Sarvasakshi (1978)

Phutane, a former journalist, art teacher, poet and actor, had produced Patel’s Saamna (1975), inaugurating New Indian Cinema productions in Marathi. This is his debut feature and, like Palekar’s Aakriet (1981), it deals with mystical rituals calling for human sacrifice in the context of the notorious Manwat murders in Maharashtra. The idealistic schoolteacher Ravi (Hardikar) and his wife Rekha (Paingankar) move to a village and come up against local superstition. When Rekha becomes pregnant, she has a premonition of death. A bhagat (witch-doctor) confirms the premonition and suggests a human sacrifice to stave off death. Rekha dies in childbirth. Ravi’s problems are further heightened when he is arrested for the murder of one of the bhagat’s ritual victims. In jail, he has a premonition of another sacrifice and is able to tip off the police who arrest the bhagat.