Tukaram

Tukaram was a 17th-century poet-saint of the Bhakti movement in Maharashtra. He was part of the egalitarian, personalized Varkari devotionalism tradition.

Tukaram is known for his Abhanga devotional poetry and community-oriented worship with spiritual songs known as kirtans. His poetry was devoted to Vitthala or Vithoba, an avatar of Hindu god Vishnu.

He is also referred to as Saint Tukaram, Bhakta Tukaram, Tukaram Maharaj, Tukoba and Tukobaraya.

Biography

The year of birth and death of Tukaram has been a subject of research and dispute among 20th-century scholars. He was either born in the year 1598 or 1608 in a village named Dehu, near Puṇe in Mahārāshtra, India.

Tukaram was born to Kanakar and Bolhoba More, and scholars consider his family to belong to the Kunbi (Shudra) caste. Despite being from a caste traditionally believed to be the laborers and tilling service providers, Tukaram's family owned a retailing and money-lending business as well as were engaged in agriculture and trade. His parents were devotees of Vithoba, an avatar of Hindu deity Vishnu (Vaishnavas). Both his parents died when Tukaram was a teenager.

Tukaram (film)

Tukaram is a 2012 Marathi biopic on the life of Saint Tukaram, who was a 17th-century Varkari saint, spiritual poet and devotee of Vitthala. The film was directed by Chandrakant Kulkarni whose directorial debut, Bindhast received numerous awards. His other works include films like Bhet and Kay Dyache Bola along with 65 plays and a few TV serials. The film was produced by Sanjay Chhabria under the banner Everest Entertainment. Chhabria has earlier produced films like Me Shivajiraje Bhosale Boltoy, Shikshanachya Aaicha Gho and Haapus.

The lead title role of Tukaram is played by Jeetendra Joshi. Joshi is known for his works in various films, plays and TV shows. Other actors include Radhika Apte, Sharad Ponkshe, Prateeksha Lonkar and Yatin Karyekar amongst others. The music of the film is composed by Ashok Patki and Avadhoot Gupte.

The 1936 Marathi film Sant Tukaram by directors Vishnupant Govind Damle and Sheikh Fattelal under the banner of Prabhat Film Company became the first Indian film to receive an award at the 5th Venice International Film Festival. The film still remains popular and is the subject of frequent studies. This was also the first film to capture the life of Tukaram. The 2012 film that was released after 76 years is the second film in Marathi based on the same subject. The subject was also inspiration for Kannada film Santa Thukarama (1963) and Telugu film Bhakta Tukaram (1973).