercaste and the womenBoth of whom in a system totally rigged against them were being denied basic rights including educationItrsquos a dramatic life like Gandhirsquos as full of perceivable contradictions tooThis is the character who says in the film ldquoItrsquos easy to make emotional Indians fight over caste and religion even in the futurerdquo And that you must keep the revolution alive Also a man who sits down to chat with his own wouldbe assassinsWhy does a film about him feel so weakflat besides lazy filmmaking perhapsMy sense is the writer director Ananth Mahadevan Muazzam Beg arenrsquot sure to what extent that can delve into subjects when progressively along with religion and politics even caste is appearing a nogo zone in the moviemainstreamWhat with the anger of the privileged that could evidently strike upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger And whatrsquos caste if not religion and politics tooYou thank the filmmakers still make do with what you got and move on thenI know it doesnrsquot sound encouraging for a film audience but treat this as entrylevel education on Phule rather than entertainment or deep engagement if you like Yoursquoll be much better off that wayYUCK WHATEVER GOOD SUPER 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Phule movie review: Pratik Gandhi starrer is a dull biopic despite a powerful story

Phule
U: Biography, drama
Dir: Ananth Mahadevan
Cast: Pratik Gandhi, Patralekhaa
Rating: 2/5

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Home / Entertainment / Bollywood News / Article / Phule movie review: Pratik Gandhi starrer is a dull biopic despite a powerful story

Phule movie review: Pratik Gandhi starrer is a dull biopic despite a powerful story

PhuleU: Biography, dramaDir: Ananth MahadevanCast: Pratik Gandhi, PatralekhaaRating: 2/5

Trending Stories

Latest Photos

Latest Videos

Latest Web Stories

Mid-Day Fast

Phule
U: Biography, drama
Dir: Ananth Mahadevan
Cast: Pratik Gandhi, Patralekhaa
Rating: 2/5