Sanskrit cinema

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Sanskrit cinema is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in Sanskrit language, with only 30 films made since 1983 and no separate industry for Sanskrit films.

## History

[edit]

The first Sanskrit film ever made was Adi Shankaracharya in 1983 by G.V. Iyer. At the 31st National Film Awards, it won four awards, including Best Film, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography and Best Audiography.[1][2]

The second film was Bhagavad Gita in 1992, again by G.V. Iyer. The film won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film at the 40th National awards for 1992. The next film made was in 2015, after a gap of 22 years.[3]

From 2015 to 2017, 4 Sanskrit films were made in Kerala, India. Priyamanasam was the 3rd Sanskrit film and the first Sanskrit film from Kerala. The film won the award for 'Best Feature film in Sanskrit' at the 63rd National awards. The film was screened at the 46th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa in 2015. Ishti made in 2016 was the first Sanskrit film based on a social issue. The film was screened at the 47th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa in 2016, in the panorama section.[4][5]

Suryakantha is the fifth Sanskrit film and the third one made in Kerala. It is the first Sanskrit film on contemporary life.[6] The film won 'Special Jury award' in Kerala Film Critics Associations awards, 2017.

Anurakthi is the first Sanskrit 3D film with a song in the film picturised in 3D format. That also made Anurakthi the first Sanskrit film to have a song in it.[7] The film was screened at the 48th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa in 2017.[8][9]

Pratikriti is the first commercial film in Sanskrit.[10] This is written and directed by Dr. Nidheesh Gopi.[10]

Punyakoti is the first animated film in Sanskrit.[11]

Madhurasmitham World's First children's Sanskrit film. Directed by sureshgayathri 2019.[12][13] Madhurasmitham won the Travancore International Award for Best Film.

Namo screened at IFFI in 2021 and its story resolve around friendship between Sudama and Sri Krishna.[14]

## List of Sanskrit films

[edit]

Year  | Title  | Director  | Notes

|
|
|

1983  | Adi Shankaracharya | G.V. Iyer | First Sanskrit feature film.
Won 4 national awards, including Best Feature film.
1993  | Bhagavad Gita | Won national awards for Best Feature film.
2015  | Priyamanasam | Vinod Mankara  | Won national award for Best Feature film in Sanskrit.
Screened at the 46th edition of International Film Festival of India (IFFI).
2016  | Ishti | G. Prabha | Opening film of the feature section of the Indian Panorama section at the 47th edition of IFFI.
2017  | Suryakantha | M. Surendran  | Won 'Special Jury award' at Kerala Film Critics Associations awards, 2017
Anurakthi | P. K. Ashokan  | First 3D Sanskrit film.
First Sanskrit film with a song.
Screened at the 48th International Film Festival of India (IFFI)
2019  | Madhurasmitham | Suresh Gayathri  | World's First Children's Sanskrit Film[15]
2020  | Punyakoti | Ravi Shankar V  | First Sanskrit animation film.[16]
Agochararnavah | Poornima R Iyer  | [17][18]
2021  | Pratikriti | Dr.Nidheesh Gopi  | First Commercial Sanskrit film, premiered on Firstshows OTT platform.[19][10][20]
Namo | Vijeesh Mani  | Screened at 51st International Film Festival of India Indian panorama section[21][22][14]
Samasyah | Shibu Kumaranallur  | Environmental film, released on Neestream OTT. [23][24][25]
Shaakuntalam | Dushyant Shridhar  | A film based on story of Shakuntala and King Bharat. [26]
2022  | Madhubhashitham | Suresh Gayathri  | Movie shot in 48 hours.[27]
Bhagavadajjukam | Yadu Vijayakrishnan  | Adaptation of the 7th century play of the same name. Selected for Indian Panorama at 52nd International Film Festival of India. [28]
Ekachakram | K. Suchendra Prasad  | Based on the works of N. Ranganatha Sharma, produced by Voicing Silence, an international platform for meaningful cinema.[29]
Taya | G. Prabha  | Screened at various International Film festivals and national film festivals film festivals including Pune, Kolkata, Bangalore, Delhi. [30][31]
2023  | Dharmayodha | Sruthi Simon  | First Sanskrit film by a woman director.[32][33]
2024  | Ekaki | Prasad Parappuram,

