Phule

Phule is not just a movie - it's an eye-opener. Every woman in India must watch this film to truly understand the harsh reality of where we come from, and what could have been if visionaries like Jyotirao and Savitribai Phule hadn't fought relentlessly for women's education.

The film sheds light on the brutal oppression faced by women, regardless of their caste - even Brahmin women - and how deeply entrenched the system was in denying them the basic right to education. Had Phule not challenged the orthodoxy and dared to fight against the system, the lives of Indian women today could have been drastically different - far worse and far more suppressed.

Phule serves as a stark reminder that rights like education, dignity, and equality were hard-won, not granted easily. It's a warning too - if women today do not stay vigilant and assert their rights, there is always the danger of slipping back into the same dark times, where, under the guise of religion and tradition, women's freedoms could again be curtailed.

The right to life, liberty, and education is not just for men - women must recognise this and fight to protect it. Watch Phule not just as a movie, but as a call to action.

And this movie beautifully portrays its importance. This movie had a certain feel to it that made me want to watch it, it might be because of the time period, the revolutionaries or the cause, but there was a feeling inside me that I just might love the film. Now, after having watched the film, I can safely say that I absolutely loved it!

Right from the start, we are introduced to the wailings of the oppressed society, and to a man and a woman who wanted to relieve them of their woes. The way through which their struggles and efforts are portrayed to the audience, it all feels relatable and makes us reflect on the difficulties that the lower castes must have felt due to the arbitrary norms imposed upon them. Though less spread, these social evils still persist in our society.

I will start with the negatives first as this would help in clearing out the clutter before delving into the core goodness and importance of the film. Now, these flaws aren't dealbreakers by any means but I thought that I might mention them nonetheless.

1. At the start of the film (for about 15-20 minutes), there are many set pieces and cuts and the characters moving from one place to another place, at a rapid pace. This is bound to take you out of the experience for the time being.

2. A kind of soap opera-like music implementation, where every set piece begins with a transition-like music.

3. Patralekhaa's acting and dialogue delivery, which fall short of the impact to be achieved for some brief moments during this timeframe.

4. Then, a slight pacing problem. From the start, things rocket off but as you cross the 15-20 minute mark (again), things start slowing down, and then the film suddenly gets into a place where almost exactly appropriate attention is given to each of the situations arising from the plot. There are a few hiccups here and there, where the viewer would have felt that certain moments should have lingered for longer, but it never gets jarring. At the end, you come to the conclusion that the runtime couldn't have been increased by much and that 2h 9m was sufficient.

5. One thing that I also must add is that some people might find this film to hold your hand (for brief moments) in some places where the characters state the obvious or explain something for the audience to understand.

These were the problems which I think slightly affected the overall experience, and frankly, this is an achievement in itself. For a film that set out to achieve so much as to portray Jyotiba and Savitribai's life on the big screen in just about 2 hours, these can be considered just some hiccups rather than glaring cons.

Now, that's all the negatives, time for the positives that make this movie such a treat to watch.

1. Let's start with the sets and costumes. This has to be among the top designs I have ever seen in movies. It all feels so authentic which ultimately makes the viewer extremely engrossed in their world and form a bond with it.

2. This authenticity is further added to by the dialogues. They are genuinely one of the best written dialogues that I have heard in a Hindi movie since the past few years. The impact lines are actually hard-hitting or hoot-worthy by themselves, without any dependence on the background music (which we have seen in so many movies). The emotions of the characters are so well-reflected by the dialogues while still adhering to the vocabulary of those times.

3. This brings me to the screenplay, the way characters interact, seem very responsive and natural i.e. It doesn't feel like that they are following a set of directions rather they are actively discussing things or just taking in the moments. This sort of realism just makes the film that much more relatable.

4. The solid acting of the whole cast just helps bind these technicalities together so well that you start feeling for each and every bit of their worries and wish for their alleviation.

5. The background score and the songs help this movie tap into the core of the viewers' emotions as it conveys what words cannot, and that too, beautifully.

6. The stew of emotions (joy, sadness, anger, proud, etc.) that it brews in you are its biggest strengths but they cannot be reciprocated in such a way that would do justice to the film.

