Ramakrishna Mission is in the process of making a 90-minute
animation film on the life of Swami Vivekananda to make his 150th birth
anniversary special. Though January 12 is Swamijis 150th birth
anniversary, the Mission will celebrate the culmination of the same next
year. Work is on in full swing and the film is likely to be released in
January next year.
The film, christened
Kindled, is being made by Aura Cinematics, an animation film company
roped in by RK Mission. The storyline has been finalized and experts are
now working on the animation figures. Interestingly, the technique used
in the recent Tintin film - a combination of animation and realistic
figures - will also being used in Kindled.
We
call it 3D with toon shading. It is the most recent technique in the
world of animation, said Sushmita Mukherjee, spokesperson of Aura
Cinematics. While the film is being directed by Sukankan Roy,
Mumbai-based Neil will score the music.
For
almost a year, the film-making team discussed Swamijis life with RKM
monks in order to arrive at a storyline. We finally decided to create a
story on the philosophy - service to man as God - that Swamiji followed.
In doing this, we realized that we would have to start our story when
Swamiji was just out of school to the end of his life. We have not
included his childhood or formative years within the scope of this film,
said Swami Chandrakantananda, a senior RKM monk coordinating the
project.
The film will start at a stage where
Narendranath Dutta had still not become Swami Vivekananda. He had just
written his FA exam from Scottish Church College and got introduced to
Ramakrishna Paramhansa, to whom he started singing devotional songs
regularly. Paramhansa Deb gradually instilled the philosophy of service
in his favourite disciple. The famous episode, where Paramhansa tells
Swamiji, Jeebe daya noi, seba koro...shib gyane jeeb seba, will be a
part of the film.
The story goes on to trace
how Swamiji got Paramhansas 10 other disciples around him and founded
the RK Mission and how the Mission moved from one campus to another till
Swamiji was finally able to buy 20 bighas of land on the banks of
Hooghly in Belur and set up Belurmath. Swamijis Chicago lecture will
naturally be there but more importantly, the film will focus on the
technologies that he learnt from the West that would help him alleviate
poverty and suffering of his people. His fight against plague and famine
will be shown in the film. It is here that we will focus on Sister
Nivedita, Swami Chandrakanta said.
