Astu Explained

Astu
Native Name:
Director:
Producer:
Screenplay:Sumitra Bhave
Story:Sumitra Bhave
Starring:
Music:
  • Saket Kanetkar
  • Dhananjay Kharwandikar
Cinematography:Milind Jog
Editing:Mohit Takalkar
Distributors:-->
Runtime:123 minutes
Production Companies:-->
Country:India
Language:Marathi

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, Iravati Harshe, Milind Soman, and Amruta Subhash. The film tells the story of Chakrapani Shastri, a Sanskrit 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, 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

Production

Actor Mohan Agashe 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.[1]

Release and reception

Though the film was completed in 2013, it did not find a distributor and was released through crowdfunding in 2016.[2] [3] It was originally released in Pune 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.[4] It was also screened at the New York Film Festival (NYFF) and a special screening was organised at the Harvard University 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 and Diana L. Eck.[5]

The film was praised for its depiction of Alzheimer's disease and dementia, as well as the performances of the lead actors. Namrata Joshi 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".[6] 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".[7]

Awards

The film won several awards upon release.

YearAwardCategoryRecipient(s) and nominee(s)Result
201311th Indian Film Festival StuttgartAudience Award for Best FilmAstu[8]
20132nd Delhi International Film FestivalBest Regional FilmAstu[9]
201361st National Film AwardsBest DialogueSumitra Bhave[10]
201361st National Film AwardsBest Supporting ActressAmruta Subhash
2013Kolhapur International Film FestivalAudience Award for Best FilmAstu
2013Kolhapur International Film FestivalBest FilmAstu[11]
2013Kolhapur International Film FestivalBest DirectionSumitra Bhave and Sunil Sukthankar
2013Kolhapur International Film FestivalBest ScreenplaySumitra Bhave
2014Marathi International Cinema and Theatre Awards (MICTA)Best FilmAstu[12]
2014Marathi International Cinema and Theatre AwardsBest DirectionSumitra Bhave and Sunil Sukthankar
2014Marathi International Cinema and Theatre AwardsBest ActorMohan Agashe
2014Marathi International Cinema and Theatre AwardsBest ActressIravati Harshe
2014Marathi International Cinema and Theatre AwardsActress in Supporting RoleAmruta Subhash
2014Marathi International Cinema and Theatre AwardsBest Art DirectionSumitra Bhave and Santosh Sankhad
2014Marathi International Cinema and Theatre AwardsBest DialoguesSumitra Bhave
2014Marathi International Cinema and Theatre AwardsBest ScreenplaySumitra Bhave
2014Marathi International Cinema and Theatre AwardsBest StorySumitra Bhave
2014Marathi International Cinema and Theatre AwardsBest SoundPramod Thomas
201414th New York Indian Film FestivalBest FilmAstu[13]
201414th New York Indian Film FestivalBest ActorMohan Agashe
201414th New York Indian Film FestivalBest ActressIravati Harshe
20151st Filmfare Marathi AwardsCritics' Best Actor in a Leading Role (Male)Mohan Agashe[14]
20151st Filmfare Marathi AwardsBest Actor in a Leading Role (Male)Mohan Agashe
20151st Filmfare Marathi AwardsBest Actor in a Leading Role (Female)Iravati Harshe
20151st Filmfare Marathi AwardsBest Actor in a Supporting Role (Female)Amruta Subhash
20151st Filmfare Marathi AwardsBest Background ScoreSaket Kanitkar

Notes and References

  1. News: 'Astu', a state of acceptance. The Hindu. 29 September 2015. 27 July 2016. Dundoo, Sangeetha Devi.
  2. Web site: Astu: So Be It: A hard-hitting Film on Value of Relationships needs your support for theatrical release! By: Sheelaa Rao. Catapooolt. 4 May 2017.
  3. News: चित्ररंग: कोहमपर्यंत नेणारा प्रवास. Loksatta. Marathi. 17 July 2016. 27 July 2016. Raikwar, Reshma.
  4. News: Astu: So Be It. Mid-Day. 17 July 2016. 4 May 2017. Shedde, Meenakshi.
  5. Web site: Harvard watches Marathi film on Alzheimer's . Meenakshi Rohatgil . The Times of India . 6 June 2015 . 19 June 2017.
  6. News: Astu: Inside a beautiful mind. The Hindu. 15 July 2016. 27 July 2016. Joshi, Namrata.
  7. News: Astu Movie Review. The Times of India. 18 July 2016. 27 July 2016. Bhanage, Mihir.
  8. Web site: Gewinner des 11. Indischen Filmfestivals Stuttgart. German. Winner of the 11th Indian Film Festival Stuttgart. 13 January 2017. Indian Film Festival Stuttgart. https://web.archive.org/web/20170908154410/http://www.11.indisches-filmfestival.de/de/wettbewerb/gewinner/. 8 September 2017. dead.
  9. Web site: 12th Pune International Film Festival. Pune International Film Festival. 16 January 2017. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20140404151855/http://piffindia.com/pdf/3-Marathi%20Competition.pdf. 4 April 2014.
  10. Web site: 61st National Film Awards. Directorate of Film Festivals. 16 April 2014. 16 April 2014. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20140416181218/http://www.dff.nic.in/List%20of%20Awards.pdf. 16 April 2014.
  11. Web site: Gauurikaa films@ASTUsobeit: ASTU SO BE IT Sweeps awards. 15 January 2017. 1 January 2014. Twitter.
  12. Web site: Nominations for MICTA films, theatre awards. 7 September 2014. 15 January 2017. Rangmarathi. 11 January 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200111182654/http://rangmarathi.com/nominations-for-micta-films-theatre-awards/. dead.
  13. Web site: New York Indian Film Festival 2014. 10 May 2014. 13 January 2017. New York Indian Film Festival.
  14. Web site: Nominations for Ajeenkya DY Patil Filmfare Awards (Marathi). 16 November 2015. 13 January 2017. Filmfare.

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