Raja Ravi Varma has always piqued curiosity and intrigue in a film maker’s mind. The fascination resulted in portrayals on big and small screen.
“But never before has Raja Ravi Varma been looked at the way, like we do in this film,” claims Vineet Sabharwal about his 10 minute-film -- Beyond the arch . Based on his life, the film is produced by The Raja Ravi Varma Heritage Foundation in Bengaluru.
Vineet, who has directed the film, feels, more than Varma’s life, his paintings and their high prices were highlighted. “But we don’t know the man behind these paintings. How and why did he create what he did,” he says.
Considered the father of modern Indian art, Varma was born in Kilimanoor Palace, a small quiet place in Thiruvananthpuram, erstwhile Travancore. The princely painter mastered the style of academic realism of the West to depict Indian mythological narratives. He also set up a press and made prints of his paintings thus making art accessible to all.
The short film tries to explore Raja Ravi Varma through his place of birth, the Kilimanoor Palace. The film was shot over a day with guidance from Rama Varma, a descendent of Raja Ravi Varma.
But it wasn’t easy to begin with. When the crew reached the location, they were zapped to find a palace so simple and bereft of frills. “There is nothing. It is very basic so we wondered what to shoot, how to build a story effectively through visuals. We came back to Trivandrum. My cinematographer told me, he wants to shoot sunrise at the palace. So we went again. It was at that time, we chanced upon something exclusive,” exclaims Vineet. A room was opened for the crew in which was lying a chest of unseen books, sketches and manuscripts of Raja Ravi Varma. “Before starting to paint, he studied human anatomy extensively and that is why he had such precise proportions. He always sketched first and then painted,” he adds.
Exploring the palace and listening to Rama Varma, threw light on other aspects of the iconic artist’s personality like his love for travel and his thirst for knowledge. “He loved tradition, rituals and believed in logic behind performing them. We were also shown the studio, he had built to entertain the royalty. But he died before he could start it,” says Vineet. Director of Trika Studio, which is into 3-D projects mapping and post-production, Vineet says, in a way, he has also rediscovered Raja Ravi Varma.
“I didn’t know Dadasaheb Phalke was a big fan of Raja Ravi Varma and the way he used lighting and composed frames in his films were influenced by his paintings,” explains Vineet.
The film does not have a character but the poignant picturisation and an effective voice-over conveys the story beautifully. “It may sound preposterous but I believe, Raja Ravi Varma has made this film. He showed us the way. I couldn’t find a person who could play his character. Such was his personality.” The Foundation plans to screen the film before every exhibition of Raja Ravi Varma’s works.
(The film Beyond The Arch will be premièred at Gallery G, Lavelle Road on April 29, 7 pm. Historian and UNESCO Fellow Dr Choodamani Nandagopal will speak on the subject)
