Gods in Shackles

Last updated

Gods in Shackles
Directed by Sangita Iyer
Written bySangita Iyer
Digby Cook
Produced bySangita Iyer
Music by Janal Bechthold
Release dates
  • January 2016 (2016-01)(Canada)
  • 21 May 2016 (2016-05-21)(India)
Running time
95 minutes
CountriesIndia
Canada
LanguageEnglish

Gods in Shackles is a 2016 Indian investigative drama feature-length documentary film written, directed and executive produced by Sangita Iyer on her documentary directorial debut. The documentary is based on the captive elephants in Kerala culture and inspired by the filmmaker's own personal experience witnessing the torture and suffering faced by the temple elephants during cultural festivals. [1] [2] [3] The documentary was screened at the Legislative Assembly of Kerala on 21 May 2016 following a suggestion by speaker P. Sreeramakrishnan, who formally approved the release. [4]

Contents

Plot

The documentary opens with interviews featuring few notable Indian personalities such as Raman Sukumar, Jacob Cheeran, Sugadha Kumari and Akkeramon Kalidasan Bhattathiripad. The documentary exposes the ugly reality regarding elephant cruelty in Kerala and how the elephants are treated by their mahouts in an unfavourable way, with emphasis on the cultural festivals. [5] It further elaborates on the lives of prominent individual elephants including Thiruvambadi Lakshmi, Thechikottukavu Ramachandran, Ollukkara Jayaram and Sunder. [6]

Production

The documentary was announced by Canada-based filmmaker Sangita Iyer, who was born in Pallakad, Kerala. She announced her plan in 2014 after acknowledging the torture faced by the elephants during a trip to India in December 2013. [7] The filmmaker was convinced to make the documentary after watching the Thrissur Pooram Festival during her second visit to Kerala in May 2014. [8]

In 2014, Sangita initially produced a five-minute trailer based on her experiences in December 2013, [8] and launched a crowdfunding campaign for the project. [8] Principal photography commenced in 2014 and was predominantly shot in Kerala. Certain portions of the documentary were shot and set in Thrissur and in few temples in Kerala such as Guruvayur Temple and Thiruvambadi Sri Krishna Temple. [9] The production shot over 200 hours of footage including videos of ill-treated elephants in Kerala. [10] Sangita stated that filming during the 2014 Thrissur Festival could not be used and that mahouts of the elephants disrupted the shooting procedure. [11] The film's poster has the title in Devanagari font style, chosen by Sangita, with the tagline "Born to Roam Wild not Stand Chained". [12]

Release

The documentary was premiered at several international film festivals. It was nominated by the International Elephant Film Festival at the UN General Assembly and was also nominated at the Jackson Wild in March 2016. It was also screened in the 47th edition of the International Film Festival of India in 2016. It was screened at the 2016 CayFilm International Film Festival, [13] and at the Arya Vaidya Sala in January 2019. [12]

Accolades

The documentary received several awards and nominations from international film festivals. The documentary won the best feature documentary at the 2016 Cayman Islands International Film Festival. [14] It also won the Golden Award at the World Documentary Awards. [15]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thrissur</span> City in Kerala, India

Thrissur, formerly Trichur, also known by its historical name Thrissivaperur, is a city and the headquarters of the Thrissur district in Kerala, India. It is the third largest urban agglomeration in Kerala after Kochi and Kozhikode, and the 21st largest in India. The city is built around a 65-acre (26 ha) hillock called the Thekkinkaadu Maidaanam which seats a large Hindu Shiva Temple. It is located 304 kilometres (189 mi) north-west of the state's capital city, Thiruvananthapuram. Thrissur was once the capital of the Kingdom of Cochin, and was a point of contact for the Assyrians, Greeks, Persians, Arabs, Romans, Portuguese, Dutch and English.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thrissur Pooram</span> Indian festival

The ThrissurPooram is an annual Hindu temple festival held in Thrissur, Kerala, India. It is held at the Vadakkunnathan Temple in Thrissur every year on the Pooramday—the day when the moon rises with the Pooram star in the Malayalam Calendar month of Medam. It is the largest and most famous of all poorams in India. Thrissur pooram is also one of the largest festivals in Asia with more than 1 million visitors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guruvayur Temple</span> Hindu temple in Guruvayur, Kerala, India

The Guruvayur Temple (Gurupawanapuri) a famous Indian Hindu temple located in the town of Guruvayur in Thrissur district, Kerala. The temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu (Guruvayurappan) but popularly known as Krishna. It is one of the most important places of worship for Hindus in Kerala and Tamil Nadu and is often referred to as Bhuloka Vaikuntha. The temple is Classified one among the 108 Abhimana Kshethram of Vaishnavate tradition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elephants in Kerala culture</span> Overview of role of the elephants in culture of Kerala

