Baba Saheb Goes Global: Pioneering Indian Films on the Iconic Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Ahead of Hollywood Debut

Lucknow- Set for a global theatrical release on January 19, "Origin," directed by Ava DuVernay, marks a significant milestone as the first Hollywood movie centered around the life and struggles of Father of Indian Constitution Baba Saheb Ambedkar, also known as the Messiah of Dalits.

The film's premiere coincides with India's upcoming 75th Republic Day, a historic occasion celebrating the enactment of the constitution on January 26, 1950. Despite the considerable time Hollywood took to bring Baba Saheb's story to the big screen, a testament to the delayed recognition of one of the world's greatest leaders advocating for equality, regional cinema, particularly in Hindi and Marathi, has long embraced and depicted the inspiring journey of this iconic figure.

Although the title song of the Bollywood Blockbuster “Mukaddar Ka Sikandar,” released in 1978, had the fleeting glimpse of the statue of Ambedkar, it took three years for mainstream cinema to make a feature film on Ambedkar.

Babasaheb Ambedkar" (1981): In 1981, the Film Division made a documentary, "Babasaheb Ambedkar." The film was directed by AV Bhashyam. This government documentary experimented with the theme of docu-drama and had enactments of the crucial events of Dr. Ambedkar’s life and also had real footage of events like the Yeola Conference, the Round Table Conference, etc., the Dhamma Deeksha, and also his death.

The first feature film on Dr. Ambedkar was 'Bhim Garjana' (1989), made in the Marathi language. The film was directed by Vijaya Pawar and produced by Nanda Pawar. Actor Krishnanada played the lead role of Dr. Ambedkar in the movie.

"1991 - 'Balak Ambedkar': This regional feature film on Ambedkar was made in Kannada. Directed by Basavaraj Kestur and released in 1991, the film portrayed the childhood struggle of Dr. Ambedkar. Chiranjeevi Vinay performed the role of Child Ambedkar.

"1992 - 'Dr. Ambedkar': This Telugu film, released in 1992, is directed by Parpalli Bharat, a well-known Telugu film director. The producer of the film is Doctor Padmavati. Actor Akash Khurana played the role of Babasaheb, while actress Neena Gupta played the role of Ramabai Ambedkar. Both Khurana and Gupta are renowned Bollywood actors. Various Telugu actors also acted in the movie. The film was part of ‘Chitranjali @ 75: A Platinum Panorama,’ a virtual exhibition by the National Film Archive of India, Pune, to mark “Amrit Mahotsav,” an event marking 75 years of Indian Independence. S.P. Bal Subramaniam has given voice to the songs in the film.

'Yugpurush Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar' (1993): This Marathi film was released in 1993, directed by Shashikant Nalawade and produced by Madhav Lele. Actor Narayan Dulake played the role of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar in the film. Anant Vartak, Ashok Gharat, Asmita Gharat, Upendra Date, Chitra Koppikar have also acted in the film. 'Yugpurush Doctor Babasaheb Ambedkar' is the second Marathi film on Dr B.R. Ambedkar.

'Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar: The Untold Truth' (2000): This Indian English-Hindi bilingual feature film, directed by Jabbar Patel, stars Mammootty in the title role. Famous actress Sonali Kulkarni played the role of Ramabai Ambedkar, while Mrinal Kulkarni played the role of Babasaheb’s second wife Savita Ambedkar. For the role, Mammoty shared the national award for best actor in 1998 with Ajay Devgan, who won the award for 'Zakhm.' The film was made on the budget of 8 crores, the highest for any film made on Ambedkar. The film was made by NFDC. Arun Kumar, an Ambedkarite living in the UK, told the Mooknayak, 'The initial budget sanctioned for the film was Rs 32 crores in 1997, but the successive government reduced the budget to 8 crores.

Shooting in the UK was crucial as Ambedkar spent a significant part of his life in the country, but the sanctioned budget was insufficient for shooting a film abroad. FABO (Federation of Ambedkarite and Buddhist Organisation) came to the rescue of the team that had to shoot some parts of the film in London. They provided transportation and accommodation for the film crew, which stayed in London. The film was released on a very low scale, with very few prints available, but now with the advent of the Internet, the film is freely available on the internet.

