MUMBAI: The upcoming social satire, 'Sir Madam Sarpanch', helmed by the National Award-winning director Praveen Morchhale, is loosely based on the incredible stories of Indian women who went abroad for higher studies and returned to become Sarpanch of their villages.
The film stars Seema Biswas, Bhawan Tiwari, Ariana Sajnani, Hemant Deolekar, Jyoti Dubey and Shubhangini Srivas. In the film, Ariana's character Ana, an Indian girl who has grown up in the U.S., returns to start a library in her ancestral village in central India. Her intention raises a storm in political circles and the bureaucracy. Undeterred, Ana stands for the Gram Sabha elections, teaming up with several courageous village women to quietly take on the well-entrenched socio-political system.
Talking about the film, Praveen Morchhale said: "I had read about these incredible women who for the love of their country, gave up a life of comfort and job opportunities abroad to return home and do something substantial for their villages. My film re-imagines the on-ground situation these superwomen found themselves in."
Talking about the film, Ariana said: "With gentle humour and subtlety, we have tried to show how books can be perceived as a threat to the status quo. A tongue-in-cheek commentary on ground-level politics, corruption and the patriarchy, Sir Madam Sarpanch celebrates the resilience of women working within their social circles to bring about positive change."
The film also recently bagged an INALCO Jury Award at the 29th edition of the prestigious Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinemas hosted in France.
On his triumph at Vesoul, Morchhale said: "It is interesting that an Indian satirical film won a special jury award at a prestigious international festival in Europe. It was amazing to see the audience laughing at the happenings in a world far removed from their own and yet managing to strike an empathetic chord. Humorous films are rarely invited on the world stage and then, for it to be so well-appreciated makes it all the more special."
Praveen's 2017 feature film 'Walking with the Wind' bagged three National Awards for Best Film (Ladakhi), Best Sound Design (Sanal George) and Best Re-Recording (Justin Jose) at the 65th National Film Awards as well as ICFT UNESCO Gandhi medal at the 49th International Film Festival of India.
His 2018 Urdu film 'Widow of Silence' about a Kashmiri woman, whose husband is missing for seven years debuted at the 23rd Busan International Film Festival where it was nominated for the Kim Jiseok Award for Best Asian Director.
'Sir Madam Sarpanch' is now gearing up for April 14 release across the world and the director along with Ariana is set to meet Maya Vishwakarma - one of the women on whom the film is based, who is also known as the 'Padwoman of India'.
After completing her education in San Francisco, California, Maya was elected unopposed Sarpanch of Mehragaon village in Sai Kheda tehsil in Narsinghpur, Madhya Pradesh.
'Sir Madam Sarpanch' has been produced by Suncal Productions International.