''Bangarwadi'' () is a 1995 Indian

Marathi film Marathi cinema is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Marathi language, which is widely spoken in the state of Maharashtra. It is based out of Mumbai. It is the oldest film industry in India an ...

directed by

Amol Palekar Amol Palekar (born 24 November 1944) is an Indian actor, director and producer of Hindi and Marathi cinema. Early life and education Palekar was born to Kamlakara and Suhasini Palekar in a Marathi language, Marathi speaking middle-class family ...

. It is based on an eponymous novel written by

Vyankatesh Madgulkar Venkatesh Digambar Madgulkar (5 April 1927 – 28 August 2001) was one of the most popular Marathi language, Marathi writers of his time. He became well-known mainly for his realistic writings about village life in a part of southern Maharashtr ...

and published in 1955. It is the story of a young school teacher and his experiences in a small village of shepherds in the princely state of Aundh during the 1940s.

Plot

The story begins with a young school teacher, played by Chandrakant Kulkarni, walking alone towards a village called Bangarwadi, across a deserted landscape. When he reaches Bangarwadi, he finds that the school has shut down and that the people of the village are reluctant to send their children to school. With the support of the ''Karbhari'' (the village head), the teacher convinces the villagers to send their children to school. He runs the school for the next few months and helps the illiterate and the needy in the village, which sometimes lands him into trouble. Soon, he convinces the villagers to set up a gymnasium through community participation. He invites the king of the state, ''Pant Pratinidhi'' for its inauguration. The sudden death of the village head leaves the village and the teacher shocked. Then comes prolonged drought. The teacher tries his best to get help from the government, writing frequent letters describing the graveness of situation, but he gets no response. Drought forces the people of Bangarwadi to abandon the village, leaving the school teacher alone and with no students.

Cast

Chandrakant Kulkarni Chandrakant Kulkarni (born 1963) is an Indian director, script writer and actor associated with Marathi theatre and film. He is known for his works of directing the plays ''Wada Chirebandi'', ''Dhyanimani'', ''Gandhi Virudh Gandhi'' and most re ...

as the school teacher *

Chandrakant Mandare Chandrakant Mandhare (, (13 August 1913 – 17 February 2001) was a well-known Marathi Film actor and an artist. He played different roles in Marathi films and devoted his life to art. He was a master in paintings and powder shading. He was ...

as ''Karbhari'' (the village head) * Adhishree Atre as Anji *

Nandu Madhav Nandu Madhav is an Indian actor known for his works in Marathi cinema and theatre. He is known for his title role in Paresh Mokashi's ''Harishchandrachi Factory'' which won the Best Feature Film in Marathi award in the 56th National Film Awar ...

as Ananda Ramoshi * Sunil Ranade as Aayub *

Nagesh Bhonsle Nagesh Bhosale is an Indian film, television and theatre actor. He acted in ''Anuja'' which is nominated at the 97th Academy Awards (Oscar 2025) in the live action short film category. He also worked on the 2018 film ''Hotel Mumbai'', alongs ...

as Daddu Baltya * Hiralal Jain as Kakabu *

Kishor Kadam Kishor Kadam (born 9 November 1967) is an Indian actor and poet who has acted prominently in Marathi and Hindi movies. He has also acted in Tamil movies and has appeared in some television serials as well. He is a veteran Marathi poet, writin ...

as Rama *

Upendra Limaye Upendra Limaye (born 8 November 1969) is an Indian actor, who won the National Film Award for his role in the Marathi film '' Jogwa''. On the centenary of Indian cinema in April 2013, ''Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazin ...

as Sheku *

Ravi Kale Ravi Kale is an Indian actor known for his work in Kannada, Telugu, Hindi, Tamil, and Marathi films. He played Chander in the '' Sarkar'' series and the '' Dandupalya'' series. Filmography Kannada *''Cyanide'' (2006) *'' Vamshi'' (2008) ...

Reception

Reviewing the film at the Indian Panorama section of the

International Film Festival of India The International Film Festival of India (IFFI), founded in 1952, is an annual film festival currently held in Goa, on the western coast of India. The festival aims at providing a common platform for the cinemas of the world to project the excel ...

, S. R. Ashok Kumar of ''

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was founded as a weekly publication in 1878 by the Triplicane Six, becoming a daily in 1889. It is one of the India ...

'' wrote that "If only Amol Palekar had concentrated a little more on the screenplay and editing it would have become a memorable movie".

Awards

* National Award for the best Feature Film in Marathi, 1996 * Kalnirnaya Award Best Film, 1997 * Filmfare Award for Best Film and Direction, 1997 * Maharashtra state awards in five categories, 1996 * Screen Awards - Best Actress

Film festivals

Bangarwadi was screened at several international film festivals: * Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, 1996 * Birmingham International Film Festival, 1996 * London Film Festival, the UK, 1996 * 15th FAJR International Film Festival, Iran, 1997 * Cairo International Film Festival, Egypt, 1996 * Bogota International Film Festival, Colombia, 1996 * Sarajevo Film Festival, Prague 1996

References

External links

*
title Bangarwadi review-New York Times
* 1995 films 1990s Marathi-language films Films directed by Amol Palekar Best Marathi Feature Film National Film Award winners Films based on Marathi novels {{1990s-Marathi-film-stub