After vowing audiences Internationally, director Gajendra Ahire’s Marathi film, The Silence featuring Nagraj Manjule, Anjali Patil & Raghubir Yadav produced by SMR films all set to be released In India on 6th Oct, 2017 The Silence will be released all over India with English subtitles, Come 6th Oct, 2017 and Indian audiences will finally get to watch director Gajendra Ahire’s The Silence, a powerful drama featuring Nagraj Manjule (Sairat & Fandry fame), Anjali Patil (With You Or Without You – Mirzya – Chakravyuh fame), Kadambari Kadam (Kshanbhar Vishranti & Aghaat fame), Mugdha Chaphekar (small screen serial Dharti Ka Veer Yoddha Prithviraj Chauhan fame), Vedashree Mahajan & Raghubir Yadav (Lagaan – Piku – Peepli Live fame) in pivotal roles.
The Silence is a Marathi film with English subtitles and has also been made in Hindi. The Silence which won laurels at several International Film Festivals is now all set for a theatrical release. Its list of awards include the “Best Child Actor” award (for Vedashree Mahajan) at the 16th New York Indian Film Festival, “The German Star Of India” (for Gajendra Ahire) at the Indian Film Festival of Stuttgart 2015, “Best Screenplay” & “Best Debut Actress” award (for Anjali Patil) at the Karrm Filmfare Marathi Awards 2016 & “Best Child Actress” award for (for Vedashree Mahajan) & “Best Debut Actress” award (For Anjali Patil) at the Maharashtra State Awards 2016.
The Marathi version of the film The Silence will be released on 6th Oct, 2017 in cinemas across Maharashtra with other states & the Hindi version following suit soon.
The Silence was also an official selection at The International Film Festival of India (IFFI) Goa (in Indian Panorama) 2015, Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival 2015, Bengaluru International Film Festival 2016 (BIFFES) & Imagine India International Film Festival Spain 2016.
The Silence produced by SMR Films & directed by Gajendra Ahire (of Postcard & Touring Talkies fame) is based on a true story. The narrative of The Silence revolves around a little girl Chinni who’s grown up in a rural area. Circumstances force Chinni’s father to send her to her uncle in a nearby town and then life takes a drastic & unexpected turn.
Blending the past & the present and with a forceful drama, The Silence tackles the crucial & the taboo topic of sexual assault & its aftermath, thereby tracing the recurring question of the responsibility or the silence.
The story & the screenplay of The Silence is written by Ashwini Sidwani and features music by Indian Ocean (of Black Friday & Masaan fame). Besides writing the story & the screenplay, Ashwini Sidwani has also produced the film along with Arpan Bhukhanwala and is the debut production of their banner SMR Films. The story idea of The Silence emerged when Ashwini Sidwani met a lawyer named Pooja Khote who had fought the case of the real life victim who inspired the film.
Ashwini Sidwani avers, “I was writing a TV show on domestic violence called Nyaay and that’s when I got to know about this case and wrote a script on it. We felt only the format of the film can do justice to this story. Films that deal with the theme of rape rarely focus on the victim’s trauma & the stigma that gets attached with them. While writing the script, I visited asylums, hospitals, jails et al to understand the psyche of a rapist and what a victim undergoes. I realized that the perpetrators are as normal as any other individual. Rape does not have anything to do with sex or lust. It is about opportunity & power.”
Producer Apan Bhukhanwala avers, “Rapists are normal people. They do not wear flashy clothes and do not have a physically overpowering presence. In most cases, we have seen that rapists are very normal people. And in such cases, not just the victims, their families also go through difficulties. Besides facing the trauma, the victims often end up blaming themselves, their clothes or the fact that they venture out at odd hours.”
Director Gajendra Ahire avers, “The movie challenges the notion that the victim is at fault. It’s not her fault that she goes out in darkness to answer nature’s call and gets assaulted. It’s not her fault she has to use the crowded public transport and it’s certainly not her fault when her father or her uncle takes advantage of her.”
Director Nagraj Manjule who is known for directing the critically & the commercially acclaimed Fandry & Sairat appears in a prominent role in the movie. The film also marks the Marathi debut of National Award winning actress Anjali Patil.
Nagraj Manjule avers, “Gajendra Ahire ji had narrated the script to me and I found it extremely powerful. Moreover it also gave me an opportunity to work with some the fantastic actors like Anjali Patil & Raghubir Yadav. This coupled with my role which I thought was very interesting motivated my decision to act in the film.”
