Meet Jyotirao and Savitribai Phule: India’s unsung heroes featured in Ananth Mahadevan’s new film

Ananth Mahadevan’s Phule is gearing up to hit the silver screens on April 25. The film has garnered comsiderable controversy recently resulting in its delay, particularly due to objections raised by the Brahmin community.

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The film chronicles activist power couple Jyotirao and Savitribai Phule, and their fight for reform change and women empowerment in underprivileged India. Backed by Zee Studios, the film stars Pratik Gandhi, Patralekhaa Paul, Darsheel Safary, and Alexx O'Nell.

About the Pune power couple

Jyotirao Phule is an Indian social reformer and business born on April 11, 1827, into a low-caste family. A gifted child, he attended Pune’s Scottish Mission High School, after which, he tied the knot at the age of 13 to Savitribai.

Savitribai Phule, who is etched in history as the first female teacher of India, was born on January 3, 1831, – the youngest of four. She wed Jyotirao at the tender age of 9. The couple resided in Maharashtra’s Pune.

Upon realising his wife’s illiteracy, Jyotirao took the time to teach her how to read and write, along with his cousin Sagunabai Kshirsagar. The couple were distraught to witness the discrimination that women faced in their society, which led them to built the first indigenously run school for girls that followed a different syllabus from the government mandated one.

Surrounded by conservatives, they faced staunch criticism for their actions. Turning a blind eye to them, the duo, along with their friend Usman Sheikh and his sister Fatima Sheikh, started a school for children who were deemed “untouchables”, eventually expanding to three institutions.

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After witnessing a horrific case of child infanticide due to a failed abortion during gestation, Jyotirao, Savitribai, and their friend Sadashiv Ballal Govande established an infanticide prevention clinic, where they promised safe deliveries, as well as the option for mothers to leave the baby behind in the care of the orphanage.

Jyotirao and Savitribai Phule stand as unsung heroes of India, tackling deep-rooted societal issues without resorting to violence, but instead using their education to take tangible steps to improve the well-being of women and children. 

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