Marathi film industry is bringing a story of the first Indian women to get a two-year graduate degree in western medicine from the United States. The trailer of the film titled ‘Anandi Gopal’ released on Saturday which explores the life of Anandi and her husband who motivated her to become an inspiration for all the women.
The film is directed by Sameer Vidwans and produced by Zee Studios, Fresh Lime Films & Namah Pictures. It stars Bhagyashree Milind as Anandi Gopal Joshi and Lalit Prabhakar as her husband Gopalrao Joshi.
The film will release on 15 Feb 2019.
Watch the trailer here:
Anandibai Joshi was one of the earliest Indian female physicians. She went abroad to get her degree in the era when girls were not allowed to study even at home. Her husband was a progressive thinker and supported women education, doesn’t matter from which community or class she belongs. He fought with his family and went against society to send his wife to America for higher studies.
Anandi was married at the young age of nine to a widower who was 20 years older to her. She gave birth to her first and only child at the age of 14 but he died 10 days later. She went to America when she was 17 and received her degree at 19. On her graduation, Queen Victoria sent her a congratulatory message.
Joshi died at the age of 21 and her ashes were sent to Theodicia Carpenter, who helped her while she was in the US. Carpenter placed the ashes in her family cemetery at the Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery, New York, with an inscription “Anandi Joshi was a Hindu Brahmin girl, the first Indian woman to receive education abroad and to obtain a medical degree”.