Sinhasan (1979)

A film that sets out to elaborate a new genre derived from the language of political journalism. Based on two novels by the noted political correspondent Arun Sadhu, and scripted by a former journalist, Tendulkar, the plot addresses Maharashtra’s political corruption linked with Bombay’s entrepreneurial sector. The main protagonist is a newspaper correspondent, Digu Tipnis (Phule), who uncovers a network of telephone tapping and espionage, relations between trade union leaders and politicians, etc. Many of the characters were thinly-veiled references to real- life figures: Chief Minister Jivajirao (Sarnaik) refers to Maharashtra’s former Chief Minister Vasantrao Naik, while the trade union leader Da Costa (Dubhashi) refers to George Fernandes. In the end, the journalist appears to go crazy. The cast includes many of the Marathi theatre and cinema’s most famous names.