How Ravindra Jadhav turned rural realities into award winning cinema

Jadhav says that his education began in a small village called Kada, where he studied until Class IX. It was a movie poster that first sparked his imagination. His mother did pottery work, and his father was a bus driver who travelled to Jamkhed for duty. Later,his family moved to Jamkhed, and he studied here till Class XII. He and his family still live there.

After completing Class XII, Jadhav wanted to pursue art, which he was passionate about. “But, ,my family suggested that I pursue D.Ed. (Diploma in Education). I agreed. When choosing a city for D.Ed. I selected Kolhapur because of its rich artistic background. The presence of Marathi cinema culture and the legacy of Prabhat Studio inspired me,” he says.

His family advised him to take up a job. But, he moved to Pune and enrolled at Lalit Kala Kendra for a Bachelor of Arts. “After that, my family responsibilities increased, and I finally accepted a job. My first appointment was in Dhule district as a primary teacher. From 2011 to 2021, I worked there. After 2021, I moved closer to Shirdi and am currently working in Rahata taluka,” he says.

In 2013, with a simple handicam and a deep urge to tell stories, Jadhav started making films by instinct, observation and relentless self learning. His first short film, Shala Bahya (2013), was inspired by a real incident from his own school about a child who had dropped out. The film won recognition and gave him confidence to continue.

He followed it with Nirodh (2017), a socially rooted story about an Adivasi family navigating the complexities of family planning. Both films were made with minimal resources but carried strong social commentary. “I didn’t know anything about filmmaking back then,” Jadhav recalls. “I just started learning by doing.”

Working as a teacher in remote tribal areas of Dhule district, he found stories all around him. The people, their dialect, folk songs, rare musical instruments and deeply layered social realities became his creative reservoir. He wrote at night after finishing school responsibilities, often scribbling ideas in a small diary he still carries.

His breakthrough came with Thalsar Bangsar, a nine minute film based on a tribal musician who plays a rare, fading instrument. Shot with local villagers most of whom had never faced a camera, the film earned a nomination at PIFF in 2020 and won the National Human Rights Commission Award in New Delhi. “That award changed how people looked at me, including my own family,” he says.

The story of Jeev originated from a simple conversation with a tribal family about why they had not celebrated a festival. “That emotional moment stayed with me for years, and it took nearly two to three years to shape the script,” he says. The film deeply explored tribal culture, hidden social tensions, folk songs, dialects, and disappearing traditions. He aimed not only to tell a story but also to preserve a lyrical tribal language and rare folk music that are gradually fading due to digital influence.

“Making films in remote areas was extremely challenging. Even buying a small battery cell required traveling 20 kilometers. Technical issues meant major struggles. Yet, with the support of a dedicated team and mostly local actors (many of them are first-time performers), I brought Jeev to life,” he says. Nearly 95 per cent of the cast consists of local tribal artists trained by Jadhav himself over months. He believes tribal communities preserve the original roots of Indian culture, and through his films, he seeks to honor and conserve that heritage.