A two-hour English documentary, ‘On A Quest’ chronicles Swami Chinmayananda’s remarkable journey from the inquisitive child Balan to a rebellious youth, a revolutionary freedom fighter and a daring atheist to his transformation into the missionary saint Swami Chinmayananda.
Who says commercial films starring superstars like Rajnikanth or Shahrukh Khan alone can have punch lines?
Sample this: “India is free, but are Indians free?”; “God is like the petrol in a car. Without the petrol, the car cannot run. But it is the driver who determines where the car goes.”; “Without the touch of life (read God), a sinner cannot sin neither can a monk meditate".
These are powerful words not penned by any scriptwriter but uttered by men of high knowledge and wisdom that appeal equally to the atheist and the divine. Many more such meaningful dialogues generated applauds, evoked emotions and accentuated the wow factor of ‘On a Quest’ -- a period film on Swami Chinmayananda’s journey from a freedom fighter and a non-believer to a teacher of Vedanta.
The two hour biopic in English was screened for the second time on popular demand in Madurai and the people who filled up the Mookambika theatre on Sunday morning got their money’s worth.
Made by the Chinmaya Mission to mark the birth centenary celebrations of Swami Chinmayananda, this is the first ever documentation of the fiery young revolutionary’s transformation into a missionary. It is a beautifully woven and enacted story which unlike the stories about most other gurus, does not push Swami Chinmayananda’s lectures, achievements or books to the forefront.
Rather, director R.S.Prasanna of “Kalyana Samayal Saadham" fame convincingly and touchingly tells the story of a man who never made claims of being a god or a godman and offered miracles. He simply interpreted the Bhagavad Gita for the masses. No matter, if there weren’t enough people to listen to him or even if the most educated came to him to understand the meaning of life. The multi-linguist Swami simply shared his knowledge without a fee and alluring promises.
Obviously Swami Chinmayananda is not his real name. He was born Balakrishna Menon in 1916 in Ernakulam. As a student of Lucknow University, he briefly joined the nationalist movement and was jailed by the British in 1941. When he is tortured and left to die by the British, he is nursed back to life from the throes of death by a friend’s family. But when the same friend dies unexpectedly in the prime of his youth, it sets Balan thinking about life, its meaning and uncertainties. He joins The National Herald as a reporter and in a short time establishes a fan following with his articles. The subjects he chooses and his style of writing sets the paper’s circulation to a new high.
But deep within Balan is unable to fathom many things that touch his life. If a cobbler’s life humbles him, he wonders why the rich argue with a poor rickshaw puller and pay him only 30 paise for a ride with no regard for his labour and with much ease offer a sadhu five rupees to seek his blessings.
He plans to expose what he calls the racket of religion and the myth of sadhus and goes off to Rishikesh to meet Swami Sivananda. He stays on for six months to see things firsthand at the ashram. While the rationalist in him refuses to believe in the existence of God, the journalist in him questions meaningless rituals and the seeker in him sets about experiencing everything.
Eventually he gives up his name and profession and gets his orange robe and the name of Chinmayananda. Then he goes further North and learns the Shastras for 10 years from the well know sage, Swami Tapovan. It is this ardent quest for the truth that sees Swami Chinmayananda reaching out to the world in a way it understands best. It is a spectacular transformation from an unconventional seeker to a revered master, who inspired the establishment of missions all over the world and embraced an ever-expanding network of devotees and students.
The film has created a lot of buzz with 75 plus screenings across the country. Except art director Thota Tharrani who plays the older Chinmayananda, all others on the screen are amateurs. Together with technicians from KSS, the film has succeeded in matching international quality because all the people who have been associated with the film in any which way have done it with the purity of their heart.
Madurai is the only city in Tamil Nadu to have screened the film twice and is planning a third one soon. “We have received good response from the people,” says Swami Sivayogananda, Acharya of Madurai Centre, “but want more children and youths to watch it for the inspirational and invaluable lessons that can be drawn from Guruji’s life”.
If you feel inclined to watch, don’t miss it the next time. It could make a difference to your lives. Or at least watch it for the effort that has gone into it.
Produced by the Chinmaya Mission (CM) to mark the birth centenary (2015-16) celebrations of Swami Chinmayananda, one of the foremost exponents of Vedanta, the film has been directed by R.S.Prasanna who made his Tamil debut with the critically acclaimed "Kalyana Samayal Saadham".
In the wildly inspirational and life-affirming biopic, all actors are CM members and the entire project has been coordinated by the monks. Sandeep, a real-life monk, plays the younger version while national award winning art director Thota Tharani has donned the greasepaint to play the Hindu spiritual leader in his later years when he inspired the formation of Chinmaya Mission. From the start to the finish, including the writing of the script, the entire project was led by Swami Mitrananda, Acharya of CM Chennai and Director of All India Chinmaya Yuva Kendra.
Says Swami Sivayogananda, Acharya of CM Madurai Centre, “Good citizenship is the need of the hour and this film will surely inspire individual transformation not only spiritually but at every level and in any field of life.”
He is happy with the interest generated among the city people about the film slated for screening at the Ambika multiplex Theatre in Anna Nagar tomorrow (Sunday, January 25). It will be run simultaneously in two theatres with a combined seating capacity of 1,060. The time of the show is 8.30 a.m. to 10.30 a.m.
“There are invaluable lessons to be learnt from the life of Swami Chinmayananda,” says the Madurai Acharya, “how as an individual and a non-believer he transformed himself into one of the most powerful orators of the teachings expounded in the Bhagavad Gita and the Upanishads and guided people to their own quest.”
Since ‘On A Quest’ aims to reach out to children and the youth in particular who have not had the privilege of meeting the Swami in person, more than half the tickets for the Sunday show have been sold to school and college students. With more requests and queries coming in, the CM Madurai Centre may plan another show next month depending on the availability of theatres.
The movie was first premiered in Chennai last month in the presence of Swami Tejomayananda, the Global Head of Chinmaya Mission, senior acharyas, young and old devotees from across the globe and the entire team behind the movie. Ever since, the biopic has been travelling all over the country and the world. Viewers have reviewed and described the film in superlative praise and especially appreciated director Prasanna’s succinct touch in showing the young atheist who was also a sceptical academician and an outspoken and witty journalist eventually turn into a seeker of Truth and finally becoming an enlightened visionary carrying the message of the rishis to the masses across the world in a language that they would all understand.
Since several inspiring biopics were made in the past on revolutionaries like Mangal Pandey, Bhagat Singh and saints like Adi Sankaracharya and Swami Vivekanada, the CM members felt the impact of a movie on Swami Chinmayananda, who was both a revolutionary and a saint, would be far more than the books written on him. Once decided, CM members all over the world donated their time, money, resources into making of this unique film, which instead of being preachy is a beautiful visual journey.
If you are looking for an inspiring transformational story, then don't miss it this Sunday!
