BharatBala Productions

BharatBala Productions (BBP) is a film productions house with offices in Mumbai and Chennai. The company’s activities span feature films, television commercials, documentaries, and music videos. The company is led by a motivated set of film Makers, Bharatbala and Kanika Myer. BBP has been widely acclaimed for its production caliber and unique treatment of subject matter, and in the process has won a host of awards, locally and internationally.

Company profile

After making more than 500 TV commercials for both Indian and International brands in last 15 years, BBP expanded its scope of activities to include feature films and other projects driven by in house developed concepts. These projects generated multiple and longer term streams of revenues.

The most well known of these projects are the "Vandemataram" & "Jana Gana Mana" films. The Vandemataram film was the finalist at prestigious festivals like Cannes and New York Film Festival. The company has also made films/campaigns for the Ministry of Tourism (Government of India), India Brand Equity Fund and the Ministry of Tourism, Greece. The “Incredible India” campaign conceptualized and filmed by the company won several international awards including the 1st prize at The International Exhibition of Tourism TOUR SALON 2005 & 2006 in Poland and the film for India Brand Equity Fund was screened at the recently concluded World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland (January, 2006).

In 2004, BBP produced its first feature film "Hari Om", which was the directorial debut of Bharatbala. The film is slated for release in 2007. The film was the official selection at close to 40 international film festivals including Toronto International Film Festival and won several awards, including the New Voices Award at Bangkok International Film Festival, Audience Award for Best Film at Puchon International Film Festival (South Korea), Best Film Award at Salento Film Festival (Italy), German Star of India at Bollywood And Beyond, Stuttgart (Germany) and Audience Choice Award at Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles.

The company is currently developing its second feature - an Indo-Japanese full-length feature film tentatively titled, "The 19th Step". It will be the first Indian film on martial arts and will showcase the ancient Indian martial art form – Kalarippayattu - that later evolved into such esoteric, though better known martial art forms as Kung fu. The film will have talent from both Japan and India and will start filming in 2007. Many other feature films are in various stages of pre-production.

Two more ambitious film projects "Taj Mahal", first IMAX format film in India and Gurus of Peace featuring Nobel Peace Prize winners across the globe like Dalai Lama, Shimon Peres, Yaseer Arafat, Mikhail Gorbachev, Nelson Mandela, F W de Klerk and more, are in various stages of production and development.

The company has recently ventured into acquisition of foreign films for distribution in India and plans to bring the best of world cinema to the Indian audience. First in line is the Academy Winner of 2006, the German film "The Lives Of Others".

pecial Projects

Big Picture Films

Jana Gana Mana (Indian National Anthem-Vocal)

Concept
Jana Gana Mana invokes the pride that the people of India feel in belonging to the country. The national anthem of India, it binds the otherwise multi-lingual nation into one whole.The words of Jana Gana Mana proudly describe this unity of being. The tribute that the song pays to its people is reflected in this powerful film representing the most refined voices of India. The biggest artists of Indian music come together to acknowledge their pride in the country.

Treatment
"Music"
The national anthem Jana Gana Mana is sung by the supreme vocalists of India. People like Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhonsle, Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, Hariharan, Bhupen Hazarika, Pandit Jasraj, Kavita Krishnamurthy, D.K. Pattamal lend their voices to the anthem.

"Visuals"
The personalities are featured in the film, singing the anthem themselves. The classic film pays its tribute to the timeless voices of India, creating the magic that is when excellence comes together. The power of the film lies in the simplicity and purity of craft.

"Film Credits:"
Original Music Composed By: Rabindranath TagoreLyrics By: Rabindranath TagoreMusic Produced By: A. R. Rahman

Jana Gana Mana (Indian National Anthem-Instrumental)

Concept
Music maestros from the classical to the contemporary come together to render the National Anthem. A 40 piece string orchestra led by K. Srinavas Murthy was filmed in the vast emptiness of Ladakh.Artists such as Pt. Hari Prasad Chaurasia, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Amaan Ali Bangash, Ayaan Ali Bangash, Pt. Shiv Kumar sharma, Rahul Sharma, Vikku Vinayakram, Uma Shankar, Pt. Vishwa Mohan Bhat, Kadri Gopalnath, Ravikiran, E. Gayathri, Ustad Sultan Khan, Pt. Kartick Kumar, Niladri Kumar, Kumaresh and Ganesh infuse power, passion and magic into the National Anthem, as well as the film as they come together to play Jana Gana Mana, the song of the nation.

