Sachin Kundalkar | |
|---|---|
 Kundalkar in 2021 | |
| Occupation(s) | Film director,screenplay writer |
Sachin Kundalkar orSacin Kuṇḍalakar is an Indian film director[1] and screenplay writer who mostly works inMarathi cinema. He is known for his directorial works ofNirop (2007) andGandha (2009). He has also written for the theatre.[2] He is recipient of twoNational Film Awards, as a director forNirop and as a screenwriter forGandha, the first Marathi film to winBest Screenplay award since the category's institution in 1967.
Kundalkar, who had had an interest in film making since his school days, had approached directorAshutosh Gowarikar for assistance. But the director asked him to come back after finishing his education.[3] While still a student, he assistedSumitra Bhave and Sunil Sukhthankar in their first film together,Doghi (1995). The film was adjudged as theBest Film on Other Social Issues at the43rd National Film Awards.[4] He also assisted in other films includingZindagi Zindabad,Bhaais Barabar andDahavi Fha.[5] After completing his degree in commerce, Kundalkar later on enrolled at theFilm and Television Institute of India (FTII).[3] With a scholarship from the French Government, he then attendedLa Fémis, Paris, and made a short film,One Cafe Please.[5][6]
Kundalkar directed short films and worked in theatre before entering the mainstream cinema. His first short film,Out of the Box, was made while he was still a student at FTII. His 2005 documentary short filmThe Bath, starringRajat Kapoor, is based on an explicit gay theme.[7] The film won 2nd prize in the Short Fiction category presented by the Indian Documentary Producers' Association (IDPA) for "its sensitive depiction of issues of male sexuality"[8] and was also screened at the30th San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival.[9] Kundalkar has also portrayed homosexual characters in his Marathi playsChotyasha Suteet (literally meaningIn the Short Break) andPoornaviram (literally meaningFullstop). He went on to writeFridge Madhe Thevlela Prem andChandralok Complex. All four plays were directed byMohit Takalkar.[10] These plays have also been staged in Hindi and English.[11]Chotyasha Suteet has been staged asOn Vacation for English audiences.[12][13]
Kundalkar released his first feature film,Restaurant, in 2006. FeaturingSonali Kulkarni in the lead role, the film screened at the 4th Goa Marathi Film Festival,[14] 12th International Film Festival of Kerala,[15] 8th Mumbai Film Festival[16] and was also appreciated in other film festivals.[17] His second directorial film,Nirop, presented the unsurfaced feelings of a musician in his last days in his hometown inKonkan before he moves to France. The film was adjudged asBest Feature Film in Marathi at the55th National Film Awards for being "an original offbeat film that gives a fresh perspective of the internal landscapes of the human mind."[18] He shared this award with the producer of the film, Aparna Dharmadhikari. The film starsSameer Dharmadhikari andDevika Daftardar in the lead roles.[19] Kundalkar also wrote the script of this film.
His 2009 filmGandha is a blend of three different stories connected by the common factor of the human sense ofsmell. The stories were written by Kundalkar and his mother Archana Kundalkar. The film won theBest Screenplay Award at the56th National Film Awards for "its remarkable integration of three different plots using the sense of smell as aliet motif to focus sensitively on human relationships".Gandha became the first Marathi film to win this award after the category's institution in 1967.[20] The film was screened at the 8th Third Eye Asian Film Festival.[21]
Kundalkar'sBollywood directorial debut,Aiyyaa, starringRani Mukherjee andPrithviraj in lead roles released in 2012. The film was produced byAnurag Kashyap andViacom 18.[22]
In 2022, he directed Marathi relationship drama filmPondicherry, which was entirely shot oniPhone with only 15 crew members.[23] Most recently, Kundalkar's 2013 novelCobalt Blue was adapted into a feature film of the same name. It was released on Netflix in 2022.[24]
| Year | Film | Language | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Out of the Box | Marathi | Short film |
| 2004 | Shubra Kaahi | Marathi | Short film |
| 2005 | The Bath | – | Documentary film |
| 2006 | Restaurant[25] | Marathi | Writer-Director |
| 2007 | Nirop | Marathi | Writer-Director |
| 2009 | Gandha | Marathi | Writer-Director |
| 2012 | Aiyyaa | Hindi | Writer-Director[22] |
| 2014 | Happy Journey | Marathi | Writer-Director |
| 2015 | Rajwade and Sons | Marathi | Writer-Director |
| 2016 | Vazandar | Marathi | Writer-Director[26] |
| 2017 | Gulabjaam | Marathi | Writer-Director[27] |
| 2022 | Pondicherry | Marathi | Writer-Director[23] |
| Cobalt Blue | Hindi | Writer-Director |
| Title | Language | Role(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Dreams of Taleem | English | Writer[28] |
| Chotyasha Suteet | Marathi | Writer |
| Poornaviram | Marathi | Writer |
| Fridge Madhe Thevlela Prem | Marathi | Writer |
| Chandralok Complex | Marathi | Writer |
At the age of 22, Kundalkar published his first novel,Cobalt Blue. The novel, which he started when he was 20, concerns a brother and a sister from a traditionalMarathi family falling in love with the same man.[30] His other publications are:
He has also written articles for the Marathi newspaperSakal.[34]
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
