Astu
Astu poster
Directed by	Sumitra Bhave Sunil Sukthankar
Written by	Sumitra Bhave
Screenplay by	Sumitra Bhave
Story by	Sumitra Bhave
Produced by	Sheelaa Rao Mohan Agashe
Starring	Mohan Agashe Iravati Harshe Amruta Subhash Milind Soman Devika Daftardar
Cinematography	Milind Jog
Edited by	Mohit Takalkar
Music by	Saket Kanetkar Dhananjay Kharwandikar
Release dates	July 2013 (2013-07) (Indian Film Festival Stuttgart) 15 July 2016 (2016-07-15)
Running time	123 minutes
Country	India
Language	Marathi

Astu: So Be It (or simplyAstu) is a 2015 IndianMarathi-language film directed by the duoSumitra Bhave and Sunil Suktankar, starringMohan Agashe,Iravati Harshe,Milind Soman, andAmruta Subhash. The film tells the story of Chakrapani Shastri, aSanskrit scholar who suffers fromAlzheimer's disease.

Dr. Chakrapani Shastri, fondly known as Appa, is a retired Sanskrit professor and a former director of theOriental Research Institute in Pune. Shastri currently lives with Ram, a young student, as his caretaker, and has been diagnosed with advancedAlzheimer's disease. One day, as Ram has to appear for his exams, Shastri's elder daughter Ira brings Shastri to her house. While driving back home, Ira stops at a shop, requesting Shastri to stay in the car. Shastri sees a passing elephant on the road. He becomes fascinated and with some help, gets himself out of the car and starts following the elephant through the lanes of the city. When Ira comes back and finds her father gone, she and her husband, Madhav, begin searching for him and report him missing.

As Shastri keeps following Laxmi the elephant, hermahout, Anta, tries to get Shastri to go home. However, Shastri does not remember anything and reaches the mahout's house, where he meets the man's wife, Channamma. She takes care of Shastri along with her newborn. Ira informs her sister Devika of their father's disappearance, but the latter blames Ira and suggests an old-age home for their father. The police trace the elephant's whereabouts and find Shastri, but accuse the mahout of kidnapping the old man. Shastri refuses to go back to Ira, wanting to stay with Channamma. Finally, they manage to convince the senior scholar to return home.

• Mohan Agashe as Dr. Chakrapani Shastri
• Iravati Harshe as Ira, Shastri's older daughter
• Amruta Subhash as Channamma
• Milind Soman as Madhav, Ira's husband
• Devika Daftardar as Rahi, Shastri's younger daughter
• Jyoti Subhash as Malti Kaku
• Nachiket Purnapatre as Anta, mahout

ActorMohan Agashe was approached with the idea of a short film that deals withAlzheimer's disease. Though he liked the project, he wasn't satisfied with the script and suggested improving it. He invited Sumitra Bhave to meet with the filmmaker, and she ended up turning it into a feature-length production. After shooting was completed, one of the co-producers backed out of post-production. Agashe contributed from his pension to complete the remaining work.^[1]

Though the film was completed in 2013, it did not find a distributor and was released throughcrowdfunding in 2016.^[2][3] It was originally released inPune in 2014 and later re-released to qualify for the Maharashtra state film subsidy, which requires the film to be released inten state districts.^[4] It was also screened at theNew York Film Festival (NYFF) and a special screening was organised at theHarvard University campus to raise awareness of problems suffered by the elderly due to lack of human interaction. A panel discussion was also held, with the participation of Mohan Agashe and professorsArthur Kleinman andDiana L. Eck.^[5]

The film was praised for its depiction of Alzheimer's disease and dementia, as well as the performances of the lead actors.Namrata Joshi ofThe Hindu wrote that, "though the film is about loss of memory, it's structured and built around a series of recollections" and mentioned that the film builds awareness of Alzheimer's disease but "does not slip into sermonizing, it remains sensitive, not sentimental".^[6] Mihir Bhanage ofThe Times of India wrote that the "splendid narration and direction, coupled with excellent performances, are a high point of this film".^[7]

The film won several awards upon release.

• Astu atIMDb

• 2013 films
• Films directed by Sumitra Bhave–Sunil Sukthankar
• Films featuring a Best Supporting Actress National Film Award–winning performance
• Films whose writer won the Best Dialogue National Film Award
• 2010s Marathi-language films

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