Jana Gana Mana (Indian National Anthem-Indian Army)

Concept
Jana Gana Mana, the national anthem of India is a unifying factor that creates a common bond and ties together diverse regions and people of our country. It binds the nation into feeling one emotion. From citizen to soldier, all feel the pride in belonging to a nation of grand history and diversity. However, few of us living our everyday lives remember those Indian soldiers for whom the song becomes food for the spirit and soul. Jana Gana Mana written large on their everyday canvass, this film is a tribute to the Siachen soldiers.

The national anthem has been picturised with our brave soldiers at Siachen glacier standing shoulder to shoulder with each other and being led by none other than the Chief of Army Staff, General N.C. Vij, saluting the national flag. This rendition is a tribute to our soldiers guarding the highest and the most difficult battlefield in the world. The white expanse of Siachen gives depth to this idea, as the Tricolor radiates from the skies and the anthem echoes from the breathless heights of the battleground.

TreatmentIndian Army and Bharatbala Productions come together to create a unique rendition of the national anthem, which not only evokes an intense feeling of national pride but pays tribute to our soldiers who have given us the right to call this nation our own.

Film Credits:
Original Music Composed By: Rabindranath Tagore
Music Interpreted By: Ranjit Barot

Vande Mataram

Over 300 one minute films filmed across India feature the multitude of the millions of Indians who are proud to be a small and significant part of this vast land.Bharatbala’s brainchild, Vande Mataram is a salute to India, a tribute paid to the country that we belong to. People from all across the land come together to recognize the debt they owe to their motherland. The most eminent representatives of our people from all walks of life pay their respect to their country. Along with A.R.Rahman, Lata Mangeshkar and Shubha Mudgal lending their artistic genius to the refrain, Vande Mataram.

Pray For Me Brother

Concept

There is a striking disparity in our world today. Lives are grossly varied in terms of wealth, comfort and quality across the globe. One part of the world lives joyfully in freedom and plenty while another part exists in pain and misery. Even with the reach of the global media, it is a tragic reality that the more fortunate souls of the world live in relative ignorance of the plight of their less fortunate, suffering brethren whose lives are touched by war, famine, disease and poverty.

In 1998, after averting a major crisis in the Middle East through diplomatic means, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan had spoken the following words,

"Never underestimate the power of prayer"

. In his eyes, it was prayer that finally gave any material means the agency to make the world a better place. Prayer is selfless. Prayer is a sacrifice. Prayer is what connects us to those less fortunate than ourselves. Prayer is love and love itself is the ultimate healer.

"Pray for Me Brother" is a song about the emotion that lies at the heart of prayer – the emotion of love. It re-instills our faith in love’s power to heal and reminds us that that there are those in this world who need of our gestures of healing and comfort.

The film is set primarily in Los Angeles, USA, where progress and plenitude abound. Lives and lifestyles there stand in stark contrast to those parts of the world where pain and suffering abound. The film attempts to bring these two worlds together through its story and in doing so depicts the dawning of a particular realization on its protagonist – that he need not wait for a reason to show kindness, that now was the time for him to offer a healing prayer to his brothers and sisters in need across the world.

Music Video Credits
Song by A.R.Rahman
Film by Bharatbala
Singers A.R.Rahman, Blaze
Dancer Cassel Dixion Jr
Talent Bryan Clark, Adele Jones
Cinematography Mufti Tassaduq Hussain
Camera Assistant Christopher Chambers
Line Producer Anglea Sostre
Director’s Assistants Vasant Nath, Suny Behar
Production Co-Ordinator Joel Henry
Costume Designer Samantha Kuester
Make Up Olivia Osborn
Edited by Sylvette Artinian
Online Editor Sumanth Emerson David
Post Production Pixion
Sound Recorded at Panchatan Studio
Photography Credits Corbis Howard Davies, Peter Turnley
Executive Producer Mohan Chopra
Supported by "Nokia India" Alok Mehta, Karan Grover
Conceived & Produced by BharatBala Productions

Magnum
Abbas, Chris Steele-Perkins, Christopher Anderson, Constantine Manos, Ferdinando Scianna, Gilles Peress, Josef Koudelka, Larry Towell, Micha Bar-Am, Miguel Rio Branco, Paul Fusco, Philip Jones Griffiths, Raghu Rai, Robert Capa, Steve Mccurry, Thomas Dworzak, Werner Bischof

Public Interest

chool Chale Hum

Concept
A developing country like India with human resource as its biggest capital needs to inspire its youth to take the country ahead on the road to development and progress. To ensure the growth of a country, its people need to be skilled in their vocations in order to contribute to the process of making a strong country. Education ensures the development of a fine mind that lends itself to a country’s future.

