Sairat paints a heartbreaking picture of love in the time of caste

In 2013, Nagraj Manjule entered the cinematic universe and won audiences over with a fantastic, hard-hitting film, Fandry, which rightfully won him the Indira Gandhi prize for best first film of a director at the National Awards. I am relieved to report that he is no one-hit wonder. The Maharashtrian filmmaker continues to launch a scathing attack on India’s ugliest truth – the caste divide – in Sairat, a superb sophomore effort.

In Fandry (available on Netflix), the one-sided attraction has disastrous ramifications for the male protagonist and his family; in Sairat, Manjule turns his attention on the lovers. A sweet, straightforward romance blossoms in the scenic Bittergaon, a village in Solapur.

Parshya, a poor fisherman’s son, has fallen for Archie, who belongs to a higher caste family whose patriarch is a sugar baron-politician. The bullet-riding, tractor-driving, English-speaking, loudly dressed, proudly privileged Archie aka Archana is only happy to participate in what starts off as a staring contest.

She is the heroine who has been badly missed in Indian films – the one with the devil-may-care attitude, which sees her talk bluntly with men and be unapologetic about her flirtatious side.

The first half is as formulaic as it gets but boy is it a gooey delight. The love story unfolds, too often in slo-mo, in sugarcane fields, on a swing set against a lake, historical sight and even on top of a tree, with sporadic jigs with goofy friends, sweet courtship moments, fantastic songs and inane chats over phone.

It captures the high of first love with some beautifully scripted moments. It has been a while that I watched the first half of a film with a wide smile on my face.

If in the first 90 minutes Manjule shows viewers the bright, fluorescent hues that exist in the world, in the remaining he wants you to see the darker shades of life, hard as it may be.

The desserts and cocktails make way for the heavier main course. The picturesque, fairy tale world vanishes, and harsh reality strikes. "Movies and real life are totally different," says a character to Parshya. Manjule is preparing his viewers for what awaits.

Archie and Parshya are forced to run away and move to a new state. It’s here that Sairat soars to new heights as Manjule shows how the couple struggle, especially the wealthier Archie, to adapt to new surroundings. There are regrets, doubts, squabbles, complaints.

There is a poignant scene which captures the lowest of the lows in the couple’s relationship.

Manjule throws in a few lighter aspects but he delivers them in modicum because you know reality bites, truth hurts and love wanes and then re-emerges stronger. Will their love be strong enough to conquer it all? And even if it is, is it enough in this bitterly divided world?

With Sairat, Nagraj Manjule has accomplished an impressive feat. He has made a film with a big banner, Zee Studios, which appeases both the producers and viewers as well as meet his own creative needs. He has got Ajay-Atul, the biggest music directors of the Marathi film industry, to compose four tracks, all of which he uses in the first half because that’s where they really belong.

He has made it with two newcomers in Rinku Rajguru and Akash Thosar, who play Archie and Parshya respectively. They keep viewers hooked to the occasionally protracted journey of these star-crossed lovers.

Rajguru won a Special Jury award for her performance but she easily deserved the best actress prize as she demonstrates Archie’s changing emotions in her journey from a village to a city, from riches to rags, from a pampered child to a working woman.

The ending, which Manjule builds up so well with a black comedy sequence, will be talked about not just after you have left the cinemas but even when you have settled into your living room.

Sairat won’t leave your consciousness. The lull of the climax will make you have a long, heated discussion on the perils of the caste system. And that’s one of the many accomplishments of Sairat.