The
demise
of
legendary
social
worker
and
activist
Sindhutai
Sapkal
has
plunged
the
entire
nation
into
a
state
of
gloom.
She
was
an
inspiration
when
it
came
to
her
philanthropic
activities,
especially
for
orphaned
children.
Despite
facing
many
hardships
in
her
life,
Sapkal
adopted
around
1,000
orphaned
children.
Writer-director
Ananth
Mahadevan
who
made
a
biopic
on
her
life
titled
Mee
Sindhutai
Sapkal
recalled
his
fond
memories
with
the
icon
and
remembered
the
entire
process
of
making
the
movie.
Speaking
to
News18,
Ananth
Mahadevan
remembered
his
memories
with
Sindhutai
Sakpal
saying,
"She
would
call
me
'Bala',
which
in
Marathi
means
son
and
I
would
refer
to
her
as
'Mai',
which
means
mother.
We
actually
shared
a
mother
and
son
relationship.
We
were
in
touch.
Whenever
she
was
in
Mumbai
she
would
call
and
meet
me
and
whenever
I
was
in
Pune,
I
would
go
to
meet
her."
"Mr
Amitabh
Bachchan
was
present
during
the
music
launch
of
the
film
and
later
she
was
also
a
part
of
one
of
the
episodes
of
Kaun
Banega
Crorepati.
She
would
always
call
me
on
Gudi
Padwa.
The
last
time
I
spoke
to
her
was
last
April
on
Gudi
Padwa.
She
was
legendary
and
a
pillar
of
strength.
I
am
still
trying
to
come
to
terms
with
her
death.
She
was
Sabki
Mai
and
a
Farishta
(angel)," he
added.
Talking
about
his
first
meeting
with
the
revolutionary
social
worker,
the
Aksar
director
said,
"The
first
time
I
met
her
was
in
2010
just
a
while
before
I
made
Mee
Sindhutai
Sapkal.
I
remember
reading
a
very
bold
headline
in
the
newspaper
which
said
'The
woman
who
has
a
thousand
daughters
and
a
thousand
sons-in-law'
and
that
was
quite
intriguing.
I
met
her
at
Hadapsar,
Pune
where
her
ashram
was
just
coming
up.
My
idea
was
to
meet
this
lady
who
was
so
strong
and
resilient
despite
all
the
humiliation
and
the
hardships
that
she
went
through
but
despite
all
of
it,
her
enterprising
and
never-say-die
attitude
was
really
amazing
for
someone
who
has
taken
so
many
knocks
in
life.
It
was
really
inspiring
for
me
as
a
person."
Ananth
Mahadevan
further
narrated
the
entire
process
of
making
Mee
Sindhutai
Sapkal.
He
said,
"It
was
in
the
first
meeting
itself
that
I
had
decided
to
make
a
film.
I
recall
that
initially,
she
was
a
bit
hesitant
about
opening
up.
Her
apprehension
was,
why
somebody
from
the
Hindi
film
industry
wanted
to
make
a
film
on
her.
She
had
heard
enough
about
exploitation
by
filmmakers.
I
had
to
convince
her
that
I
did
not
belong
to
that
tribe
of
filmmakers
who
wanted
to
exploit
her
life.
Instead,
I
wanted
to
pay
tribute
to
her.
I
also
convinced
her
that
it
will
be
done
in
the
most
uncompromising
way
and
she
would
be
the
consultant
on
the
film
and
would
be
present
throughout
the
making
of
it."
"After
an
hour
the
ice
broke,
and
she
suddenly
started
talking,
pouring
her
heart
out
as
she
was
waiting
for
someone
to
come
who
she
could
really
open
up
to.
I
remember
she
narrated
the
incident
where
she
was
nine
months
pregnant
and
thrown
out
of
the
house
by
her
husband.
She
gave
birth
to
the
child
in
a
cowshed.
Later
she
took
a
sharp-edged
stone
and
hit
the
umbilical
cord
many
times
and
it
finally
snapped
from
her
body.
Then,
she
walked
a
few
kilometres
to
her
mother's
home
with
her
just-born
infant.
But
sadly
her
mother
did
not
help
her
either.
She
later
took
shelter
in
a
crematorium
that
night
where
a
dead
body
was
being
burnt.
Being
extremely
hungry
and
unable
to
feed
her
baby
she
picked
up
the
flour
offered
to
the
corpse,
kneaded
it
and
baked
a
chapati
over
the
fire
of
the
burning
corpse
and
ate.
It
was
one
of
the
most
gut-wrenching
scenes
and
it
did
not
go
out
of
my
mind,"
he
said.
The
filmmaker
further
added,
"We
decided
to
make
the
film
in
Marathi
as
the
milieu
was
set
in
Vidarbha.
We
referred
to
her
autobiography
Aamchi
Mai
and
also
extensively
spoke
to
her.
We
shot
the
film
from
April
to
June
and
it
was
a
quick
process
because
we
were
clear
about
what
we
wanted
in
the
screenplay
and
did
not
want
to
fall
into
the
regular
trappings.
The
idea
was
not
to
make
a
film
about
a
woman
who
gave
shelter
to
orphans.
I
wanted
to
show
what
it
was
that
drove
this
strong
woman
to
take
some
tough
decisions
and
do
what
she
was
doing.
I
wanted
to
probe
into
her
life
and
tell
the
story
about
this
lady
who
fought
against
all
odds
and
become
the
epitome
of
empowerment....We
started
the
film
with
her
amazing
journey
to
San
Jose
to
address
the
first-ever
Marathi
Sammelan
and
it
was
the
first
time
she
was
travelling
by
plane."
The
director
revealed
about
the
movie
winning
at
the
National
Film
Awards
and
said,
"Before
winning
the
National
Awards,
our
film
had
travelled
to
many
international
festivals.
We
first
got
selected
at
the
London
International
Film
Festival
and
I
remember
Sindhutai
was
really
elated.
In
India
too
we
got
too
many
festivals
where
I
took
her
including
IFFI
(International
Film
Festival
of
India).
It
was
also
the
first
time
I
had
applied
to
National
Awards
as
the
film
wouldn't
be
worth
it,
you
wouldn't
dare
to
do
it.
I
remember
when
the
awards
started
getting
announced,
the
first
award
for
the
film
went
to
Suresh
Wadkar
who
had
such
a
great
body
of
work
but
it
was
the
first
time
he
was
conferred
National
Award.
Then
came
the
screenplay
and
the
dialogue
and
I
thought
that
was
it.
I
never
imagined
that
we
would
win
the
Special
Jury
award.
I
vividly
remember
taking
her
to
the
National
Award
ceremony.
Generally,
there
is
no
speech
after
you
get
the
award
but
I
whispered
into
the
ears
of
then-president
Pratibha
Patil
that
Sindhutai
was
present
and
if
she
would
allow
her
to
speak
a
few
words.
She
actually
let
her
talk
and
she
brought
the
entire
house
down
and
I
believe
that
is
also
when
a
lot
of
people
across
the
globe
realised
why
the
film
was
so
important."