The Light: Swami Vivekananda | |
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Directed by | Utpal (Tutu) Sinha |
Screenplay by | J. Misra Ashok Ranjan Chakraborty |
Based on | Life of Swami Vivekananda |
Starring | Deep Bhattacharya Gargi Roy Choudhury Premankur Chattopadhyay Courtney Stephens Biswajit Chakraborty Piyali Mitra Sayak Chakraborty Archita Sahu |
Cinematography | Utpal (Tutu) Sinha |
Edited by | Sanjib Dutta |
Music by | Nachiketa and Dr. Haricharan Verma |
Production company | Tri Colour productions private limited www.tricolourproductions.net |
Release date |
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Running time | 117 minutes |
Country | India |
Languages | Bengali, Hindi |
The Light: Swami Vivekananda (2013) is a bilingual (Bengali and Hindi) film directed by Utpal (Tutu) Sinha [1] and produced by Tri Colour productions private limited. [2] The film is based on the life and teaching of Swami Vivekananda. The film was a tribute to Vivekananda on the 150th anniversary of his birth. [3] [4] [5] The film was dubbed in 18 languages. [4] [6]
Deep Bhattacharya played the role of Swami Vivekananda, whom director Tutu Sinha first saw in a Bengali drama. Premankur Chattopadhyay and Gargi Roy Chowdhury played the characters of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and Sarada Devi respectively. [4]
The eventful life of Swami Vivekananda has been captured in this film. The film shows the transition from young Narendra Nath Datta to world preacher Swami Vivekananda. Different events from his life starting from childhood days to meeting with the mystic saint Ramakrishna Paramahamsa at Dakshineswar, Vivekananda's travel to Northern India, travel to the West (America, Europe), meeting with Sister Nivedita, and his works in India have been captured, thereby building his journey from being Narendranath to Vivekananda in bits and pieces. [7]
This film was director Tutu Sinha's first work in big screen, before that he mainly worked as an ad filmmaker and television director. In an interview, Sinha told– "I have directed serials like Trishna and Rajmahal. I have also directed the serial Sadhok Bamakhyapa up to its 1000th episode. I always wanted to make a film on Swamiji." [3]
The film was shot in different places of West Bengal like Kolkata and in Odisha like Rairangpur, Similipal etc. Director Tutu Sinha had to travel all over India for the research work of this film. The events of Vivekananda's life in Rajasthan was recreated in Odisha. [4] The scenes of Vivekananda's lectures at Parliament of World's Religions, Chicago in September 1893 was shot at Kolkata Town Hall. [8]
Sarada Ma was one [of] the most emancipated women of her times. The cinematography by Tutu is awesome and I feel the film will attract viewers not just from Bengal but beyond as well.
Gargi Roy Chowdhury on her character [9]
Mainly theatre actors and actresses were taken in this film. [6]
The music launch of the film took place in January 2013 at Rotary Sadan, Kolkata. [11] [12] There were 14 songs in the film's music album. The music of the film was composed by Nachiketa Chakraborty and Dr. Haricharan Verma and the songs were sung by Ajay Chakraborty, Suresh Wadkar, Kavita Krishnamurthy, Nachiketa Chakraborty, Subhankar Bhaskar, and Javed Ali. [13]
All music is composed by Nachiketa Chakraborty and Dr. Haricharan Verma
No. | Title | Lyrics | Singer(s) | Length |
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1. | "Janani Janmabhumi Swargadapi Gariyashi" (Sanskrit) | Valmiki | Nachiketa Chakraborty and chorus | |
2. | "Shree Guru Charan Saroj (Hanuman Chalisa)" (Awadhi) | Tulsidas | Nazia Alam | |
3. | "Dui Hridoyer Nodi" (Bengali) | Rabindranath Tagore | Subhankar Bhaskar | |
4. | "Dukh Me Sumiran Sab Kare" (Hindi) | Kabir | Suresh Wadkar | |
5. | "Mon Cholo Nijo Niketone I" (Bengali) | Ajay Udayanath Pakrashi | Subhankar Bhaskar | |
6. | "Maa Korali Kali" (Bengali) | Ajay Chakraborty | ||
7. | "Satyer Pother Bijoy Rothe" (Bengali) | Nachiketa Chakraborty | ||
8. | "Allah Tu Kitna Hai Mehrban" (Hindi) | Javed Ali | ||
9. | "Pile Pile Re Mann" (Hindi) | Suresh Wadkar | ||
10. | "Kaise Kahu Maan Ki Batiya" (Hindi) | Kavita Krishnamurthy | ||
11. | "Parbhu Ji More Aaugan Chit Na Dharo" (Hindi) | Surdas | Kavita Krishnamurthy | |
12. | "Mon Cholo Nijo Niketone II" (Bengali) | Ajay Udayanath Pakrashi | Subhankar Bhaskar | |
13. | "Hey Prabhu Hey Ishwar" (Hindi) | Nachiketa Chakraborty | ||
14. | "Nahi Suryo Nahi Jyoti" (Bengali) | Swami Vivekananda | Nachiketa Chakraborty and chorus |
Both the director and the producer of the film wanted to release the film in 2012. But, because the post-production word, they could not release it in that year. Next, they targeted to release the film on 11 January 2013, the day before Swami Vivekananda's 150th birth anniversary. But they could not release the film on that day either. Finally, the film was scheduled to release on 23 August 2013. [14] The film's premier was organised at Nandan, Kolkata. [15] Many state governments have declared this movie as tax free in their states like Maharashtra, Gujarat and West Bengal.
