The long and quiet conversations between the Phules draw the viewers into their inner lives and the camaraderie they share.
The softness of their relationship offsets the strength of their convictions. It is something that gets missed in critical analysis of their social contributions.
Writing a book on slavery in India, for instance, or establishing a safe-house for pregnant widows, or starting a survival camp for the masses during the great famine of 1875, were all enriched by the collaborative nature of their partnership.
The film traces how, despite vehement opposition from Hindu orthodoxy, the Phules managed to educate hundreds of girls from different castes, opening the floodgates of female education in India.
They are helped in this mission by several Brahmin and Muslim friends, who braved social boycott from their own community for helping them in their cause.
The film shows Usman, a Muslim friend of Phule, braving social boycott for educating his sister; the “untouchable” Lahuji, sending Mukta Salave to the Phules’ school to learn English; and the barbers deciding to disobey the order to tonsure “upper caste” widows.
The courtroom scene, in this regard, is exemplary.
Phule calmly asks, “If the Brahmin who shaves every day does not compensate the loss of business incurred by the barber, how can the Brahmins claim honorarium for a wedding that they did not solemnise?”
