''Astu: So Be It'' (or simply ''Astu'') is a 2015 Indian Marathi-language film directed by the duo Sumitra Bhave and Sunil Suktankar, starring

Mohan Agashe Mohan Agashe (born 23 July 1947) is an Indian psychiatrist and actor. He was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1996 in theatre. Early life Agashe was born in Bhor, Maharashtra. He studied in B. J. Medical College, Pune for his MB ...

Iravati Harshe Iravati Harshe is an Indian actress and dubbing artist. Harshe has worked in many television serials. She is a trained Bharatanatyam dancer. Filmography * ''Split Wide Open'' (1999) * ''Hey Ram'' (Hindi, 2000) * '' Shararat'' (Hindi, 2002) * ...

Milind Soman Milind Soman (born 4 November 1965) is an Indian actor, supermodel, film producer, and fitness enthusiast. He was a contestant on '' Fear Factor: Khatron Ke Khiladi 3''. Early and personal life Soman was born on 4 November 1965 in Glasgow, ...

, and

Amruta Subhash Amruta Subhash is an Indian actress who works in Marathi and Hindi films, television, and theatre. She is a graduate of the National School of Drama, New Delhi. She won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for the Marathi-langua ...

. The film tells the story of Chakrapani Shastri, a

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominalization, nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cul ...

scholar who suffers from Alzheimer's disease.

Plot

Dr. Chakrapani Shastri, fondly known as Appa, is a retired Sanskrit professor and a former director of the Oriental Research Institute in Pune. Shastri currently lives with Ram, a young student, as his caretaker, and has been diagnosed with advanced Alzheimer's disease. One day, as Ram has to appear for his exams, Shastri's elder daughter Ira brings Shastri to her house. While driving back home, Ira stops at a shop, requesting Shastri to stay in the car. Shastri sees a passing elephant on the road. He becomes fascinated and with some help, gets himself out of the car and starts following the elephant through the lanes of the city. When Ira comes back and finds her father gone, she and her husband, Madhav, begin searching for him and report him missing. As Shastri keeps following Laxmi the elephant, her

mahout A mahout is an elephant rider, trainer, or keeper. Mahouts were used since antiquity for both civilian and military use. Traditionally, mahouts came from ethnic groups with generations of elephant keeping experience, with a mahout retaining h ...

, Anta, tries to get Shastri to go home. However, Shastri does not remember anything and reaches the mahout's house, where he meets the man's wife, Channamma. She takes care of Shastri along with her newborn. Ira informs her sister Devika of their father's disappearance, but the latter blames Ira and suggests an old-age home for their father. The police trace the elephant's whereabouts and find Shastri, but accuse the mahout of kidnapping the old man. Shastri refuses to go back to Ira, wanting to stay with Channamma. Finally, they manage to convince the senior scholar to return home.

Cast and characters

as Dr. Chakrapani Shastri *

as Ira, Shastri's older daughter *

as Channamma *

as Madhav, Ira's husband *

Devika Daftardar Devika Daftardar is an Indian actress who works in Marathi theatre and films. She is known for her mother roles in ''Pari Hoon Main'' (2018) and '' Naal'' (2018). Career Devika started her career in Marathi plays before moving on to films. She ...

as Rahi, Shastri's younger daughter *

Jyoti Subhash Jyoti Subhash is an Indian actress who works in Marathi film, television and theatre industry. She is best known for her works in Marathi films like '' Valu'' (2008), '' Gabhricha Paus'' (2009) and Bollywood films like ''Phoonk'' (2008) and ''A ...

as Malti Kaku * Nachiket Purnapatre as Anta, mahout

Production

Actor

was approached with the idea of a short film that deals with Alzheimer's disease. Though he liked the project, he wasn't satisfied with the script and suggested improving it. He invited Sumitra Bhave to meet with the filmmaker, and she ended up turning it into a feature-length production. After shooting was completed, one of the co-producers backed out of post-production. Agashe contributed from his pension to complete the remaining work.

Release and reception

Though the film was completed in 2013, it did not find a distributor and was released through

crowdfunding Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and Alternative Finance, alternative finance. In 2015, over was rais ...

in 2016. It was originally released in

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...

in 2014 and later re-released to qualify for the Maharashtra state film subsidy, which requires the film to be released in ten state districts. It was also screened at the

New York Film Festival The New York Film Festival (NYFF) is a film festival held every fall in New York City, presented by Film at Lincoln Center (FLC). Founded in 1963 by Richard Roud and Amos Vogel with the support of Lincoln Center president William Schuman, it ...

(NYFF) and a special screening was organised at the

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

campus to raise awareness of problems suffered by the elderly due to lack of human interaction. A panel discussion was also held, with the participation of Mohan Agashe and professors

Arthur Kleinman Arthur Michael Kleinman (born March 11, 1941) is an American psychiatrist, psychiatric anthropologist and a professor of medical anthropology and cross-cultural psychiatry at Harvard University. He is well known for his work on mental illness ...

and

Diana L. Eck Diana L. Eck (born 1945 in Bozeman, Montana) is a scholar of religious studies who is Professor of Comparative Religion and Indian Studies at Harvard University, as well as a former faculty dean of Lowell House and the Director of The Pluralis ...

. The film was praised for its depiction of Alzheimer's disease and dementia, as well as the performances of the lead actors.

Namrata Joshi Namrata Joshi is an Indian film critic based in New Delhi. Originally working for ''Outlook'', she remained there from 1999 till 2015, when she joined '' The Hindu''. She won the National Film Award for Best Film Critic in 2004 Career Joshi is ...

of ''The Hindu'' wrote that, "though the film is about loss of memory, it's structured and built around a series of recollections" and mentioned that the film builds awareness of Alzheimer's disease but "does not slip into sermonizing, it remains sensitive, not sentimental". Mihir Bhanage of ''The Times of India'' wrote that the "splendid narration and direction, coupled with excellent performances, are a high point of this film".

Awards

The film won several awards upon release.

References

External links

* {{Sumitra Bhave–Sunil Sukthankar 2013 films Films directed by Sumitra Bhave–Sunil Sukthankar Films featuring a Best Supporting Actress National Film Award-winning performance Films whose writer won the Best Dialogue National Film Award 2010s Marathi-language films