GOA: Mee Sindhutai Sapkal, the opening film of the Indian Panorama Section opened today with the audience applauding the spirit of the women who braved all the odds in her life and emerged out as a winner.

 

The film’s director Ananth Mahadevan said that he is extremely happy that their efforts have been appreciated. Made with a shoe-string budget of Rs 80 lakhs, which later got stretched to Rs 1.5 crore, Mee Sindhutai Sapkal is an inspiring, feminist, rooted Indian feature film. It traces the true story of Sindhutai Sapkal, who dramatically rewrites her destiny.

 

Born into a poor family in Wardha, Maharashtra, Sindhutai is married at 12 to a 30-year-old man, but is abandoned by her husband and her own family following false accusations of infidelity. About to commit suicide, she notices a tree, which though axed, still gives shelter. Moved, she sets out on a journey towards dignity, setting up five orphanages for abandoned children – even going to San Jose, USA, to give fund-raising speeches. When her ageing husband turns up at the orphanage, she graciously ‘adopts’ him. The film’s deep humanism in the face of injustice and humiliation gives it a universal resonance. 

 

Also present on the occasion was Sindhutai Sapkal. She said, “I am satisfied with the way the film has portrayed my life. I am seeing my past through the film”. Talking to the media, she said, the film has captured the essence of my life. She added that she had forgiven her husband as if he had not left her she would not have been able to contribute to the lives of others.”

 

The main cast of the film includes Tejaswini Pandit, Jyoti Chandekar, Upendra Limaye, Neena Kulkarni, Suhas Palshikar, Ganesh Yadav, and Pranjal Shetye.