The film garnered mixed reviews from critics. The Times of India rated the film 3 and a half out of 5 stars and stated the film "goes to show again that some films are still made in Tollywood, which do not get any hype, yet are good works of art in their own right." In this review, the acting of Deep Bhattacharya was highly appreciated. [16] Washington Bangla Radio on Internet wrote in their review: "Premankur and Deep have proven in the film that theatrical experience can be a great asset for actors". [17]
Sri Sarada Devi, born Kshemankari / Thakurmani / Saradamani Mukhopadhyay, was the wife and spiritual consort of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, a nineteenth-century Hindu mystic. Sarada Devi is also reverentially addressed as the Holy Mother by the followers of the Sri Ramakrishna monastic order. The Sri Sarada Math and Ramakrishna Sarada Mission situated at Dakshineshwar is based on the ideals and life of Sarada Devi. She played an important role in the growth of the Ramakrishna Movement.
Swami Gambhirananda (1899–1988), born as Jatindranath Datta, was a Hindu sanyasi who servrd as the 11th President of the Ramakrishna Mission.
Shuddhananda who was the fifth president of the Ramakrishna Order, was a direct monastic disciple of Vivekananda. He joined the Ramakrishna Math in 1897. He became a trustee of Ramakrishna Math and a member of the governing body of Ramakrishna Mission in May 1903. He also took up the editorship of the Bengali magazine called Udbodhan for sometime. He was appointed as the secretary of the math and the mission in 1927 and as the vice president in 1937. In 1938, he became the president of the order. His tenure was short, as he died in 1938. He is renowned in the literary circles to have translated most of Vivekananda's original works from English to Bengali.
Belur Math is the headquarters of the Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission, founded by Swami Vivekananda, the chief disciple of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. It is located in Belur, West Bengal, India on the west bank of Hooghly River. Belur Math was established in January 1897, by Swami Vivekananda who was the disciple of Sri Ramakrishna. Swami Vivekananda returned back to India from Colombo with a small group of disciples and started work on the two one at Belur, and the others at Mayavati, Almora, Himalayas called the Advaita Ashrama. The temple is the heart of the Ramakrishna movement. It is notable for its architecture that fuses Hindu, Islamic, Buddhist, and Christian art and motifs as a symbol of unity of all religions. In 2003, Belur Math railway station was also inaugurated which is dedicated to Belur Math Temple.
Sister Nivedita was an Irish teacher, author, social activist, school founder and disciple of Swami Vivekananda. She spent her childhood and early youth in Ireland. She was engaged to marry a Welsh youth, but he died soon after their engagement.
Balaram Bose was one of the prominent householder disciples of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. He was the son of Radhamohan Bose. He is often referred in The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. Ramakrishna often visited his house and participated in kirtana and other devotional functions. Sri Maa Sarada Devi and some other devotees of the master, including Swami Adbhutananda lived in the house of Balaram Bose after the master's death. He was a great philanthropist and donated regularly to government and civilian organizations.
