Animating ‘Sri Aurobindo: A new Dawn’

Youth

In his introductory comments, Manoj referred frequently to the film being aimed at youth, especially those who were unfamiliar with Sri Aurobindo’s life and work. He added that the younger generation needed a new form of receiving Sri Aurobindo’s message, that animation was that form and that the animators themselves were young and unfamiliar with Sri Aurobindo’s work. This was historically echoed by Sri Aurobindo’s words in the film when he wrote the ‘Bande Mataram’ that he too wished to reach out to the then youth of India. “It is the young who must be the builders of the new world”.

Film

The film itself is in the animated style of the movie ‘Loving Vincent’. Its 2D hand drawn animation was evidently a labour of love, with dozens of animators involved. Astonishingly for a 30-minute film, every second required between 8-12 different digitized art pictures, coming to a total of 20,000 frames and taking over two years to produce. With every minute costing approximately ten lakhs, a total of 2.60 crores was fundraised by well-wishers.

It is an aesthetic film with a dreamlike quality, and like dreams also it is able to mix strong feelings with subtlety. The feeling conveyed by the pastel-like art allows an immersion into what the producers hoped would be a ‘deeper mode of viewing and experiencing’. There is plenty of symbolism in the film, with, for instance, the shakti of India literally enchained, mountains and tunnels ascended and the fire of revolution being portrayed.

The producers described the film as a kind of ‘visual poetry’. As an example of this, when in Alipore jail Sri Aurobindo heard the voice of God while instructing him in the ‘Sadhana of the Gita’, this is accompanied by a flowing scripture emitting initially peacock feathers and then a beautiful blue Krishna.

The first two thirds of the film focus on Sri Aurobindo’s pre-Pondicherry political life and it is noteworthy that this time period is now receiving more attention than his later yogic years. I hope that a sequel will further explore his later years collaborating with the Mother and of public withdrawal in Pondicherry.

Collaboration with the Sri Aurobindo Society

Beyond the film and its message one of the by-products is the increased connection with the Sri Aurobindo Society (SAS) and Auroville, as in this case the film was coordinated by the SAS and some Aurovilians. Manoj, in a reference to our fractious past, mentioned “we need to collaborate to heal,” and this film’s work evidently brought those involved together. His personal role he described as a postman between the studio producers and the SAS.

After the film, the team were given a standing ovation and then in a Q&A, many of the youthful production team from Studio Eeksaurus were introduced, along with the studio founders, Nimila and Suresh Eriyat. They had, as Manoj hoped, given an introduction to the remarkable life of Sri Aurobindo. We await to see what ‘noons of the future’ will emerge from this offering.

To watch this film on YouTube visit: https://www.anewdawn.in/