Revisiting a spiritual heritage
M.L. NARASIMHAM
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The idea behind making `Buddha' is to pass on his teachings to the present generation.
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SPIRITUAL ODYSSEY Parvati Melton and Sunil Sharma in `Buddha'.
The gold colour interior of the palatial setting at Ramoji Film City matched the lady's light coloured finely woven chiffon sari. While her hairdresser checks whether the head chain or papidi pindhe is properly placed, the make-up assistant gives the final touches to the grey strands in her tresses. Parvathy Melton faces the camera decked up as Amarapali, the court dancer and the heartthrob of Bimbisara (played by Suman), the Magadh King.
The unit is waiting for director Allani Sridhar's instructions for Dharma Padha Creations, Buddha produced by K. Rajasekhar from a script written by his scholar-father K. Sivananda Murthy.
Bapu-Ramana's discovery Sunil Sharma of Sri Bhagavatham serial fame plays the title role. National award winner Madhu Mahankali's camera pans the opulent setting before concentrating on Melton's anxious but thrilled face. An assistant director gives her a bowl of fruits to hold. Once this shot is done, the action shifts outside. Buddha enters with his `parivrajakas'. Sunil Sharma looks exactly like Buddha we see in pictures and sculptures in saffron robes with his long hair tied up in a bun. In the next shot, the excited Amarapali touches his feet before serving fruits to Buddha. Being a trained Bharatanatyam dancer, Parvathy gave a perfect bhakthi bhava abhinaya as visualised by the author in his script. We are told later that Sivananda Murthy wrote the story of Buddha from a new angle, after a thorough research.
"It is to fulfil my father's cherished wish I am making his work as a film. Of course, the idea is also to pass on the teachings of Buddha to the present generation," said Rajasekhar. If Gauthama Buddha spoke in Magadhi Prakriti, this celluloid Buddha speaks in Telugu, Hindi and English. "We intend taking this movie into other languages too through dubbed versions." Set in 566 BC the movie traces the story of Buddha, born in Lumbini, as Siddharth Gauthama, renouncing the materialistic world to lead the life of a mendicant when he was 29, travelling towards Nepal at 35 he becomes Buddha, the Enlightened One. "Buddha means he who is awake. Buddha (Sunil Sharma) leaves his wife Yashodhara (played by Kausha Rach) and son Rahula and takes with him his squire Chenna (played by Raja, son of lyricist Sitarama Sastry) and favourite horse Kanthaka. Leaving them at the border he sets alone on path of gnana. The three-and-a-half minute scene where Siddharth becomes a Buddha under a Bodhi tree is a marvel in special effects that you haven't seen in any Indian film so far," an excited Rajasekhar informs.
At the location in the next block, Amarapali seeks the blessings of Buddha while his disciples stand behind him. "We are showing Amarapali and Bimbisara's episode at length." Amarapali is a beautiful woman found in a mango grove in Vaishali, hence her name. When men vied with each other she says she will marry none and remain a nagara vadhu wedded to the city and entertain it with her dance. Later she becomes a court dancer of King Bimbisara and almost marries him, bearing a son. Having heard of Buddha's preachings, Bimbisara grants him a monastery near his capital, Rahagriha. Amarapali submits to Buddha renouncing her past.
Rajasekhar connects the scene throwing an insight into the story. "It is a dream role," chips in Melton during the break. "Amarapali is a very misunderstood character. People refer to her as a court dancer. But she is the most pure soul. That's why Buddha accepted her. Even the monks, his disciples didn't like her and try to dissuade Buddha from visiting her. Buddha tells them that she is a yogini in her previous birth. It is a once in a lifetime character for any actor." No, she hasn't seen Vyjayanthimala Bali's Amarapali (1966). "I heard about it but I didn't get an opportunity to watch the film," she says. Shashi Preetham composed the seven songs.
The producer informs us that the next schedule commences from April 8 in a mammoth set a replica of Kapilavasthu city constructed on the outskirts of Hyderabad.
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