In popular culture, Bharat Bhala created the idea of a nation which we could feel proud of. He talks to Saimi Sattar about the different narratives and stories that he is bringing forth in his new series, Virtual Bharat
The canvas is expansive, not just in terms of the wide angles but the variety of landscape that it covers. But at its heart is a small story — always ready to trigger an emotional chord and at times even bring a lump to your throat. Whatever filmmaker and advertiser Bharat Bala fashions, it seems to be imbued with that magical touch where nationalism and India are the spine but never bubble to the surface in righteous rage as has been happening in the socio-political space in recent times.
Despite that, the original peddler of the idea of pop nationalism (think Vande Mataram, Jana Gana Mana, an ad for the Indian Army and another for Indian Oil) prefers to stay clear of making any political statement even though his films are replete with the message of unity in diversity, something which was hard to miss for anyone growing up in the pre-cable 80s and 90s. “Don’t drag me in that direction,” is the one liner that he gives out when one asks him about the strident singular narrative that the country is being steered into even though his latest project runs antithetical to that idea.
Virtual Bharat, an online series on YouTube, will be the platform to stream about 1,000 stories of India. “Imagine it to be a digital cloud where there are virtual museums of stories of India. It is one destination where you will find unique ones on every aspect from every corner and in almost every language of India told in under 10 minutes and each will be a gem,” says Bala.
But who then, if not him, can portray the pride in nation and nationhood. For who can forget AR Rahman’s soul stirring Vande Mataram (1997) where the heartfelt vocals and intense voice were ably matched by the visuals where deep colours, a vivid and varied landscape that encompassed the country and a massive 60 feet by 40 feet tricolour made for a song that spoke of inclusivity and love of the nation.
Virtual Bharat flowed out of that. “Basically, post Vande Mataram I had many ideas in bits and pieces whether it was Incredible India, School Chalen Hum or Jana Gana Mana or the Commonwealth Games. Additionally, I had travelled across the length and breadth of the country for commercials and witnessed the landscape. I felt this was the opportune time now as content had become the in-thing, mobile consumption is widespread and the net space has been democratised which has given access to people everywhere. I felt now was the time when we can build the big idea of India,” he says.
The first film, Thaalam, sees his long-time collaborator, music composer and singer AR Rahman light up the screen as he says, “Imagine India on a boat. It is only as strong as the people. The power to win is not in one person. The power is when all of us come together (pauses) as one. One effort one goal. To move forward as a nation, we need to dream together to aspire to build together. Let’s find our thaalam as a nation together,” and soon one is drawn into the famous snake boat race of Kerala.
However, rather than covering the race, Bala prefers to peek into the story behind it to convey his message. “I wanted that this short film should have a purpose and should be timeless. There has to be a bigger idea which the viewer can take home and retain long after he has seen it. I have seen the snake boats for a long time and to shoot it, was not exciting. When I found that the people from all walks of life — school teachers, shopkeepers, farmers, fishermen — come together and train for about 15 days to row the boats. There are 150 men in one boat and one man sets the rhythm by pounding with a log. If they find the rhythm within themselves, then the boat wins. The idea psyched me and I said there is a bigger story there. That is what I told Rahman, ‘Imagine India on a boat. We have such diverse people but if we can find a rhythm within us as a society then the nation is winning’.” And the idea is conveyed with such vigour that it gives you goosebumps. The four-minute, 18-second film is the first in the series, which will cover everything related to culture, food, folklore, poetry, performing arts, landscapes and human interest stories from the remotest parts of the country.
For him, an important ingredient of Virtual Bharat is the timelessness of the story. “So if we watch these today or five years from now, they should create the same emotions,” he says.
While Thaalam is the only one to be put out, Bharat Bala Productions has already finished making 70 films and researched for 300 stories. “The major effort is in the research. It is exciting,” he says and adds matter-of-factly, “Kar rahen hain. Hazaar story aaram se nikal lete hain.”
He says that they have tried to tell the stories in a way that they have a wider appeal. “Most importantly, every film is being made in its original language. So if you are from Bengal, I want you to hear what Marathi, Gujarati, Tamil or Kashmiri sounds like. That is the beauty of India,” he says.
But then isn’t it an endorsement of the unity in diversity narrative? “I am not here to take a stand,” he emphasises, averting the question but without any rancour. “I am telling a story where I will not influence or interrupt the protagonist’s voice. The next film, First Man, is about an adivasi boy from back of the beyond Sambhalpur in Odisha. The beauty of each of the films is that I wouldn’t add my opinion. I only use my craft of filmmaking to tell that story in a more beautiful way. There will be good cinema, narrative, editing and sound. We need the audience to experience watching a great movie. For this, I have to make it entertaining and exciting emotionally. I have to fight this big (he emphasises on the ‘I’ to stress upon the bigness) bandwagon of Hindi cinema which is consumed in billions and zillions. It is a humongous task.”