After coming out of the theatre, I was left with a sense of guilt for the oppressions that the people of the lower castes had to face in their lives, how much Jyotiba Phule and his wife and those associated with him had to endure for such a cause, and how some of us still keep on encouraging that kind of an inhuman behaviour. It made me reflect deeply on today's society's treatment of women and the downtrodden, I felt apologetic for their hardships due to a system that was created against them. It was a truly humbling experience. The film beautifully captured its resolution (or at least an effort toward it) and provided the viewers the inspiration and motivation to carry on Phule's legacy. This is a film that should be watched by everyone as it imparts the idea of humanity and how we are all in this together, ignoring the boundaries of arbitrary systems created by those who deprived the downtrodden of their freedom for their own benefit.

Book My Show is doing injustice to the audience by not making the film made on Mahatma Phool available for booking. The film is well made but I am angry with the director because the changes he has made make it seem as if the whole context has changed. But still his effort to make this film is commendable. Thanks to the entire team of Phool for bringing Mahatma Phool on screen once again. Whatever changes were made in this film, it would not have hurt any Brahmin community, but it is not good to change the history of our Mahatma's message to please someone.

But many cinema halls did not show this, which clearly shows how much they are affected by the deeds of their ancestors.

Watching this film, I got thrilled. It was like we are in that era and experiencing those things.

It is real history, we can learn from this movie that we don't have to repeat history again.

We should concentrate on wellbeing of our society, than the Jati-Dharma controversy.

The actor done his best, the direction of the film is also stay you seated.

This movie shows the real struggle of the great people at that era.

I think everyone should watch this movie with their family. There was not any hate content related to perticular caste because that caste itself was helping to Mahatma Jyotiba phule.

I just watched Phule and honestly, I'm surprised how so many bad reviews have piled up against it. It doesn't feel organic. Looks like there's a campaign going on.

I went to the theatre pulled by the lure of Pratik Gandhi, Anant Mahadevan, and the legend of Jyotiba Phule. But when I came out, it was Savitribai (Patralekha) who stayed with me the most. What a performance. Strong, tender, fierce - everything Savitribai deserved.

Phule is a beautiful, honest telling of Jyotiba and Savitribai Phule's lives - their struggles, the amount of hate they had to eat just to do something as simple and pure as educating girls and the so-called 'lower castes'. Watching it, you realise how much of the modern, educated India we are proud of, actually rests on the shoulders of these two.

Yeah, I heard some groups forced the makers to tone down a few words. But even then, the message shines through, loud and unapologetic. It's a well-directed, splendidly-acted film. Very real.

The practices, the tensions, the way society was wired back then - I don't think I've seen that period captured this authentically before.

In fact, during the film, my mother kept telling me little things - like how 'shudra shadows' were a real thing, how zamindars thought of themselves as gods.

The theatre was packed for an evening show, and when the movie ended, there was applause. Some guys even started chanting "Jai Phule!" My mother said it delivered its message way better than Chhaava did.

And then there's Pratik Gandhi. Man has a hypnotic presence. There's a scene - a close-up - where Phule looks straight into the camera and says: "India is an emotional country. It's easy to divide us on religion and caste. And this won't stop. People will keep trying." You could hear a pin drop in the hall. It felt like he wasn't just warning people of that time - he was warning us.

Which is why I'm honestly shocked to see some people (like The Wire) call this a 'dull' or 'neutered' biopic. Were we watching the same film?

For me, Phule sits right next to OMG 2 - both using education as a weapon for rediscovering equality.

The film is clever too - it shows how Phule could see through the British agenda of using English education to convert Hindus to Christianity. He understood it, but still used English education to arm the oppressed, to build a better future. He didn't throw the baby out with the bathwater. He was smart about it.

First half went by so fast, my mum asked me, "Interval already?" That's how engaging it was.

More than anything, Phule planted something in me - a want to read more about the Satyashodhak Samaj, about the man who lit the torch that later Babasaheb Ambedkar carried forward.

At a time when students like Rohith Vemula are still being crushed for their caste, when religious extremists are still poisoning minds, when tensions between communities are being deliberately stoked - a film like Phule becomes necessary.

There's a brilliant scene where religious leaders accuse Phule of westernising society, and he simply says - "If your religion can give your children the power to become doctors and engineers, go ahead. Otherwise, let them learn." Chills.

It's a rare feeling when a movie feels like a personal win. For me, Phule did. And I'm glad I watched it.