The New York Times honours Court’s Vira Sathidar through an obituary

The New York Times newspaper has honoured Vira Sathidar by carrying his obituary. Sathidar was a social activist, poet, folk singer and editor of a magazine on Dalit issues, but was known more widely for his stellar act in Chaitanya Tamhane’s debut Marathi movie Court (2015). Sathidar died on 13 April of COVID-19 complications.

Written by Mujib Mashal and Hari Kumar, the obituary says Sathidar was uncomfortable describing himself as an actor. They quoted him saying that according to him, acting was just another means of protest for him, like organizing, pamphleteering, editing, writing poetry and singing.

Vira Sathidar, Cultural Figure Who Fought India’s Caste System, Dies at 62

Focusing on his personal life, the obit says Sathidar was born in Parsodi near Nagpur. His father, Rauf Sathidar, was a staunch supporter of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, the freedom fighter who also led a battle against the injustice faced by the dalits, then shunned as 'untouchables'. Vira, too, became a follower of Ambedkar. His friend described him as a “living library.”

The article says that while Sathidar Sr wanted Vira to be a scholar, the latter was a distracted student and left school after the tenth standard to work in a cotton mill. It was here that his activism started as he became a union organizer as a member of a radical Maoist movement called the Naxalites.

Sathidar, however, was not happy with the movement. The obit quotes his friend Pradeep Mitra saying, “He got disappointed with the Naxal movement because of their emphasis on a classless society and ignoring the Ambedkarite notion of a casteless society.”

He was one of the nicest, warmest people I have ever met, says Chaitanya Tamhane of Vira Sathidar

When Sathidar was cast in Court, he felt the filmmakers chose him because they couldn’t find a good actor or didn’t have sufficient budget for one. But when going through the film's script, he was stunned to see the similarities between him and his on-screen character, Narayan Kamble.

The obituary quotes Sathidar as saying, “He [the film’s character] has worked at a factory, I have worked at a factory. He writes articles, I also write articles. He is an editor, I am also an editor. He works at a union, I also work at a union. He sings songs, I also sing songs. He goes to jail; I have also been to jail many times. His house is raided, my house was also raided.”

Amazed by the coincidences, Sathidar continued, “What he was showing is my life. What surprised me is that he wrote all this without having met me!”

Court became India’s official entry to the Oscars in 2015 in the Best Foreign Language category.