The friendship between the film's director V. Shantaram and Dr. Ambedkar was very special. Both wanted change in the society.
New Delhi- This time Buddha Purnima is on 12 May. This is a very special day for the Buddhist and Bahujan community when they remember the birth, enlightenment and Mahaparinirvana of Lord Buddha. This time the occasion of Buddha Purnima is also special because for about three months, the Mahabodhi Mahavihara Mukti Andolan has been going on, which demands to free the Mahabodhi Mahavihara temple located in Bodhgaya, Bihar from the control of the Mahant Brahmin class and non-Buddhists and hand over the management of the temple to the Buddhist community.
The main objective of the movement is to repeal the Bodh Gaya Temple Act of 1949 and ensure full rights over the sacred premises of the temple for the Buddhist community. Currently, Buddhist monks and followers are on hunger strike to demand their demands. The differences between Buddhists and Hindus have remained the same for centuries.
Perhaps very few people would know that the story of Bollywood’s first silver jubilee hit film Amrit Manthan (1934) was based on the conflict between Buddhism and Hinduism. The film ran continuously for 25 weeks in theatres and was well liked.
This film was made by V. Shantaram who was close to Baba Saheb Ambedkar. Shantaram believed so much in Buddhism that the design of his Dadar-based Plaza Cinema was also inspired by the Sanchi Stupa. There were small marks of Buddhist design in ‘Plaza Cinema’, which showed Shantaram’s respect for Buddhism. Another interesting thing is that the word ‘Silver Jubilee’ was coined by Babu Rao Painter, who used to be the distributor of Shantaram’s company Prabhat Films.
Amrit Manthan: Bollywood’s first superhit film
The 1930s were a new era of Indian cinema when V. Shantaram made Amrit Manthan with his company Prabhat Films. The film was in Hindi and Marathi and released in 1934. It was so well received that it ran for over 25 weeks in Bombay (now Mumbai). It received the title of Silver Jubilee, which was a big deal at that time.
The story questioned the social evils of the time and showed Buddhism’s principles of compassion and equality. The film had brilliant acting, with stars like Shanta Apte, Nalini Tarkhad and Chandra Mohan. Shantaram used new camera techniques such as telephoto lenses to show the priest’s fearful eyes. The film’s song “Kamasini Mein Dil Pe Gham Ka…” was the first Bollywood ghazal, sung by Shanta Apte. All these factors together made Amrit Manthan a landmark film. According to researcher and film historian Vijay Kumar Balakrishnan, the film had all the qualities that managed to mesmerise and attract the audiences of that time.
The story revolves around a fictional king who followed Buddhism. The story is about the reformist King Kantivarma, who bans the sacrifice of animals and humans. This angers the fanatic Rajguru (Chandra Mohan), the chief priest of the Chandika cult. The cult meets secretly and the chief priest orders the assassination of the king. Yashodharma is chosen for this job, though he hesitates, the priest orders him to do it. Yashodharma writes a note for his son before leaving that night, informing him about the task planned by Rajguru. After the murder of the king, Yashodharma is betrayed in the court by Rajguru and ordered to kill him. Yashodharma’s two children, Madhavgupta and Sumitra, escape, but Madhav is caught and one of Rajguru’s men gets the letter from him.
Sumitra is held captive and Queen Mohini, who ascends the throne after her father’s death, is asked by Rajguru to sacrifice Madhav at the temple. A storm arises and Mohini and Madhav escape into the forest. Madhav later sets out in search of his sister. Vishwasgupta, a trusted minister, tells Mohini and the people of Avanti about Rajguru being the real killer. A crowd of townspeople gather at the temple demanding justice and Rajguru, with his obsessive belief in sacrifice, offers himself to the goddess and cuts off his head as the ultimate sacrifice.
Baba Saheb was also against the hypocrisy of Hinduism
In an article published in Round Table India, Dr. SPVA Sairam writes that this story was of the time when Dr. Ambedkar was fighting against the caste system and Hindu customs. The film came out in 1934, and in 1935 Ambedkar said at the Yeola Conference, “I was born a Hindu, but will not die as a Hindu.” Later in 1956, he converted to Buddhism.
The story of Amrit Manthan was similar to the ideas of Ambedkar, who talked about equality and compassion. The friendship between V. Shantaram and Dr. Ambedkar was very special. Both wanted social change. Shantaram raised issues like caste, women’s rights and religion in his films.
Shantaram helped with Buddhist ceremonies. He donated money and film set material for Ambedkar Jayanti and Mahaparinirvana Diwas (6 December). His studio also had a Buddha statue. Shantaram’s daughter Rajshree and actor Jeetendra studied at Ambedkar’s Siddharth College. Shantaram’s friend Master Krishna composed music for Buddha Vandana and learnt the Pali language at Ambedkar’s behest.
Courtesy : Geetha Sunil Pillai, Hindi News