SUMITRA BHAVE : A Parallel Journey

This documentary unfolds the life journey of legendary Indian filmmaker Sumitra Bhave through her

perception about film medium, roots of values, and principles on which her kingdom was built.

The impact she has portrayed on her disciples and colleagues who are profoundly upholding her

marvelous teachings. This documentary will testify to her efforts in the parallel cinema movement she had

carried on through her meticulous work in the Marathi Film Industry which has been acknowledged by Girish

Kasaravalli (Indian filmmaker in Kannada films), N. Manu Chakravarthy (Professor and scholar of

culture, literacy, and film criticism).

Sumitra Bhave was a social scientist-researcher who turned to filmmaking in her 40s, with the need

to communicate with illiterate women for their betterment. Sumitra Bhave and Sunil Sukthankar,

her associate as a co-director, have directed 16 feature films, more than 70 short films, 3 TV serials

and 5 telefilms, all of which were written by Sumitra Bhave. Her latest film Dithee was solely

directed by her. Her films portrayed the socio-political and economic conditions of Indian society in

rural as well as urban milieu. The films have been screened right from the grassroots level of rural

parts to the international platforms in all six continents.

This documentary celebrates an internationally acclaimed Indian filmmaker who has been awarded

6 International awards, 11 National awards including Golden Lotus for the film Kaasav, and more

than 45 State level awards. Sumitra Bhave is an auteur of Indian cinema as her work of excellence

stretches to story, screenplay, lyrics, art- direction, costumes, and direction. These are glimpses of

mesmerizing parallel journey of Sumitra Bhave through her devotional work in the field of cinema

which unravels tied-up complexities of humans, nature, and society.

The Film will be followed by a conversation with the filmmaker and Dr. Omkar Bhatkar