Sachin Kundalkar Explained

Sachin Kundalkar
Occupation:Film director, screenplay writer
Nationality:Indian

Sachin Kundalkar or Sacin Kuṇḍalakar is an Indian film director[1] and screenplay writer who mostly works in Marathi cinema. He is known for his directorial works of Nirop (2007) and Gandha (2009). He has also written for the theatre.[2] He is recipient of two National Film Awards, as a director for Nirop and as a screenwriter for Gandha, the first Marathi film to win Best Screenplay award since the category's institution in 1967.

Career

Theatre and other works

Kundalkar, who had had an interest in film making since his school days, had approached director Ashutosh Gowarikar for assistance. But the director asked him to come back after finishing his education.[3] While still a student, he assisted Sumitra Bhave and Sunil Sukhthankar in their first film together, Doghi (1995). The film was adjudged as the Best Film on Other Social Issues at the 43rd National Film Awards.[4] He also assisted in other films including Zindagi Zindabad, Bhaais Barabar and Dahavi Fha.[5] After completing his degree in Commerce, Kundalkar later on enrolled at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII).[3] With a scholarship from the French Government, he then attended La Fémis, Paris, and made a short film, One Cafe Please.[5] [6]

Kundalkar directed short films and worked in theatre before entering the mainstream cinema. His first short film, Out of the Box, was made while he was still a student at FTII. His 2005 documentary short film The Bath, starring Rajat Kapoor, is based on an explicit gay theme.[7] The film won 2nd prize in the Short Fiction category presented by the Indian Documentary Producers' Association (IDPA) for "its sensitive depiction of issues of male sexuality"[8] and was also screened at the 30th San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival.[9] Kundalkar has also portrayed homosexual characters in his Marathi plays Chotyasha Suteet (literally meaning In the Short Break) and Poornaviram (literally meaning Fullstop). He went on to write Fridge Madhe Thevlela Prem and Chandralok Complex. All four plays were directed by Mohit Takalkar.[10] These plays have also been staged in Hindi and English.[11] Chotyasha Suteet has been staged as On Vacation for English audiences.[12] [13]

Feature films

Kundalkar released his first feature film, Restaurant, in 2006. Featuring Sonali Kulkarni in the lead role, the film screened at the 4th Goa Marathi Film Festival,[14] 12th International Film Festival of Kerala,[15] 8th Mumbai Film Festival[16] and was also appreciated in other film festivals.[17] His second directorial film, Nirop, presented the unsurfaced feelings of a musician in his last days in his hometown in Konkan before he moves to France. The film was adjudged as Best Feature Film in Marathi at the 55th National Film Awards for being "an original offbeat film that gives a fresh perspective of the internal landscapes of the human mind."[18] He shared this award with the producer of the film, Aparna Dharmadhikari. The film stars Sameer Dharmadhikari and Devika Daftardar in the lead roles.[19] Kundalkar also wrote the script of this film.

His 2009 film Gandha is a blend of three different stories connected by the common factor of the human sense of smell. The stories were written by Kundalkar and his mother Archana Kundalkar. The film won the Best Screenplay Award at the 56th National Film Awards for "its remarkable integration of three different plots using the sense of smell as a liet motif to focus sensitively on human relationships". Gandha became the first Marathi film to win this award after the category's institution in 1967.[20] The film was screened at the 8th Third Eye Asian Film Festival.[21]

Kundalkar's Bollywood directorial debut, Aiyyaa, starring Rani Mukherjee and Prithviraj in lead roles released in 2012. The film was produced by Anurag Kashyap and Viacom 18.[22]

In 2022, he directed Marathi relationship drama film Pondicherry, which was entirely shot on iPhone with only 15 crew members.[23] Most recently, Kundalkar's 2013 novel Cobalt Blue was adapted into a feature film of the same name. It was released on Netflix in 2022.[24]

Filmography

Films! Year !! Film !! Language !! Notes
2000 Out of the Box Short film
2004 Shubra Kaahi Marathi Short film
2005 The Bath Documentary film
2006 Restaurant[25] Marathi Writer-Director
2007 Nirop Marathi Writer-Director
2009 Gandha Marathi Writer-Director
2012 Aiyyaa HindiWriter-Director
2014 Happy Journey Marathi Writer-Director
2015 Rajwade and Sons Marathi Writer-Director
2016 Vazandar Marathi Writer-Director[26]
2017 Gulabjaam Marathi Writer-Director[27]
2022PondicherryMarathiWriter-Director
Cobalt Blue Hindi Writer-Director
Plays! Title !! Language !! Role(s)
Dreams of Taleem English Writer[28]
Chotyasha Suteet Marathi Writer-Director
Poornaviram Marathi Writer-Director

Awards

National Film Awards
Others

Publications

At the age of 22, Kundalkar published his first novel, Cobalt Blue. The novel, which he started when he was 20, concerns a brother and a sister from a traditional Marathi family falling in love with the same man.[30] His other publications are:

