The Indian World Cup winning team chose to sing the A R Rahman anthem Maa Tujhe Salaam during their victory lap at the Wankhede stadium on July 4. However, how many remember that the creator of the video and the brain behind the anthem was Bharat Bala?
Bharat Bala the man who has helmed more than five films that applaud India, and its spirit has also done two films and many commercials for top brands like Nescafé and Tanshiq.
How does it feel to know that Maa Tujhe Salaam is still as popular as it was 27 years ago? “It’s an emotion. It was personal. Twenty-eight years ago, my dad asked me as a filmmaker if I could create an idea that would infuse fervour and emotion in young minds. He is not there anymore, but for me, that victory lap was such an emotional and gratifying moment,” says an emotional Bharat Bala.
“I recall when I was sitting with A R Rahman, nearly 27 years ago, I told him we need to create a song, a sound that even after 25 years, the new generation can resonate with. And, that has happened! That’s something so fantastic. The pinnacle was when Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya, and Rohit Sharma sang the song while carrying the flag during the victory lap. Virat knew the song so well that he was giving the cue for ‘Vande Mataram’. The best part is that a simple emotion, music, and creativity can bring joy to people and unify them… and that is so gratifying.”
This man, who is continuously looking for new ideas and challenges, is currently busy with a Herculean task. He has taken up the challenge of telling 1000 stories of India. “Funnily enough, people just react to the number and say ‘wow, 1000 stories?’ but nobody asked what they are about!” Bala quips.
But 1000? Really? “Yes!” he emphasises. “I just wanted to do it. You know, you are at a time and the space in life where you think you want to do something as a legacy project. I don’t want to do more music videos or one more commercial. I wanted to do something where I could use my creativity and use it for a unique purpose. Therefore this journey of finding these unique stories.”
These 1000 short films are rare stories from across the country’s hinterland. The shorts and the Virtual Bharat films explore the interiors of India and take the viewers to some never-before-seen places. “The idea was to use my cinematic vision to tell compelling emotional, human stories of unsung heroes and, you know, bringing them to mainstream audiences,” says Bala.
“Because we live in such a different society that we do not know how the rest of India lives… our culture, civilisational history, you know, literature and how people live…” You mean urban India doesn’t know about rural India? “Well. Yeah. So, I just felt that it would be interesting if you tell human stories and if you tell them in like a movie, you watch a small film as a story. Some-where it connects. Story by story. And if, we keep consistently telling them, somewhere it will help invoke creativity in everyday people, and subconsciously they will connect. And somewhere we start building respect for art and creativity and humanity,” Bala elucidates.
What part of it you are going to bring out… more of art or more of humanity? “Everything is a reflection of humanity. Art doesn’t exist in isolation. Art needs to be practised, consumed, and lived experiences through humanity. So… when we see how people in remote places are living their lives… and celebrating the art of what has been passed on… that’s what excites me and that’s what I want to show the people.”
Bala continues to explain, “For example, if you take Bahi… latest film of ours, it is about the tradition of preservation of ancestral information. And young kids are learning how to preserve it so that they can continue the tradition.”
What were the parameters used to choose the unsung heroes or the stories that you have picturised? “Emotional, cultural... these were the basic parameters. And of course there has to a unique element to it. For example, the Aaji Shala — Grand-mother School from a small village in Maharashtra’s Thane district. Monday to Friday, the grandmothers drop their grandchildren to school. Saturday-Sunday, the grandchildren drop their grandmothers to school. This is an initiative to make older women literate. I found an emotional trigger iin this.”
Virtual Bharat has already published more than 30 films — a series on Ganga, a series on Uttarakhand and some stories from other states. Stories come from different states, and they are contrasting. “We keep saying our country is a celebration of diversity. How to celebrate diversity unless you know their culture? Tamil Nadu needs to know stories of Chhattisgarh; Chhattisgarh needs to know stories of Kerala… The idea is to present India not just to foreigners, but also to Indians,” says Bala.
Bala admits that the journey of finding these unique stories was not easy. “It’s not something that we started one day… just like that. I’ve been working on it for more than 20 years.”
He also confesses that it was the digital era kind of prompted him to take this up now. “Visual storytelling is something that I want to power these stories with. Today, people are not reading. People are watching. I want to take advantage of that,” says Bala.
The challenges that followed were not easy. “In an era where the attention span is limited to 15, 30 and 60 second shorts and reels, how I do hold their attention?” he asks a rhetoric.
Is that the reason why you resorted to making short films? “That’s one of the reasons... And keeping the trend in mind, my films are still long considering that they are just under 10 minutes,” Bala quips. The North-eastern regions still need to to be explored. Any plans to go there? “Yes. That’s the next on agenda.”
Do you think these 1000 stories are going to be enough? “India cannot be put in just 1000 stories. India needs thousands of stories, but we have at least moved a few steps ahead by building this repository,” Bala signs off.
