Sthal, a movie much anticipated by Marathi women, delves into the tradition of arranged marriage in rural Maharashtra
The story is centred around the numerous meeting-the-guy events throughout the film and how it plays out in a woman’s life
A living room with a stool strategically placed in the middle. This frame from the movie Sthal (A Match) needs no translation to most women in the country, even if you haven’t sat on one yourself. The movie is centred around the character of Savita Wandhare, whose life is derailed when her parents begin the kande-pohe programme—aka meeting the girl for marriage—for her, that year.
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The groom-to-be is sitting at the other end of the living room, flanked by his friends as well as other male family members forming a semi-circle around the young UPSC aspirant, who is giving one of the important examinations of her life. This question paper consists of: “What’s your name? What’s your mama’s (maternal uncle) name? What’s your height? What are your likes and dislikes?”
The lightness and humour around such important, and often tough, events in one’s life is well-preserved
The female lead, Nandini Chitke (Savita), tells us, “I have never been at the receiving end of one of these situations in real-life but I have witnessed them happening to other women, to women I know.” Speaking to us over the phone from Nagpur, she adds, “We had workshopped the scene, but when I actually shot it I felt so many things at once as men sat there and passed their judgement—even though my brain knew it was all make-believe. I know the situation has improved and it isn’t this way everywhere any more, but the feeling of being brought out for everyone to look and pass an opinion on? I don’t know how women do it.”
The movie is written and directed by Jayant Digambar Somalkar and produced by Dhun Productions, and is highly anticipated among Marathi-speaking audiences, especially women. Marathi cinema is always known to have women-centric offerings, and Sthal doesn’t disappoint. The two-hour movie has already won accolades on the festival circuit and saw its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September of 2023.
What seems to stand out for us is the fact that Chitke, whose performance is exemplary, to say the least, has had no formal training as an actor and walked into the audition almost without a second thought. “When I saw others I realised how unprepared I was. People had prepared monologues. I took sir’s (Somalkar) number and asked him if I could do another audition. I went for my second audition, which was at Chandrapur, with my elder brother Vishal. He was insistent that I try my hand again—he is the reason I have what I have today,” she says. “It was during the second audition that I realised just how big a chance this was. The journey from the audition room’s door to the stage is something I will never forget. I was nervous, but the closer I got to the stage, the more my resolve grew to bag the role,” she adds.
Jayant Somalkar, Director
A few days after the audition, Chitke was informed that Savita was hers, to make her own, and the 22-day shooting was to commence in early 2023. “It happened quite quickly, I auditioned at the end of 2022 and the movie was released in late 2023,” says Chitke. The actress has been told by women who have seen the movie that they see themselves in her, “So many women tell me they can relate to the plight of Savita. They talk about the humiliation and the sacrifices they have to make. It was heartbreaking to hear Savita’s story told over and over—but with the theatre release and the amplified reach, a true impact will be made,”
she adds.
The movie’s title track—Pahune Yet Aahe Pori—has become a silent hit in rural Maharashtra including with Chitke’s two-year-old niece as well, the freshly minted actor tells us. Even though the subject matter might seem serious, it is important to note that the movie is also a laugh riot. There is hardly a dull moment and even if heartbreak might be the mainstay of a certain scene, humour is always lurking in the corner. For the screen Somalkar has managed to combine native smartness and Vidarbha’s unique blend of humour that it is a must to be acquainted with, at least once.
Chitke, though, sounds like most actors, male or female, before their first feature film’s release—nervous and cautiously optimistic. “I hope people like it,” she says. When we ask if she is going to make acting her career, the unacknowledged fickleness of the industry seeps into her answer, “I am studying for my banking exam entrance right now. So I will not give up my studies—but I will wait to make any decision about acting,” she adds. Chitke feels like she knows she is on the brink of something big in her life and doesn’t want to jinx it. We ask if she would do a typical Marathi pot-boiler. “Of course, if I get the chance—why not?” she giggles.
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