He has also written articles for the Marathi newspaper Sakal.[34]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Feels Like Ishq star Neeraj Madhav: 'Unlike Bollywood, Malayalam cinema doesn't idolise romance as much' . . 23 July 2021.
  2. Web site: Theatre practices . Saumya Ancheri . 4 April 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20101128205341/http://timeoutmumbai.net/theatre/theatre_details.asp?code=228&source=1 . 28 November 2010 . dmy-all .
  3. News: Director's Choice. Indian Express. 4 March 2010. Kulkarni, Pranav. 20 April 2012.
  4. Web site: 43rd National Film Awards. Directorate of Film Festivals. 20 April 2012.
  5. News: आउट ऑफ बॉक्‍स (फास्ट ट्रॅक). Mahesh Bardapurkar. 4 March 2012. Sakal. Marathi. 11 September 2012.
  6. News: the Influentials. 16 January 2010. Daily News and Analysis. 11 September 2012.
  7. News: Resurgence of sorts . . 31 January 2011 . Maithili Rao . 16 May 2012.
  8. Web site: Independent Documentaries Awards . Indian Documentary Producers' Association . 20 April 2012 . 21 June 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130621062754/http://www.idpaindia.org/ind_docu/ind_idpa_award_winners.htm . dead .
  9. News: Short takes . . David Lamble . 22 June 2006 . 16 May 2012.
  10. News: Vibrant tradition . 5 August 2008 . Gokhale, Shanta . . 28 August 2010.
  11. News: But homosexuality is not taboo . 5 August 2008 . Vishakha Avachat . . 11 September 2012.
  12. Web site: On Vacation – Play . 11 September 2012.
  13. Web site: On Vacation – Play by Sutradhar . 11 September 2012.
  14. News: Vikram Gokhale will open film fest on June 3 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110616223736/http://www.hindu.com/2011/05/30/stories/2011053055140200.htm . dead . 16 June 2011 . Panji . . 30 May 2011 . 11 September 2012.
  15. Web site: 12th IFFK . Chalchitra Academy . 11 September 2012.
  16. Web site: Archives 2006 . 11 September 2012.
  17. News: Reel Relations . . Rutuja Wakankar . 11 March 2008 . 11 September 2012.
  18. Web site: 55th National Film Awards . Directorate of Film Festivals. 26 March 2012.
  19. News: National award for second film, 'Nirop' director thrilled . 8 September 2009 . Pune . . 4 April 2012.
  20. Web site: 56th National Film Awards . Directorate of Film Festivals. 27 March 2012.
  21. News: An eye for cinema . Blessy Augustine . 7 December 2009 . . 11 September 2012.
  22. Web site: Rani Mukerjee signs Anurag Kashyap's next . . 5 October 2011 . 4 April 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120623060611/http://www.ndtv.com/article/bollywood/rani-mukerjee-signs-anurag-kashyaps-next-138638 . 23 June 2012 . dmy-all .
  23. Web site: Zore . Suyog . Pondicherry review: This melancholic yet charming film is all heart . https://web.archive.org/web/20220225033038/https://www.cinestaan.com/reviews/pondicherry-38075 . live . 25 February 2022 . 2023-07-07 . Cinestaan.
  24. Web site: Ramnath . Nandini . ‘Cobalt Blue’ review: A sexual awakening in primary colours . 2022-06-13 . Scroll.in . en-US.
  25. Book: K. Moti Gokulsing. Wimal Dissanayake. Routledge Handbook of Indian Cinemas. 4 May 2013. 17 April 2013. Routledge. 978-1-136-77284-9. 77–.
  26. Web site: Looking ahead 2016: Feast for the eyes.
  27. Web site: Sonali Kulkarni and Siddharth Chandekar Together for Sachin Kundalkar Directorial 'Gulabjaam' !. 2 April 2017.
  28. News: The Time Out-Mint Planner . 25 March 2010 . . 11 September 2012.
  29. Web site: Gandha Marathi . Sonali Kulkarni . Sonali Kulkarni . 24 March 2012 . 21 April 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120421153057/http://www.sonalikulkarni.org/latest.htm . dead .
  30. News: Best Young Writers . Premankur . Biswas . Sushant . Kulkarni . Nandini . Nair . Ashutosh . Bhardwaj . 17 July 2011 . Indian Express . 11 September 2012.
  31. Web site: छोट्याश्या सुट्टीत . Marathi . 11 September 2012.
  32. Web site: फ्रिजमध्ये ठेवलेलं प्रेम पूर्णविराम . Marathi . 11 September 2012.
  33. News: फ्रिजमध्ये ठेवलेलं प्रेम पूर्णविराम . Marathi . Sakal . 11 September 2012.
  34. News: टक...टक... . Sakal . 26 June 2011 . Kundalkar, Sachin . Marathi . 11 September 2012.