'Phule' director says film is an 'interpretation of social issues'
What's the story
After a slight delay owing to several controversies, director Ananth Mahadevan has finally unveiled his film Phule, featuring Pratik Gandhi and Patralekhaa.
The film is based on the lives of social reformers Jyotiba Phule and his wife Savitribai Phule.
In an interview with Indulge Express, Mahadevan opened up about the film's relevance, preparation process, and the challenges he faced during its making.
Film relevance
'Phule' is 'an interpretation of social issues'
Mahadevan described Phule as "an interpretation of social issues."
Speaking about the film's relevance in today's society, he added, "You don't just pick up any historical character and make a film on him, if it isn't relevant at present."
He said, "When you consider Phule, it was based on extensive research with a lot of books. And we got almost five hours of material from that, and we had to reduce it to say two hours, 15 minutes."
Preparation
'We had to filter out a lot of material'
The director added that the preparation for Phule took almost two years, as it was hard to collect material.
"Everything was not really easily available in the public domain. We had to literally hunt books from shops, libraries, and archives and manage to put all of them together."
Mahadevan was adamant on shooting at real locations for the film, traveling across Maharashtra from Pune to Goa to find authentic settings.
Casting
'Phule' actors were chosen after a look test
Mahadevan revealed that they thoughtfully cast Gandhi and Patralekhaa.
"We took out all the sketches that came and we did a look test on Pratik and Patralekhaa."
"Pratik has the quality to mold into a character seamlessly. So was Patralekhaa. So when you put them together and you put the old sketch together, it looks like the sketch has come alive."
Upcoming projects
Mahadevan's future projects
Besides Phule, Mahadevan also revealed that he has three plays running and a new film in post-production.
He revealed, "That should be my next release during the second half of the year."
"It's based on a true story and is a very powerful emotional film and is about a boy who tries to find his origins and is shocked by the results."