Edited By: Titas Chowdhury
Last Updated: January 03, 2023, 21:08 IST
Patralekhaa will be seen playing Savitribai Phule in the Phule biopic.
Patralekha pays homage to Savitribai Phule on her 192nd birth anniversary as she plays her in Phule.
Actor Patralekhaa is gearing up for the release of her upcoming film titled Phule, a film based on the lives of the social activists and reformers Mahatma Jyotirao Govindrao Phule and his wife Savitribai Phule, who fought casteism and were the pioneers of female education in India. And on Savitribai Phule’s 192nd birth anniversary today, Patralekhaa took to social media and re-shared the first look of the film, which also features actor Pratik Gandhi.
“It’s my honor to play the legendary #SavitribaiPhule in the upcoming biopic #Phule directed by Ananth Mahadevan, Produced by Dancing Shiva Films and Content Engineers. Jai Hind!” she captioned the post. The poster of the film states that the production is currently underway.
Paying ode to the first female teacher of India, Patralekhaa says, “It is an absolute honour to portray the first feminist icon in the country, Savitribai Phule, on screen. Her indomitable spirit towards life is an inspiration to every individual.” Talking about looking up to her as a source of motivation from her, Patralekhaa further adds, “She devoted herself towards creating a brighter future for women and pioneered seminal contributions towards women empowerment. She was the first female teacher in the country and also started the first school for girls. Depicting her legacy, her struggles on screen is like a dream come true for every actor and I am grateful for the opportunity.”
In a press statement earlier, the 32-year-old had said that the character and the film will stay back with her ‘long after it’s over’. “I grew up in Shillong, Meghalaya, which boasts of a matriarchal society so gender equality is very close to my heart. Savitribai joined hands with her husband to start the first indigenously-run school for girls in Pune way back in 1848. Mahatma Phule also championed widow remarriage and together they set up an orphanage to prevent infanticide. This is one film that will stay with me long after it is over,” the Citylights (2014) and Bose: Dead/Alive (2017) actor had shared.
Phule marks the onscreen pairing of Patralekhaa and Pratik for the first time. On a related note, Patralekhaa was last seen in the Disney+ Hotstar web series, Aar Ya Paar. It revolves around a tribal man and his fight for the survival of his tribe against the modern world, its corrupt political and financial machinery, which catapults him into the world of big crime as he emerges to be a deadly mercenary assassin.