Elephants found in Kerala, the Indian elephants, are one of three recognized subspecies of the Asian elephant. Since 1986, Asian elephants have been listed as endangered by IUCN as the population has declined by at least 50% over the last three generations, estimated to be 25,600 to 32,750 in the wild. The species is pre-eminently threatened by habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation. Along with a large population of wild elephants, Kerala has more than seven hundred captive elephants. Most of them are owned by temples and individuals. They are used for religious ceremonies in and around the temples, and some churches, and a few elephants work at timber yards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thrissur district</span> District in Kerala, India

Thrissur, anglicised as Trichur, is one of the 14 districts in the Indian state of Kerala. It is situated in the central region of the state. Spanning an area of about 3,032 km2 (1,171 sq mi), the district is home to over 9% of Kerala's population.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Punnathurkotta</span> Place of interest in Kerala, India

Punnathurkotta is a fort and former palace located in Kottapadi, about 3 km from the Guruvayoor Sree Krishna Temple, in Thrissur District of Kerala State in South India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paramekkavu Bagavathi Temple</span> Hindu temple in Kerala, India

Paramekkavu Bagavathi Temple is one of the largest Bagavathi temples in Kerala located in Thrissur City. Sakthan Thampuran ordained the temples into two groups, namely "Paramekkavu side" and "Thiruvambady side" for Thrissur Pooram which is the biggest festival in South India and Kerala. These two groups are headed by the principal participants, Paramekkavu Bagavathi Temple at Thrissur Swaraj Round and Thiruvambadi Sri Krishna Temple at Shoranur road. The two temples are hardly 500 metres apart. Thiruvambadi Sri Krishna Temple is one of the two groups participating in Thrissur Pooram. The Paramekkavu temple devaswom have a school known as Paramekkavu Vidya Mandir at MLA road near Kutoor and one KG section near to the temple itself.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arattupuzha Pooram</span> Hindu festival in Kerala, India

The oldest pooram in all of Kerala, the Arattupuzha Pooram is held at the Sree Sastha Temple in Thrissur for a period of seven days each year. Believers say that at this 'conclave', all Gods and Goddesses gather during the time period of the Pooram. Arattupuzha Temple in Arattupuzha, Thrissur district of Kerala. Visitors from nearby and far off places reach the village of Arattupuzha during the festival days. The pinnacle of the seven-day festival is the last two days. The evening prior to the last day of the festival would have an assembly of caparisoned elephants and staging of percussion ensembles as part of the ceremony called Sasthavinte Melam. The pancharimelam of Aarttupuzha Sasthavu is the largest assembly of percussion artists in any other night Poorams. More than 200 artists perform in sasthavinte melam. This can only be seen at Sree Poornathrayeesa Temple, Tripunithura other than in Arattupuzha Pooram

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mukkam</span> Municipality/suburb/town in Kozhikode, Kerala, India

Mukkam is a major town in Kozhikode, state of Kerala, India. Mukkam is located about 27 km east of Calicut city on the bank of river Iruvanjippuzha, one of the major tributaries of river Chaliyar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thechikottukavu Ramachandran</span> Tallest living captive elephant in India

Thechikkottukavu Ramachandran is an Indian elephant owned by Thechikottukavu devasom, a temple in Kerala. Commonly known as simply Raman, he is the tallest living captive elephant in Asia, standing at 314 cm. They gave Ramachandran the title Ekachatradhipathi. He reportedly formerly had the name Moti Prasad until he was purchased by a new handler in 1984.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thrissur Pooram Exhibition</span> Exhibition of native goods

All India Agricultural, Industrial, Educational and Cultural Exhibition or commonly called the Thrissur Pooram Exhibition is an exhibition organised jointly by Paramekkavu Bagavathi Temple Devaswom and Thiruvambadi Sri Krishna Temple Devaswom, ahead of Thrissur Pooram in Thekkinkadu Maidan in Thrissur city. It is usually conducted over a period of 40 to 50 days during the Thrissur Pooram.The exhibition is the largest in Kerala in terms of attendance and floor space.

<i>Thiruvambadi Thamban</i> 2012 Malayalam action film

Thiruvambadi Thamban is a 2012 Indian Malayalam-language action thriller film starring Jayaram in lead role, directed by M. Padmakumar and written by S. Suresh Babu. It also marks the debut of Tamil actor Kishore in Malayalam. It also has Jagathy Sreekumar, Nedumudi Venu, Samuthirakani in supporting roles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trichur C. Narendran</span> Indian musician

Thrissur C. Narendran is a Mridangam artiste from Kerala, India. His intricate rhythmic patterns, sense of proportion, sharp anticipation, short & carefully thought out phases of silence, and the ability to give the Mridangam the much-needed soft touch sets Trichur C. Narendran a apart. Narendran has also accompanied more than five generations of musicians.

