The Seedling, is how the name of the movie is translated into, in English.

Ankur was the first feature release of the legendary Director Shyam Benegal, but it was also a debut for several other actors.

The movie is set in rural Hyderabad based upon a true story that happened there in the early 1950s.

Ankur primarily revolves around a Landlord’s son fresh out of college and a Dalit woman who works for him.

The Landlord’s son goes to their property on the fields to after its upkeep and starts lusting after the woman who works there.

Shabana Azmi plays the part of the dalit woman and has done a fantastic job at displaying the conflicting emotions that she might have endured as she is trapped between a mute drunk useless husband and a rich land owner who atleast on the face of it does not carry forward the notions of untouchability.

The Landlord’s son is played by Anant Nag, who is quite effective at showing an arrogance brought out of his privileges and yet unable to hide the cowardice that sets deep in his heart.

This was the first movie of both Shabana Azmi and Anant Nag.

This was also the first movie of Priya Tendulkar who plays Nag’s wife.

She has a small but effective role in which she fights for the attention of her husband realizing his lust for the worker woman immediately.

Shyam Benegal has mixed up caste discrimination, social dichotomy and the inherent hypocrisy of the human being in a brilliant fashion.

I am not sure if Shyam Benegal named this movie (aptly) as “The Seedling” because it was a first movie for him and his entire starcast?

Or was it because of the climax which depicts the planting of a seedling of revolution when the little dalit kid watches injustice happen and breaks the Landlord’s window and runs away?

In either case, this Seedling is definitely worth a watch for more than one reason.

#DaMoRating: 10/10

Disclaimer: This movie gets full marks because it introduced some great actors and one of the greatest filmmakers to us.