Interview with Sambhaji Bhagat

Sambhaji Bhagat is a Dalit activist and a Lok-shahir who also composed the music for Chaitanya Tamhane's award-winning feature film Court. Bhagat is a self-proclaimed Ambedkarite. Bhagat has been innovating and revolutionising Maharashtrian folk forms like the powada, bharud, and gondhal at a time when many cultural activists had abandoned traditional music in favour of genres taken from the film industry. Bhagat's interests had broadened beyond music and street theatre by the 2000s. He began writing monthly pieces for the Marathi newspapers Mahanagar and Samrat after releasing his autobiography, Kaatal Khaalcha Pani, or Water Under The Rock, at the Vidrohi Sammelan in 1999. In his interview with the archive, Sambhaji recounts his experiences navigating the Anti-Caste movements since his teenage years.
Interviewer: Mayura Saavi
For Dalit Art Archive