Dashrath Manjhi spent 22 years chiselling a massive gap through a mountain out of love for his dead wife

The incredible story of an Indian man who spent 22 years carving a massive gap in a mountain after his wife died in tragic circumstances has been adapted into a major Bollywood film.

Dashrath Manjhi undertook the mammoth task when his wife Falguni died in 1959 – because she was not able to receive urgent medical care after being involved in an incident.

The journey to the nearest town involved a 34-mile trek around the mountain, and Manjhi wanted to ensure that other villagers wouldn’t suffer the same fate as his wife.

He instead worked day and night to chip away at the mountain using only a hammer and chisel – reducing the distance to only 15 kilometres by creating a path between the rocks.


The film tells the story of Manjhi’s life

But his gargantuan efforts took until 1982 to complete – with a path which is around 360 feet long and more than nine metres wide in several sections.



And even after he had finished the impressive task, it took local government officials a further three decades to convert it into a surfaced road.

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Nawazuddin Siqqiduim, who plays Manjhi in the film, said: ‘’The story is beautiful and compelling. He made the impossible possible and his work has helped thousands’.

‘The most difficult aspect was to capture the madness. His work is extraordinary. He should be an inspiration and an icon for the youth.’

Manjhi died from cancer in 2007 and was recognised with a state funeral in Bihar.