Sister Gargi, born Marie Louise Burke, was a writer and an eminent researcher on Swami Vivekananda, and a leading literary figure of the Ramakrishna-Vivekananda movement. Gargi was introduced to the Ramakrishna-Vivekananda movement in 1948 by Swami Ashokananda. She is known for her six-volume work, Swami Vivekananda in the West: New Discoveries. Her New Discoveries are considered as indispensable for Swami Vivekananda research.
Swami Vivekananda is a 1998 Indian biographical film directed by G. V. Iyer and produced by T. Subbarami Reddy. It took Iyer 11 years to finish the research work required for the film and to write the screenplay.
Gauri Ma, born Mridani, was a prominent Indian disciple of Ramakrishna, companion of Sarada Devi and founder of Kolkata's Saradeswari Ashram.
Swami Yogananda was a disciple of Ramakrishna Paramahansa, the 19th-century mystic. He took his formal initiation from Sarada Devi, the "holy mother" of Ramakrishna paramhansa Order and spiritual consort of Ramakrishna. He was the first vice-president of Ramakrishna Mission. He belonged to the family of Sabarna Roy Choudhury, an aristocratic family of erstwhile Bengal. He had a very short life, but he played a very important role during the formative years of Ramakrishna Mission. He was also a dedicated and devoted attendant to Sarada Devi during her stay in Calcutta after Ramakrishna paramhangsha's death. He was one of the disciples whom Ramakrishna paramhangsha referred to as "Iswarakoti" or the "ever perfect soul".
Swami Vivekananda is a 1955 Hindi language Indian feature film produced and directed by Amar Mullick, starring Ajit Prakash, Bharati Devi, Anubha Gupta Manoranjan Bhattachary etc. The film was based on the biography of Indian Hindu monk Swami Vivekananda. The film is considered a "faithful and memorable documentation feature" on Vivekananda.
Biley or Bilay is a 2012 Bengali drama created by Bengali theatre group Lokkrishti, This is a dramatisation of the life and works of Swami Vivekananda. Debshankar Haldar played the lead role. Phalguni Chattopadhyay directed this drama and Ujjwal Chattopadhyay was the playwright.
Swami Vivekananda was an Indian Hindu monk. He was a key figure in the introduction of the Indian philosophies of Vedanta and Yoga to the western world. The 150th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda was celebrated all over India and in different countries in the world. Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports of India decided to observe 2013 as the year of 150th Birth Anniversary of Swami Vivekananda. Year-long events and programs were organised by different branches of Ramakrishna Math, Ramakrishna Mission, central government and different state governments of India, education institutions, youth groups etc. Bengali film director Tutu (Utpal) Sinha made a film The Light: Swami Vivekananda as a tribute to Swami Vivekananda on his 150th birth anniversary. The movie was released on 23 August 2013.
The Hymn of Samadhi or A Hymn of Samadhi was a song written by Swami Vivekananda. The song was originally written in Bengali as Nahi surjo, nahi jyoti or Pralay. Later the song was translated into English and was added into "The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda" as The Hymn of Samadhi.
Swami Tathagatananda, was a Hindu monk of the Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission. He was the Minister and Spiritual Leader of the Vedanta Society of New York from November 1977 to June 2016, which was the first Vedanta Society in the United States, founded by Swami Vivekananda in 1895.
Karunamoyee Rani Rashmoni was an Indian Bengali historical drama television series which aired on Bengali Entertainment Channel Zee Bangla and is also available on the digital platform ZEE5. It was premiered on 24 July 2017. The serial was earlier produced by Subrata Roy and then it was produced by Zee Bangla. It completed 1,000 episodes on its third birthday and 1,500 episodes on 26 December 2021. After a successful run of 4+1⁄2 years, Karunamoyee Rani Rashmoni went off-air on 13 February 2022.
Sri Sarada Math is named after Sri Sarada Devi, the consort of Sri Ramakrishna, and founded on 2 December 1954. Built by a group of eight sadhavis, as per the instructions given by Swami Vivekananda, it serves as a monastic order for women. Headquartered at Dakshineshwar, Kolkata, the organisation has branch centres all over India, in Sri Lanka and Australia. The nuns of this order use the title "Pravrajika" before their ordained name, and are usually addressed as "Mataji" meaning 'revered mother'.
Belur Math railway station is a terminal railway station of the Kolkata Suburban Railway network, which connects Belur Math, temple and the headquarters of the Ramakrishna Math and Mission, with Howrah via the Eastern main line of Eastern Railway.
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