Physically though his movements are largely constricted to the wheelchair, his aspirations and dreams are flying high in the world of celluloid. The success of his first maiden venture into Sandalwood, has enthused him to produce more message-based films.
Ghansham Bhandage, a differently-abled person from Bagalkot district of North Karnataka region, has arguably became the first ‘disabled’ person of the State whose first film as producer; ‘Ingale Marga’ not only earned him a name in industry, but won the State Award for best film.
“I was extremely delighted when the news of the award came to me. I never thought that my film, which does not have a commercial angle, would be appreciated by people,” he said.
Bhandage had selected a story which is unconventional, and from any angle, did not stand under the category of commercial film. Yet, he dared to produce the film that has a message for the society. “Films have always fascinated me, but I had never thought seriously about producing a film. It was accidental that one of my friends, during a casual conversation, encouraged me to get into this unknown arena,” he said.
He recalls that he came across a novel which is based on the life of Devaraya Ingale; a man who sacrificed his life for Dalits and fought against social evils such as Devadasi system.
“The novel, for some unexplainable reasons, struck an emotional chord with me. I decided to transform the novel into a motion picture,”he said.
“A native of Ingale village of Athani taluk of Belagavi district, Devaraya brought revelation in the lives of the Dalits in his region. Despite facing social boycott and undergoing mental agony, he relentlessly fought for the rights of Dalits. In fact, he made Ambedkar visit Karnataka for the first time,” he said.
Bhandage said that being the native of North Karnataka, he has given a chance to over 80 per cent artists of this region in his maiden film.
“I was determined to make the film. I spent a large portion of money that I received as compensation against the land I lost when the height of Almatti dam under Upper Krishna Project was increased. The total cost of production reached Rs. 75 lakh,” he said. In one of the movie halls in Bagalkot city, the film ran for 500 days.
Bhandage said that the film is now being dubbed into seven different languages of the country.
Encouraged by the public response, he has decided make another film ‘Kengulabi’ which is based on the life of a sex worker and her struggle in the society to live a dignified life.
