Bhubaneswar: Odisha’s Arati Devi is an inspiration not only for her village folks and rural governments across the country but also for the Government of India. Her ideas and visions have been adopted by many for the uplift of the villagers, especially womenfolk, in different regions of the country.
Now, a multilingual film – ‘Sir Madam Sarpanch’ is based on the life and achievements of Arati Devi, a former sarpanch of Dhunkapada panchayat of Odisha’s Ganjam district. The film has been released pan-India and received high accolades.
The film ‘Sir Madam Sarpanch’ revolves around an Indian girl who has grown up in the US and returns to start a library in her ancestral village in central India. But a run-in with a local politician makes her contest election for the sarpanch’s post and her experiences while implementing her ideas and visions.
A spin-off from the excellent web series ‘Panchayat’, ‘Sir Madam Sarpanch’ documents Arti’s life and was released across theatres on April 14. It recently bagged an INALCO Jury Award at the 29th edition of the prestigious Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinemas hosted in France.
Arati Devi quit her well-paying job and became a sarpanch of her village in 2012 to give back to society and work for the betterment of her villagers. Arati was an investment officer with IDBI Bank. Having championed causes like literacy for women, support to artisans by reviving folk art and streamlining the Public Distribution System (PDS) in the village, Arati was nominated for the Rajiv Gandhi Leadership Award in 2014. She was also the only Indian selected to participate in the International Visitors Leadership Programme (IVLP) in the US under the Obama government in 2014.
“I never knew that the unique implementations in my panchayat would inspire other sarpanchs, administration, and government to take it to all panchayats. Now, it is surreal that a film is also being made on my life,” she told media persons at a press meet in the city on Saturday.
“I have also pursued the cause of Odisha and the women of Odisha at every national and international event that I attend. I was the first person to start a gram sabha for women because, in the past, only men would attend panchayat meetings. I also started ‘Nari Sikhya’ and was awarded for it. I knew the problems affecting my village and other villages across the country because India is a country of villages,” Arati Devi elaborated. “During a meeting, I coined the word ‘Beti Padhao’ and another fellow sarpanch from Haryana came up with ‘Beti Bacho’ that was soon embraced by the Government of India as ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’,” she added.
Talking about her experiences, Arati said, “I had to brave threats while making changes in the PDS rationing to ensure every person gets 5 kg rice.”
Directed by reputed filmmaker Praveen Morchle, the character of Aarti Devi has been flawlessly portrayed by Hollywood star Ariana Sajnani.
