Nagraj Manjule

Nagraj Popatrao Manjule is an Indian film director, actor, producer, scriptwriter, poet, screenwriter, and filmmaker. He works in Marathi cinema, and is best known for Sairat and Pistulya—the latter for which he received National Film Award in the National Film Award for Best First Non-Feature Film of a Director. He made his Hindi Cinema debut in 2022, with a film called Jhund, starring Amitabh Bachchan.
At the 61st National Film Awards, Fandry won the Indira Gandhi Award for Best Debut Film of a Director. In 2018, Manjule published a book of poetry in Marathi titled Unhachya Katavirudhha which won the Bhairuratan Damani Sahitya Puraskar. He owns a wrestling team called 'Veer Marathwada' in Zee Maharashtra Kusti Dangal.

Early life and education

Manjule grew up in Jeur village in the Solapur district of Maharashtra. Baburao Manjule, who is the brother of Nagraj's father Popatrao Manjule, adopted Nagraj due to financial hardships. However, Nagraj decided early on that if he achieved anything significant, he would honor his biological father, Popatrao Manjule. Since starting his career in the film industry, he has been known by the name 'Nagraj Popatrao Manjule' in all his professional endeavors. He belongs to the traditionally-nomadic Waddar community, a Dravidian tribe.
He earned his M.A. in Marathi literature from University of Pune, followed by a master's in communication studies from New Arts, Science and Commerce College, Ahmednagar.

Career

Manjule is strongly inspired by Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, the emancipator of downtrodden and the drafting chairman of the Indian constitution. His films are deeply rooted in his own experience growing up as a Dalit in rural Maharashtra. His films have focused on the plights faced by members of these communities, including social discrimination at the hands of high-caste communities as well as the resulting economic hardships.
His first National Award-winning short film Pistulya is a reflection of his 'felt experience'. The film focuses on the desire of a Dalit boy to attend school, and his inability to do so because of his family's poverty and a deep-seated disdain for formal education within his community.
His debut feature film, Fandry, was released in February 2014; the word means "pig" in the Kaikadi language, which is a metaphor for the dehumanizing treatment of the Dalit community in rural India. This film also addresses caste discrimination. This film won the Indira Gandhi Award for Best Debut Film of a Director.
Manjule's second film, Sairat, premiered at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival. Like Fandry and Pistulya, it deals with caste discrimination and honour killing, a practice still widespread in parts of India. Sairat also seeks to address the role of women in society, with the character of Archie, the female protagonist of Sairat, garnering both popular and critical acclaim. Sairat is currently the highest grossing Marathi film of all time. In 2019, Manjule hosted Marathi Kaun Banega Crorepati. Manjule made his directorial debut in Hindi films with Jhund starring Amitabh Bachchan.
In 2023, Manjule appeared in Ghar Banduk Biryani, playing the role of a police officer. This film marked his first collaboration with Sayaji Shinde and his third with Akash Thosar.

Filmography

Film

All films are in Marathi, unless mentioned.

Year	Film	Actor	Director	Writer	Producer	Role	Notes	Ref.
2010	Pistulya					Ambadas	National Film Award for Best First Non-Feature Film of a Director
2013	Fandry					Chankeshwar "Chankya" Sathe	Indira Gandhi Award for Best Debut Film of a Director
2015	Baji					Inspector Mahesh
2015	Highway
2016	Sairat					Cricket commentator	Selected For 66th Berlin International Film Festival
2016	The Silence					Uncle
2017	Pavsacha Nibandh						Short film
2018	Naal					Chaitya's father	Indira Gandhi Award for Best Debut Film of a Director
2020	Taar					Postman	Short film
2022	Unpaused: Naya Safar						Hindi film
2022	Jhund					Hitler Bhai	Hindi film
2023	Ghar Banduk Biryani					Raya Patil	Dubbed in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu
2023	Naal 2					Chaitya's father

							Based on K.D. Jadhav

Web series

Personal life

Manjule was married to Sunita Manjule in 1997 when he studied in 12th, but later divorced on November 10, 2014. He gave Sunita ₹7 lakh as permanent alimony. It was revealed that the allegations were false and Manjule found innocent. In 2017, Manjule married Gargi Kulkarni and has two children Raya and Shahu.

Books

Unhachya Kataviruddha – poetry.
Awards

Year	Awards	Categories	Work	Result	Ref.
2010	58th National Film Awards	Best First Non-Feature Film	Pistulya	Won
2013	61st National Film Awards	Best Debut Film of a Director	Fandry	Won
2014	1st Filmfare Awards Marathi	Best Director	Fandry	Won
2017	65th National Film Awards	Best Director in Non-Feature Film	Pavsacha Nibandh	Won
2017	Maharashtracha Favourite Kon?	Favourite Director	Sairat	Won
2017	3rd Filmfare Awards Marathi	Best Director	Sairat	Won
2017	Zee Chitra Gaurav Puraskar	Best Director	Sairat	Won
2019	66th National Film Awards	Best Debut Film of a Director	Naal	Won
2022	Maharashtracha Favourite Kon?	Favourite Director of the Decade	Sairat	Won
2023	Fakt Marathi Cine Sanman	Fakt Marathi Cine Sanman for Best Actor in a Lead Role	Ghar Banduk Biryani	Won
2023	14th MFK Awards	Favourite Supporting Actor	Naal 2	Won
2023	Favourite Actor	Ghar Banduk Biryani	Nomitated		-
2017	3rd Filmfare Awards Marathi	Filmfare Award for Best Screenplay – Marathi	Sairat	Nomitated
Filmfare Award for Best Story – Marathi	Sairat	Nomitated		-	-