The inspiration to learn comes from the leaders of a nation, people with the vision for the future of an entire people. These leaders make a lasting impression on the children of the country and inspire them to go and soak themselves in knowledge that leads to ‘creativity, thinking and growth’.

Treatment
"Music"
The film is set to a song, ‘School Chale Hum’ that motivates children across the country to run to school every day. Upbeat and alive like the freshness of the morning when they wake up to go to school, the children run to the rhythm of the school bell that beckons them to school. The lyrics of the song explore the process of going to school in the morning and inspire the young mind with what can be achieved there.

"Visual"
As dawn breaks, The Former Prime Minister of India Atal Bihari Vajpayee bids the children of India off to school. Children from all over India get dressed to go to school. The Kashmiri girl glides on the lakes in a shikara towards school, the Ladakhi boys jump over ridges and run down narrow lanes to be there on time. Girls in South India run across green fields while a mother in Rajasthan bids her children goodbye. The look of hope, cheer and excitement at what would come ahead is stamped on all these faces.

The children run to school and arrive just in time for their lessons, their eyes bright with the wonder of new learning, scribbling in their notebooks what is already etched in their minds. As the day progresses, they strive harder and work energetically to become the dependable shoulders on whom the country shall rest in the future. Finally, after a hard day’s work, they listen to Former President of India Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam about why they go to school and deliver his message to everybody along with him.

Film Credits:
Music Composed By: Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy
Lyrics By: Mehboob

Khadi

"Khadi", the fabric of freedom is a film that pays tribute to the movement of self- empowerment of the people of India that swept the country during the Indian struggle for Independence. Conceptualised and executed by the father of the nation Mahatma Gandhi, the Khadi movement was a unique idea, India’s gift to the world as a means to resolve disputes.

Khadi showcases the power of the Charkha and an economic revolution for independence that had an impact on the entire nation, as well as the rest of the world. The film is Kanika Myer’s tribute to a unique idea, a people and a country.

Ability Film

The film features a beautiful, intelligent girl who is hearing impaired since birth. She holds a diploma in Computer Applications and is employed as a computer operator. Her ability to fulfill her dreams and her determined spirit is the lesson she gives to the world.

The film has been directed by Kanika Myer under the label Ka, an affiliate of Bharatbala Productions for Ability Foundation, Chennai. On World Disability Day, the film recognizes the fact that every individual has some gift or special ability. By keeping one’s mind open and reaching out to those who are disabled, we can tap these hidden gifts within them.

Man of the Century Series-Sabarmati Ashram

Concept
The 20th century saw unprecedented war and destruction in the name of freedom, liberty and independence. It also saw the tireless and indefatigable pursuit of peace amongst nations by some truly remarkable men and women, visionaries who left an indelible stamp on the future of the world. Sabarmati Ashram is a tribute to one, and perhaps acknowledged as the greatest amongst those visionaries for peace who found an alternative route to freedom. Mahatma Gandhi, the father of Modern India and a World Peace leader.

Sabarmati Ashram was unique in concept for it broke away from traditional notions of carving out space for living for individuals and changed the relationships between them in remarkable ways. It provided a real model for living that was simple, egalitarian and far ahead of its times. It was the symbol of Gandhian philosophy.

Treatment
Both audio and video capture different aspects of Gandhi’s entire body of work for peace. The music resonates of the familiar faith in one god, several names. To lyrics that beseech the gods of different religions in India, wondering why human beings do not have hearts as large as their faith does, the camera travels through Sabarmati Ashram. This is the place where Gandhi lived and practiced the simple life he believed would make all Indians self-sufficient.

The camera walks through the place that during Gandhi’s life and even after his untimely death represented the achievable reality of his beliefs and ideas. The film captures the essence of his work for the true emancipation of humankind.

Film CreditsMusic By: A.R. Rahman
Song in the background is “Ishwar Allah” from Deepa Mehta’s “1947 – Earth”.
Music released on T-Series