Film to chronicle not only the physical but also spiritual experiences of Sri Aurobindo

Other States - Puducherry The Hindu : Other States - Puducherry News : Filming of documentary on Sri Aurobindo begins
Monday, Aug 31, 2009 - Staff Reporter — Photo : T. Singaravelou

Minister of State for Planning, Parliamentary Affairs and Culture V. Narayanasamy at the launch of the documentary film in Puducherry on Sunday. Welfare Minister M. Kandasamy and writer Manoj Das are in the picture.

PUDUCHERRY: Union Minister of State for Planning, Parliamentary Affairs and Culture V. Narayanasamy on Sunday sounded the clapperboard for a documentary film on Sri Aurobindo. The film, directed by ‘Gunavathy Mainthan’ Ravi, will be released on April 4, 2010, marking the centenary of Sri Aurobindo’s arrival in Puducherry.
Mr. Narayanasamy said that little was known about Sri Aurobindo, the freedom fighter, and his life as a revolutionary. He expressed the hope that the film would throw more light on Sri Aurobindo’s political life such as his partnership with Bal Gangadhar Tilak and his stints as editor of nationalist magazines.
Welfare Minister M. Kandasamy was also present. Member of Legislative Assembly S.P. Sivakumar said that in commemoration of Sri Aurobindo’s arrival in Puducherry, a postal stamp would also be released .

Writer and professor of the Sri Aurobindo International Centre for Education Manoj Das said that the filmmaker had taken on a difficult task by attempting to chronicle not only the physical but also spiritual experiences of Sri Aurobindo.
Mr. Das wanted the first house Sri Aurobindo stayed in Puducherry to be declared a national monument. This was because it has great significance to the beginning of his spiritual journey.
Mr. Ravi, who has made 15 documentary films so far, said that the 60-minute docu-drama would depict Sri Aurobindo in all his avatars - freedom fighter, writer, intellectual and yogi. Produced by K.I. Manirathinem of Anugraha Cultural Akademi, it would be made in Tamil and English under the guidance of Mr. Das. Shooting would be held in Kolkata, Vadodara, Darjeeling and Puducherry over the next few months.

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A tri-lingual documentary on Sri Aurobindo Asian Tribune
Tue, 2009-09-01 11:30 — By Gopal Ethiraj, Chennai
Puducherry, 01 September, (Asiantribune.com):

Noted documentary film-maker Gunavathy Maindan’s next documentary venture “Sri Aurobindo” was inaugurated by the Union Minister of State for Culture V.Narayanaswamy in Puducherry on Sunday.
The film is being made in commemoration with the centenary year of the coming of the Mahan Aurobindo to Puducherry (April 1910 to 2010). It is planned to shoot as a tri-lingual—Tamil, English and Hindi.
The one-hour documentary would be shot at Puducherry, Baroda, in Gujarat, Kolkatta and Darjeeling in West Bengal where the Indian Nationalist and freedom-fighter, writer, poet, philosopher and yogi had lived and worked.
Sri Aurobindo had his schooling and higher education (Cambridge) in England and returning to India, his mind flowed to what he had missed of his motherland—its culture, philosophy, literature and languages. What struck him more was the nationalism.
He joined the movement for India’s freedom from the British rule in 1905. The famous Alipore Bomb case in which he was implicated proved to be a turning point in his life.

He migrated to Puducherry in 1910, then under French regime, continued his freedom struggle, possibly under the garb of spiritualism. For him spiritualism and nationalism were same as Sanatana Dharma. While practicing both, spiritualism seemed to have overtaken him, with which he is known to the world. He was a contemporary of the nationalist poet Subramaniya Bharathi.
Puducherry stood to gain largely from his presence here for forty years, and also with his prime disciple the Divine Mother.

As the Union Minister sounded the clap-board and started the shooting of the film, the invited dignitaries hailed the writer-director Gunavathy Maindan, who has 14 documentaries to his credit. The speakers included Welfare Minister Kandaswamy, Prof. Dr. Manoj Das, Prof. Dr. Murali Sivaramakkrishnan, Dr. P. Raja, Dr. Ritanath Kesari, MLA S.P. Sivakumar, Dr. K.I. Manirathinem, Chairman, Navasaksti Township Developers and Journalist Gopal Ethiraj. - Asian Tribune

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We all know that Sri Aurobindo's life was rich with events and involvements, voluntary or otherwise, that would fill up volumes of interesting biographies. But it is also known to all of us what he told one of his earliest would-be biographers – that there was nothing on the surface of his life which could justify writing a biography. Obviously what he thought to be the real purpose, works and achievements of his life were matters that remained beneath the surface.
But I realise that we cannot help writing about his life. I have not been able to restrain myself from doing it in a small way. Auroville Today > Current issue > Current issue > August 2009 “We cannot help writing about His life” – Manoj Das