Tag: Featured

The Flag

Pride of a nation. A perfect symbol for an integrated country, one as vast and diverse as India.

India has its heartbeat in the grassroot as well as in the traditional modernity with a penchant for patriotism woven into each soul. This is what we caught on camera while creating a different kind of Anthem. Shot across the country, from Central India to extreme South; from the rural West to cultural East, Anthem weaves a story in vignettes of color and vibrancy amongst men and women; young and old; urban and rural.

As the AAKAAR team traversed the length and breadth of the country bearing the Indian Tricolour, the National Flag, we were left spellbound as each of the participants in the film came forward eagerly and held it with pride. Gathering and creating rows of men and women in villages; keeping them sitting or standing still in one position in the hot and sultry sun; directing them to “look into” the camera wherever it travelled – in track & trolley or on a crane; making the children run atop a steep hill slope and then back down again; the 360 degree revolution… it was a journey of thousand smiles that germinated from a small seed of an idea.

Road Less Travelled: The Pathbreakers

The great intangible is the way you make people think in a different way. This is what we experienced while filming our favourite documentary “The Pathbreakers”, a film that talks of the power of an individual to change the lives of many by uplifting the community through sheer grit, determination and commitment. One face from among a crowd of billion people in the country has succeeded in reversing the insurmountable problems and shaken society from its apathy. These are individuals that stand out as an example of all that is possible.

There is Chandralekha, who broke an age-old tradition of her village, where it was customary for every daughter to follow in her mother’s footsteps and join the oldest profession in the world of being a sex worker. There is Ladakh’s Glacier man, Chewang Norphel, who makes artificial glaciers in winter so that villagers can get water in summer for their fields.
Your soul is touched when you meet Shamshad Khan, the man who spearheaded the movement to rid the carpet weaving industry of child labor and welcomed the children into the world of literacy.

The journey to film such documentaries drains the heart out and numbs the mind. But it also humbles us in many ways, reminding us of the gifts that we have been privileged with.

Showcased in New Delhi (India) and London’s prestigious Nehru Centre, The Pathbreakers is now a series made every year by the Public Diplomacy Division of  the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India.

Discover Sikkim

This documentary was commissioned by the Sikkim Tourism Development Corporation to promote the picturesque North-Eastern Indian state  of Sikkim.

The Hand Knotted Splendour

This documentary on the traditional craft of weaving carpets was commissioned by the Ministry of Textiles, Government of India.

Connecting Hearts – India’s Pan Africa e-Network Story

The Pan Africa e-Network Project was conceived by former Indian President APJ Kalam and started in 2007. The initiative won the 2010 Hermes Proze for innovation. Though still in its infancy, it plans to provides tele-medicine and tele-education services to 53 countries in Africa for years to come.

Cinema With A Purpose

Working Title – CINEMA WITH A PURPOSE: Regional Cinema & socio-cultural change (National perspective for International lineage)

The Indian Film industry is at the cusp of a large-scale, game-changing evolution. Regional cinema, which constitutes a significant share of this industry, is surging ahead in quality, quantity and production capabilities. The growing acceptance of regional films is itself a testimony to this fact. Thus, it becomes imperative to discuss the way forward and address the challenges and issues of their impact of socio-cultural and value change for distribution and marketing of films in India and abroad.

The film explores Regional Cinema and its relevance to changes within the social mindsets in a wider perspective, giving a glimpse of this change to international audiences. It showcases the views of film experts and film-makers including Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Buddhadeb Dasgupta, Nandita Das and Kamal Hassan, with previews of some of the best, award-winning directorial ventures from the East, West and South of Indian regional cinema.

India 2.0 Towards a Networked Nation – eHealth

We all share a dream. India’s global vision. An India which realizes it’s full potential in every domain. An India more integrated with the global economy and a major player in terms of trade, technology and investment.

The documentary “INDIA 2.0: Towards A Networked Nation” focusses on the Indian Government’s National e-Governance Plan that seeks to lay the foundation and provide the impetus for long-term growth of e-Governance in the country. The plan seeks to create the right governance and institutional mechanisms, setting up core infrastructure and policies to implement a number of Mission Mode Projects at the center, state and integrated service levels that will create a citizen-centric and business-centric environment for governance.

“INDIA 2.0: Towards A Networked Nation” has four major e-governance initiatives namely, UIDAI (Unique Identification Authority of India), e-Health, e-Education and e-Choupal.

Watch the other 3 films:

India 2.0 Towards a Networked Nation – UID

India 2.0 Towards a Networked Nation – e-Education

India 2.0 Towards a Networked Nation – e-Choupal

India 2.0 Towards a Networked Nation – UIDAI

We all share a dream. India’s global vision. An India which realizes it’s full potential in every domain. An India more integrated with the global economy and a major player in terms of trade, technology and investment.

The documentary “INDIA 2.0: Towards A Networked Nation” focusses on the Indian Government’s National e-Governance Plan that seeks to lay the foundation and provide the impetus for long-term growth of e-Governance in the country. The plan seeks to create the right governance and institutional mechanisms, setting up core infrastructure and policies to implement a number of Mission Mode Projects at the center, state and integrated service levels that will create a citizen-centric and business-centric environment for governance.

“INDIA 2.0: Towards A Networked Nation” has four major e-governance initiatives namely, UIDAI (Unique Identification Authority of India), e-Health, e-Education and e-Choupal.

Watch the other 3 films:

India 2.0 Towards a Networked Nation – e-Education

India 2.0 Towards a Networked Nation – e-Health

India 2.0 Towards a Networked Nation – e-Choupal