Change Your Image
arunasthsh
Reviews
Bhagavadajjukam (2021)
Must watch for all Sanskrit and good film enthusiasts.
The film is based on the 7th century drama of the same name written by Bodhayanan. Parivraajaka is a Buddhist monk and Shandilya is his disciple. Shandilya comes across Vasanthasena, a courtesan and she dies when Yamadootha accidentally takes her life instead of another's. Seeing the lamentation of his disciple and to teach him a lesson the monk transfers his soul to Vasanthasena. From there is the onset of a sequence of comical events and great satire.
In an era where Sanskrit texts and scriptures are destroyed or lost and not given proper archival and protection, it's extremely heartening to see a film in Sanskrit. The effort of the crew in coming up with such films that reflect our culture and heritage is commendable. The dialogues do not feel monotonous at all and in fact the experience is just like listening to conversations in our mother tongue. Sanskrit films often feel like the ones that come dubbed from other languages where the dialogues sound like speech sans any emotion and the entire film giving the vibe of a documentary. This movie stands apart in terms of naturalistic dialogues and acting. The cinematography, art design, background score everything makes it a beautiful cinematic experience. The 78 minutes long film has a beautiful song as well and some of the shots are too pretty.
Sanskrit is rarely used for day to day communication these days. Even then, this film is the testimony that when artists who are passionate and devoted to true art and language exist, quality and finesse are possible. Selection in the Indian Panorama section of IFFI, Bengaluru International Film Festival, and Kerala State Film Critics Award for best Sanskrit Film prove the same.