But such a labour of love is always fraught with challenges. “We made around six films but I was not happy with them so we wouldn’t use them. I go with real people and sometimes these things don’t work out but you can’t blame them as they are not actors. So you have to let go and continue. These are hard learnings but that is the way it is,” he says and one can almost see him shrug over the phone line.
Moreover, Bala points out that he has limited resources to make these films which are to be shot in remote locations. “We are in Mumbai so I have to make three trips. The first one to research, the second to recce where we take photographs and study the location’s characters and the third time to go and shoot. It is logistically expensive as there are mundane things like nowadays, the airlines don’t not allow more than 15 kg of baggage and thanks to the equipment, we always have excess. These are all my hardships today,” he says and guffaws.
The travel, boarding and lodging push up the costs. “I want all the tools, a proper drone operator, live sound to get that texture and rawness. So I also need sound engineers, camera operators and lighting. I don’t want to compromise in films but I still have to make do with a smaller crew and this can have its own challenges,” he says.
The bigger the challenge, the more exciting it is for Bala. During the Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony, where there were 18,000 performers, Bala’s response was “Chalo karenge.” He believes in taking up the driest of subjects and making it the most exciting. “Even during Vande Mataram I went to the remotest villages and depicted it the way it was and people wearing their own clothes. You can’t say yeh gandagi hai. I want to make it look poetic. So I am able to visualise it and make a sense of beauty in things as they are rather than creating a set up,” he says.
He believes that the expansive nature of his films is essential for a country which is of the size of India. “It is inevitable, if you have to address such a wide audience. Everyone needs to feel a part of it. In School Chalen Hum, every visual is from a different part of India which is remote. It is only then that each child will say, ‘main bhi school ja rahan hun’. It is not just the ones from Bihar or any particular State, rather it is the children of India going to school. It is not a homogeneous, small country but then it is India. Dikhana padega na,” he says by way of explanation.
In more ways than one, his films are timeless. In the iconic School Chalen Hum, the thought of getting children to school was a universal idea which does not get dated and resonates as much today as it did it when it was aired several years ago. “I am happy that they are surviving and they have the emotion of timelessness,” says he.
Whether it is ad films or videos, the idealist patriotic core runs through most of Bala’s production and he attributes it to his upbringing. “My father was a Gandhian and he took part in the freedom struggle. The idea of India was ingrained in me. Our upbringing in Delhi was very nationalistic and so I attended every Republic Day and Beating the Retreat,” he says.
They later lived in Madras (present-day Chennai) which was a contrasting environment while he started his professional career in Mumbai. A combination of all these helped him to develop his perspective further. “I think it has given me a wider exposure of India which has helped me. I had this cross-cultural experience. I had very liberal frank parents but somewhere for them the idea of nation was very important. My father told me to celebrate, enjoy and discover this country and I am doing this in a creative way. He was a photo journalist and I imbibed his DNA. When I was making advertisements, he told me that ‘you are creating ideas for a product but you should also create a big idea for India and that is what has inspired me,” he says.
So how difficult is it switching media since he dabbles in a lot of different things including films like Maryan (2013), Journey Across India (2007) and Hari Om (2004). “The fundamental of everything, whether it is ad films, videos or films, is creativity. That keeps on driving me. And each creative idea has to be said in a certain format. Jo cheez 10 second mei dikhana hai usey ek minute mat khinchon aur jo feature film mei batana hai usey feature film mei hi dikhao. I am not the kind of person who is sitting there and saying main sirf feature film banaonga ya sirf documentary or ad film he banaonga. No. I am a film maker I will use any of these forms whatever lends itself well,” he says.
Not being confined to one format has helped him as has the fact that he is very observant and has a good memory. “If I have seen something in a place that I travelled to, I remember that and at the right time I go and access it. I am open to learning. When I go out for a film I am on Ground Zero. I can’t say I know everything. For each one, you have to start from the beginning,” he says.
A long association that he has had is with his school mate Allah Rakha Rahman, the Mozart of East. Bala says, “We are just like... you have to put a word to it... soulmates. Whenever I take an idea, he understands as he does so many different things from commercial cinema to art. He gets excited and enthusiastic about it. He would be doing original scores for many of these short films.”
The two of them also collaborated with the legendary Pakistani singer, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, for Vande Mataram, something which is unimaginable in this day and age. “It was spontaneous. We were in New York and we heard that there was a concert. Rahman had never seen Nusrat Saab and we went together and fell in love. Later, I told AR (Rahman) that this is the 50th year of India’s Independence and that of Pakistan too. Let music be the binding source. Then we made Gurus of Peace. If we listen to it, politically, it is relevant even today, ‘Chanda suraj laakhon taare hain jab tere hi yeh saare, Kis baat par hothi hai phir thakraarein’.”
But when you ask him to elaborate, he says, “There are a lot of experts to talk about it. We can talk about positive things. I don’t want to get involved in this and I prefer to remain honest in my craft.”
So what keeps him going? “Every story is so inspiring and exciting for me to do. It is not as if I am tired because I am doing a 1,000 films,” he says as he signs off.
Here’s raising a toast to another thousand ideas of India that will live and survive long after us.
