With Phule, director Ananth Mahadevan and lead actor Pratik Gandhi are set to chronicle social reformer Jyotirao Phule’s efforts in fighting casteism and championing women’s education. And where there is Phule, there is his wife Savitribai Phule, who matched him step-to-step in working towards women’s empowerment. The director says that while his April 11 release is a tribute to the social reformer, it also celebrates Savitribai and her colleague Fatima Sheikh. The duo became the first Indian female teachers outside the domain of missionary supervision and paved the way for other women to enter teaching in India.

Mahadevan says that while developing the script, he was fascinated by the friendship between the two women. “When Jyotiba and Savitribai were found running discreet schools for girls, a showdown happened between the panchayat and them. The two left home and went to his old friend Usman Sheikh. There, Savitribai and Usman’s sister Fatima became friends as they fought discrimination together. They never had any Hindu-Muslim divide,” he states.