Sairat

Sairat, directed by Nagraj Manjule, is a Marathi film directly confronting the honor killing theme, following an impossible love between a landowner's daughter and a fisherman's son caught in the grip of caste and economic class differences in rural Maharashtra; grossing over 1.1 billion rupees, it became the highest grossing Marathi film of its time and the first Marathi film to cross 1 billion rupees. Manjule conceived the story in 2009 drawing on his own experience of caste discrimination; he grew up Dalit in rural Maharashtra and systematically addresses caste discrimination and honor killings across his films. Lead actress Rinku Rajguru received a special mention at the 63rd National Film Awards, becoming the youngest person to win the honor at age 15. The film was officially remade in Hindi as Dhadak (2018), produced by Karan Johar. Who it's for: anyone curious about a tragic love story directly confronting honor killing, written by a director drawing on his own experience of caste discrimination, which broke Marathi cinema's box office record. Who it's not for: viewers wanting a happily ending romantic comedy, since the film confronts a real social problem with a tragic ending.