The Marathi film 'Fandry' (Pig) was released in theaters across Maharashtra on Friday, on the back of its Grand Jury Prize at the recently-concluded Mumbai International Film Festival. 'Fandry' depicts a love affair under the shadow of discrimination based on caste.

Not all films that tackle caste issues have had the dream run that Fandry has enjoyed.

Here are a few movies about caste that have courted controversy with their subject matter but won acclaim for the insightful way in which they handled the subject.

Jait re Jait (' Win, win', Marathi, 1977)



This Jabbar Patel film starred Smita Patil and Mohan Agashe in a story that was set in the Thakar community, a scheduled tribe in Maharashtra. Mohan Agashe plays a drummer who meets a headstrong woman from his community, who has left her husband because she thinks he is useless. The film is about their struggle to remain together despite the tribulations faced by the community.

Sujata (Hindi, 1959)



Bimal Roy directed this film about the love between a Brahmin youth and an untouchable. It was nominated for the Golden Palm at the 60th Cannes Film Festival. In this melodrama, the heroine, Sujata, is an untouchable who is raised by a Brahmin family. The Brahmin youth's father is fond of her, but his wife and mother never accept her fully, until a critical moment when Sujata saves the wife's life.

Ankur ('Seedling', Hindi, 1974)



This was Shyam Benegal's first feature film, featuring the debuts of Shabana Azmi and Anant Nag. The story revolves around the love affair between the son of the village landlord (Nag), and the wife of a deaf-mute Dalit potter (Azmi). A highly layered film, Ankur's protagonist affects a pro-Dalit stance to get closer to Shabana Azmi's character, his maidservant. Their relationship sparks rumours that are all-too-true, leading to a climax that exposes upper-caste hypocrisy.

Ore Oru Gramathile ('In a little village', Tamil, 1987)



This film, by director K Jyothi Pandian, is easily the most controversial in the list. It is about a penniless upper-caste woman who pretends to be from a scheduled caste to get an education. She goes on to become an excellent civil servant, but is eventually exposed, leading to a courtroom scene in which she defends her case and appeals for reservations based on economic backwardness rather than caste.

Dalit groups, such as BR Ambedkar's People's Movement and the Republican Party of India launched protests, threatening to damage cinemas in which the film was screened. The Tamil Nadu stopped the film's release, and eventually, it took a Supreme Court directive to ensure the film's release. It later won a national award -- The Silver Lotus (for best film on social issues).