Pallavur Appu Marar (1928-2002) was an Indian percussionist, widely considered to be a maestro in the Pallavur (Palakkad) style of thayambaka, edakka, sopana sangeetham, melam and panchavadyam. He was the eldest of the three brothers, the other two being Pallavur Manian Marar and Pallavur Kunhikuttan Marar, who formed the famed Pallavur trio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">V. P. Krishnakumar</span>

Vannadil Puthiyaveettil "V. P." Krishnakumar is a sound engineer, editor and recordist known mostly for his works in Malayalam films, documentaries and TV series. He has worked with acclaimed film directors including G. Aravindan, Padmarajan, T. V. Chandran and K. P. Kumaran. He specializes in Sync sound—for many of his notable works, audio was recorded live. He has also worked on foreign projects, including a documentary with German documentary filmmaker and director Andreas Voigt. After long stints with Kerala State Film Development Corporation's Chitranjali Studio and Kalabhavan Digital Studios in Thiruvananthapuram, and Kochi, he heads the Department of Sound Recording at Chitranjali Studio, Thiruvananthapuram.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thiruvambadi Sivasundar</span>

Thiruvambadi Sivasundar was an Indian elephant who lived at the Thiruvambadi Sri Krishna Temple in Thrissur, Kerala, India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sangita Iyer</span> Indian-born Canadian wildlife activist, journalist, biologist and filmmaker

Sangita Iyer is an Indian-born Canadian author, broadcast journalist, writer, biologist and documentary filmmaker. She is known for her advocacy on wildlife conservation, especially for wild elephants, and for exposing the atrocities against Asian elephants by religious institutions. She is the founding executive director and president of the Voice for Asian Elephants Society, which was created in 2016 with the aim of protecting wild and captive elephants of India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brigitte Kornetzky</span> German filmmaker

Brigitte Uttar Kornetzky, is a German–Swiss Indie filmmaker. She directed multiple award winning feature documentaries like God No Say So, Imagine, the Sky.,Where the Elephants Sleeps, Elephants From Zero to Hero (2023) and The Fall and Rise of Elephants`Paradise, as well as numerous short films like Cheetal Walk, Sugarcane Village, Elephant Kitchen and Behind Bars.

Chengalloor Ranganathan was a male Asian elephant in Kerala, India, which is believed to have been the tallest captive elephant in Asia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guruvayur Padmanabhan</span> Elephant in Kerala (1940s-2020

Guruvayur Padmanabhan popularly known as Gajaratnam Padmanabhan was the leader of the elephants of Guruvayur temple in Kerala after the death of the famous temple elephant named Guruvayur Kesavan in 1976. The elephant carried the idol of Lord Vishnu for 66 years.

References

  1. ↑ Ramnath, Nandini. "Documentary 'Gods in Shackles' on temple elephants is an eye-opener". Scroll.in. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  2. ↑ Gavin Haines, Travel writer (5 July 2016). "New documentary exposes brutal treatment of India's temple elephants". The Telegraph. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  3. ↑ "The woman trying to save India's tortured temple elephants". BBC News. 6 September 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  4. ↑ "'Gods In Shackles': Elephant Agony Reaches Kerala Assembly". NDTV.com. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  5. ↑ "Faith in Fetters: Gods in Shackles highlights the plight of temple elephants". The Indian Express. 16 July 2016. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  6. ↑ R, Nidhin T. (3 July 2016). "Gods in Shackles strikes a tender chord". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  7. ↑ "Seeing the Mistreatment of Elephants in India Was Haunting". HuffPost Canada. 7 January 2014. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  8. 1 2 3 "Gods in shackles: Plight of temple elephants". The Times of India. 20 July 2016. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  9. ↑ "Watch: In 'god's own country', why are temple elephants kept in chains?". Scroll.in. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  10. ↑ Poorvaja, S. (21 July 2016). "Highlighting the plight of Kerala's captive elephants". The Hindu. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  11. ↑ "Gods in Shackles – A Film To End Elephant Slavery". Indiegogo. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  12. 1 2 Naha, Abdul Latheef (17 January 2019). "A moving work on gods in shackles". The Hindu. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  13. ↑ "Gods in Shackles, An Exposé on the Shocking Abuse and Exploitation of Elephants for Kerala India's Lavish Cultural Festivals". Humane Decisions. 17 June 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  14. ↑ "Documentary featuring Fraser brothers to screen at CayFilm festival". Cayman Compass. 28 June 2016. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  15. ↑ Service, Express News (6 July 2016). "'Gods in shackles' to be screened in capital". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.