# Pondicherry (film)

Pondicherry is a 2022 Indian Marathi-language relationship drama film directed by Sachin Kundalkar and produced by Planet Marathi and Creative Vibe Productions shot entirely on smartphone. The film stars Sai Tamhankar, Vaibhav Tatwawadi and Amruta Khanvilkar are in lead roles. Pondicherry was scheduled to be theatrically release on 25 February 2022. Planet Marathi OTT is the official streaming partner of this film.

## Plot

Nikita and her eight-year-old son, Ishan, stay in an old family villa in Pondicherry that Nikita lets out as a homestay for travelers. Nikita is from Maharashtra and her Tamil husband Vishnu who worked in the Merchant Navy has been missing in a maritime accident. A broker specializing in getting people to sell old family homes – through deception or force – to hospitality companies arrives at Nikita's homestay, giving all their lives an unexpected twist.

## Cast

* Sai Tamhankar as Nikita
* Vaibhav Tatwawadi as Rohan
* Amruta Khanvilkar as Manasi
* Bhupendra Jadawat as Antonio
* Tanmay Kulkarni as Ishan
* Neena Kulkarni as Aai
* Mahesh Manjrekar
* Gaurav Ghatnekar

## Production

In January 2019, Manjrekar joined the cast. The film was entirely shot on iPhone with only 15 crew members.

## Soundtrack

The music for the movie was composed by Debarpito Saha, with songs featuring Abhay Jodhpurkar and Mohan Kanan. The lyrics were written by Tejas Modak and Sunil Suptankar.

## Reception

Mihir Bhange from The Times of India wrote "Pondicherry may not strike the perfect chords with regular viewers. But for those who follow global cinema, this film is a treat to watch". Nandini Ramnath from Scroll.in wrote "Sai Tamhankar, among the few actors who can effortlessly suggest enigma and reserve, is the most compelling member of the cast. Vaibhav Tatwawadi and Amruta Khanvilkar are saddled with uneven and implausible character graphs. Neena Kulkarni is a hoot as the scandal-mongering mother, but there’s nothing in her performance that we haven’t seen before".

## Accolades

| Award | Year | Category | Recipient(s) | Result |
| Fakt Marathi Cine Sanman | 2022 | Best Actress in a Lead Role | Sai Tamhankar | Nominated |
| Filmfare Awards Marathi | 2023 | Best Film Critics' | Pondicherry | Nominated |
| Filmfare Awards Marathi | 2023 | Best Actress | Sai Tamhankar | Nominated |
| Filmfare Awards Marathi | 2023 | Best Actress Critics' | Sai Tamhankar | Won |
| Filmfare Awards Marathi | 2023 | Best Supporting Actress | Amruta Khanvilkar | Nominated |
| Filmfare Awards Marathi | 2023 | Best Story | Tejas Modak, Sunil Sukthankar | Nominated |
| Filmfare Awards Marathi | 2023 | Best Production Design | Divya Goswami | Nominated |
| Filmfare Awards Marathi | 2023 | Best Cinematographer | Milind Jog | Nominated |
| Filmfare Awards Marathi | 2023 | Best Background Score | Debarpito Saha | Nominated |
| Filmfare Awards Marathi | 2023 | Best Sound Design | Anita Kushwaha | Nominated |
| Filmfare Awards Marathi | 2023 | Best Costume Design | Amit Divekar | Nominated |
| Pravah Picture Puraskar | 2022 | Best Film | Pondicherry | Nominated |
| Pravah Picture Puraskar | 2022 | Best Director | Sachin Kundalkar | Nominated |
| Pravah Picture Puraskar | 2022 | Best Actress | Sai Tamhankar | Won |
| Pravah Picture Puraskar | 2022 | Best Actor | Vaibhav Tatwawadi | Nominated |
| Pravah Picture Puraskar | 2022 | Best Supporting Actress | Amruta Khanvilkar | Nominated |
| Pravah Picture Puraskar | 2022 | Best Child Actor | Tanmay Kulkarni | Won |
| Pravah Picture Puraskar | 2022 | Best Singer | Mohan Kannan | Nominated |
| Pravah Picture Puraskar | 2022 | Best Background Music | Debarpito Saha | Nominated |
| Pravah Picture Puraskar | 2022 | Best Dialogue | Tejas Modak, Sunil Sukthankar | Nominated |
| Pravah Picture Puraskar | 2022 | Best Story | Tejas Modak, Sunil Sukthankar | Nominated |
| Pravah Picture Puraskar | 2022 | Best Screenplay | Tejas Modak, Sunil Sukthankar | Nominated |
| Pravah Picture Puraskar | 2022 | Best Sound Scheme | Anita Kushwaha | Nominated |
| Pravah Picture Puraskar | 2022 | Best Costume | Amit Divekar | Nominated |
| Pravah Picture Puraskar | 2022 | Best Cinematography | Milind Jog | Nominated |
| Pravah Picture Puraskar | 2022 | Best Editor | Abhijit Deshpande | Won |
| Planet Marathi Film and OTT Awards | 2023 | Best Art Direction | Divya Goswami | Won |
| Maharashtra State Film Awards | 2025 | Best Screenplay | Tejas Modak, Sunil Sukthankar | Pending |
| Maharashtra State Film Awards | 2025 | Best Actor | Vaibhav Tatwawadi | Pending |
| Maharashtra State Film Awards | 2025 | Best Actress | Sai Tamhankar | Pending |