''Ramabai'' is a 2016 Indian
biographical film
A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or group of people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from Docudrama, docudrama films ...
in
Kannada language
Kannada () is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, an ...
, based on the life of
Ramabai Ambedkar, the first wife of Indian social reformer and politician
B. R. Ambedkar. The film is directed by M. Ranganath, and stars
Yagna Shetty as the eponymous lead, and Siddaram Karnik as Ambedkar. The film was released on 14 April 2016 coinciding with the birthday of Dr. Ambedkar.
Cast
*
Yagna Shetty as Ramabai
* Dr. Sidram Karanik as
B. R. Ambedkar
* Auditor Srinivas
* Nagaraj
*
Bank Janardhan
Janardhan Rao Chauhan (2 March 1949 – 13 April 2025), known by his stage name Bank Janardhan, was an Indian actor in the Kannada film industry. He was well-known for his comedy and drama roles in various Kannada films and television series. ...
* Sumathishree
* Mysore Ramanand
Production
Film producer Auditor Srinivas announced of making the film in February 2015. It was revealed that Vasudev Alur, predominantly a dialogue-writer in Kannada cinema, taking his original name M. Ranganath with the film, would direct it. In the same month, an audition was conducted by the makers to cast for supporting roles, in Bangalore.
was cast to portray the role of Ramabai. Siddaram Karnik, an academic, who was researching on the life and work of
B. R. Ambedkar at the time in Dharwad, was incidentally cast to play him in the film.
Filming began on 27 March in
Dharwad
Dharwad (), also known as Dharwar, is a city located in the northwestern part of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of the Dharwad district of Karnataka and forms a contiguous urban area with the city of Hubballi. It was merged ...
, following which it continued in
Karwar
Karwar is a coastal City and the administrative headquarters of Uttara Kannada district, formerly part of the Bombay Presidency, located at the mouth of the Kali River (Karnataka), Kali river along the Konkan Coast in the present-day state of Ka ...
, the two places where Ramabai and
B. R. Ambedkar spent significant parts of their lives in, with the former having spent her final days in Dharwad. After a total of 30 days of filming, it completed by June 2015.
See also
*
Ramabai Bhimrao Ambedkar
Ramabai Bhimrao Ambedkar (7 February 1894 – 27 May 1935) was the wife of B. R. Ambedkar, who said her support was instrumental in helping him pursue his B. R. Ambedkar#Education, higher education and his true potential. She has been the subj ...
– a 2011 Marathi language film on the same subject
References
2016 films
Indian biographical films
2010s Kannada-language films
Cultural depictions of B. R. Ambedkar
Films about B. R. Ambedkar
2010s biographical films
{{2010s-Kannada-film-stub