'Balak Ambedkar' was the first Kannada film made on Dr. Ambedkar. The film covered the childhood experiences of Ambedkar, but 'Dr. B.R. Ambedkar,' another film in the same language, covered the entire span of Ambedkar’s life. The film was released in 2005. The role of Babasaheb Ambedkar was played by actor Vishnukanth BJ. Actress Tara played the role of Babasaheb’s first wife Ramabai, while actress Bhavya played the role of second wife Savita Ambedkar. The film received three awards – Kannada State Film Award (2005–06), Best Dubbing Artist (Male) – Rabindranath, and a Special Mention Award from the judges. Singers Nandita, Abhiman, Shankar Shanbhag, and Gurumurthy provided playback vocals for the film, while Abhiman Roy composed the music for the film.

'Periyar' (2007): A Tamil language film based on the life of social reformer and rationalist Periyar E. V. Ramasamy. The film was directed by Gnana Rajasekaran. In this film, actor Satyaraj, the Kattappa of Bahubali, played the role of Periyar. The film also had the character of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, as both B.R Ambedkar and Ramaswamy Periyar had influenced each other. Actor Mohan Raman played the role of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar.

'Debu' (2010): It is a Marathi language film directed by Nilesh Jalamkar and is based on the life of Sant Gadge Baba. Gadge Baba was also deeply influenced by Ambedkar and introduced Ambedkar to his followers as “God.” Gadge was deeply saddened by the death of Ambedkar and died a few days after his death in December 1956. Needless to say, this film also had the character of Dr. Ambedkar. The Mooknayak spoke to Nilesh jalamkar, the director of the film , who said “ Babasaheb consulted Sant Gadge before converting to Buddhism, the film has a scene which shows the interaction between the two anti-caste leaders.

'Ramabai Bhimrao Ambedkar': The contribution and support of Mata Ramabai Ambedkar, the wife of Babasaheb, in shaping Ambedkar cannot be ruled out. She firmly supported him throughout the struggles and died early in 1935 at the age of 47. Almost all the biopics based on the life of Dr. Ambedkar have the character of Mata Ramabai. Veteran actors like Sonali Kulkarni and Neena Gupta have played the role in two of the biopics made on Ambedkar. There have been at least two films that are based on the life of Mata Ramabai Ambedkar. The 2010 Marathi film had actress Nisha Parulekar playing the role of Mata Ramabai Ambedkar, while Ganesh Jethe played the role of Baba Saheb Dr B.R. Ambedkar.

'Ramabai' (Kannada): Another film made on the life of Mata Ramabai Ambedkar. It is a Kannada language film directed by M Ranganath. The role of Babasaheb Ambedkar was played by Siddharam Karnik, while Yagna Shetty played the titular role of Mata Ramabai.

'Ramai' (2019): This Marathi film directed by Bal Bagrale is the third film on Ramabai Ambedkar. It is produced by Prof. Pragati Kharat, Manisha Mote, and Chandrakant Kharat. Actress Vina Jamkar played the lead role of Ramabai in this film, while actor Sagar Talashikar played the role of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar. The film was released in 2019 on the occasion of the 128th Birth Anniversary of Baba Saheb Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar.

'Bole India Jai Bhim': This film is based on the life of L.N. Hardas, credited with coining the slogan “Jai Bhim.” The film, directed by Subodh Nagdeve, was released in 2016. Amol Chiwhane played the title role of L.N. Hardas while Shyam Bhimrasia played the role of Dr. Ambedkar.

"Besides these feature films, the character of Dr. Ambedkar has also been shown in the Mini TV-Series 'Samvidhan,' which was the dramatized story of the making of the Constitution of India. Veteran Hindi and Marathi Actor Sachin Khedekar had played Ambedkar in this film directed by Shyam Benegal.

'TV series Ek Mahanayak' based on his life was the first Hindi language TV series. The TV series ran for 1000 episodes. The lead role of Ambedkar was played by Prakash Jawade and Atharva Karve, while Ayudh Bhanushali brilliantly played the role of child Ambedkar."

Recently released film "Satyashodhak" also has the role of Dr Babasheb Ambedkar played by the director Nilesh Jalamkar himself . Infact the film is narrated by the character of Ambedkar.

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