Nagraj Popatrao Manjule is an Indian film director, actor, producer, scriptwriter, poet, screenwriter, and filmmaker who works primarily in Marathi cinema. He hails from Jeur, a small village in Maharashtra. Strongly inspired by Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, the emancipator of downtrodden and the drafting chairman of the Indian constitution, Manjule's work is deeply rooted in his own experience growing up as a Dalit in rural Maharashtra. His films have focused on the plights faced by members of these communities, including social discrimination at the hands of forward caste communities as well as the resulting economic hardships. After marking his debut with the coming-of-age drama Fandry (2013), Manjule directed the romantic drama Sairat (2016), which emerged as the highest-grossing Marathi film of all time and received rave reviews from critics.
