We need to rewind to a time before the internet and social media became a part of popular culture, much before fake quotes attributed to Rumi could be found floating around in virtual space. A time before cinema gathered the iconic status of entertainment that it eventually took on. Actually, decades ago – when the Second World War had just begun – while other nations were fighting battles, we were still concerned about ‘inner peace’ and ‘nirvana’. That was the time when Prabhat Film Company decided to produce a film called Sant Dnyaneshwar.
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By the 1940s their earlier release Sant Tukaram (1936) had already gained a landmark status with international acclaim (at the Venice Film Festival, no less!) and box-office success. In comparison Sant Dnyaneshwar was a smaller gem, but a unique one nonetheless.
Sant Dnayneshwar which celebrates its 75th anniversary on 18th May, 2015 ran for a record 36 weeks in Pune and Mumbai, and it was reportedly the first Indian film to release commercially in the US by the title Dyandev, Light of Asia.
My grandfather vividly remembers the day his entire family went to watch it. The preparation for the viewing itself was ceremonial – complete with an elaborate bath followed by tilak and puja – it was a religious film after all. One of my uncles who was a young brat then, was not taken for the movie since he refused to take a bath. Old ladies in the family carried handmade cloth bags with dhoop and incense sticks as well.
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My grandfather also recalls that for months, kirtankaar (folk-artists who specialise in religious stories with a liberal sprinkle of moral preaching) in temples would talk about the film, its actors & scenes. Yes, thanks to Sant Dnyaneshwar, films had elbowed their way into temples, a forbidden territory!
My father recalls that the legend of the film was such that, Mumbai’s local Doordarshan telecast was launched with the screening of Sant Dnyaneshwar in 1972. He along with his friends made an instinctive trip to Mumbai to catch a screening of Sant Dnyaneshwar on television. Despite jumping tracks at various local stations and ringing door bells at unknown homes to be allowed to see the film, they didn’t get to see it.
As a writer and filmmaker, I love listening to these stories, and wonder how a film achieves such a cult status that it rules the hearts of viewers for decades together – a feat all creators dream to achieve.
My lessons from the influence of a film like Sant Dnyaneshwar is – know your audience, giving them what they already want doesn’t always need to be looked down upon.
Don’t shy away from telling stories just because you lack the advanced technology to tell them. Technology will evolve to embrace your need. Telling the story is what is important, not the finesse. As Indians, we have puppet theatre & shadow theatre in our genes; we are suckers for stories, nothing more.
Look around, what is the world consumed with? Conflict and hatred. Tell stories of peace. That’s what Prabhat Film Company did and they succeeded.
And last – never put a fake Rumi quote as your status. Stay real.
This is my personal tribute to Sant Dnyaneshwar, for a more indepth analysis of the film itself - internet hai na! Why, you could even catch the whole film sitting at home on YouTube now! I will end with a quote by Dnyaneshwar himself (a real one!):
Vish’waache aart maazya mani prakashale… Ava’ghe’chi zaale deh Brahm!
“This intense vulnerable luminous seed of the Universe, is now illuminating my mind // Hence, whole of my body has become The Universe.”
(The contributor is a Hindi and Marathi screenwriter for film and television)
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