Fr John Puthuva, Ayyampuzha Harikumar

| First Sanskrit film with only one character.[34][35]
Sloka  | Janardhana Maharshi | Sanskrit film with original story & music.[36]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "31st National Film Awards". India International Film Festival. Archived from the original on 12 November 2013.
2. ^ "31st National Film Awards (PDF)" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 April 2012. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
3. ^ "Sanskrit Cinema: A creative way to revive Sanskrit". www.newsgram.com. 7 July 2015. Archived from the original on 17 November 2017. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
4. ^ "Ishti is the first ever Sanskrit film based on a social issue". iffigoa.org. 23 November 2016. Archived from the original on 8 August 2017. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
5. ^ "First Sanskrit social movie flays Namboothiri practices". The Times of India. 27 January 2017. Archived from the original on 24 May 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
6. ^ "A tale told in Sanskrit". The New Indian Express. 27 April 2017. Archived from the original on 9 September 2022. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
7. ^ Thava Chinthasu | Anurakthi | Sanskrit Movie SONG | Asokan.P.K| Vani Vashishth | Vijith Nambiar |. Manorama Music Songs. 14 May 2018. Archived from the original on 21 September 2022. Retrieved 13 December 2022 - via YouTube.
8. ^ "World's first 3D Sanskrit film screened at IFFI". DD News. Archived from the original on 11 January 2018. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
9. ^ "World's First 3D Sanskrit Film Anurakthi Screened at 2017 IFFI Goa". India.com. 25 November 2017. Archived from the original on 11 January 2018. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
10. ^ a b c "രാജൻ രാഘവൻ സംസ്കൃത ചിത്രത്തിൽ". Pisharody Samajam. 23 August 2021. Archived from the original on 4 July 2022. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
11. ^ "The making of 'Punyakoti', India's first Sanskrit animation film". thenewsminute.com. 20 August 2018. Archived from the original on 21 December 2019. Retrieved 19 August 2018.
12. ^ "Children's film in Sanskrit -- a first; courtesy language buffs". OnManorama. Archived from the original on 10 June 2021. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
13. ^ "About Sgisfsy | Madhurasmitham - Sgi Sanskrit Film Society (Sgisfsi)". Archived from the original on 26 February 2024. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
14. ^ a b "Jayaram looks impressive as Kuchelan in the first look poster of 'Namo'". The Times of India. 10 January 2020. Archived from the original on 13 January 2020. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
15. ^ Madhurasmitham Film 2020 August 3 imdb retrieved https://m.imdb.com/title/tt14227856/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk Archived 10 June 2021 at the Wayback Machine
16. ^ Kannan, Indira (19 April 2020). "How Punyakoti, Sanskrit's 1st animation film, got made". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 28 April 2020. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
17. ^ Poornima R Iyer [@sankula] (23 August 2020). "New Sanskrit Movie Trailer 2020 "AGOCHARARNAVAH" Please Watch and Bless Us! 🙏 https://t.co/2QW7MGSoXy @blsanthosh @narendramodi @PrakashJavdekar" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 24 August 2022. Retrieved 13 December 2022 - via Twitter.
18. ^ "AGOCHARARNAVAH". sanskritott.com. Archived from the original on 20 July 2022. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
19. ^ Pratikritih Official Trailer |Nipin Unni |Prasad Mallissery |Dr.Nidheesh Gopi |Devlag Productions. samskritavaikhary. 25 March 2021. Archived from the original on 4 August 2022. Retrieved 13 December 2022 - via YouTube.
20. ^ sandeep_ops. "Pratikriti on Firstshows". Binged. Archived from the original on 26 February 2024. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
21. ^ "'Namo shows how a ruler & a citizen should be': Vijeesh Mani". Archived from the original on 26 February 2024. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
22. ^ sreekumar, priya (27 September 2019). "Namo to speak Sanskrit soon". Deccan Chronicle. Archived from the original on 3 December 2019. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
23. ^ "Neestream releases its first Sanskrit film 'Samasyah'". OnManorama. Archived from the original on 19 August 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
24. ^ Correspondent, Our. "Sanskrit film Samasyah released on NeeStream". Cinestaan. Archived from the original on 19 August 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2021. `{{cite web}}`: `|last=` has generic name (help)
25. ^ "പാരിസ്ഥിതിക അവബോധവുമായി സംസ്കൃത സിനിമ 'സമസ്യാഹ' ഒടിടി റിലീസ്". malayalam.samayam.com (in Malayalam). Archived from the original on 19 August 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
26. ^ "Watch Shakuntalam Movie Online | Buy Rent Shakuntalam On BMS Stream".
27. ^ "Making a move for Sanskrit". The New Indian Express. 19 November 2021. Archived from the original on 11 April 2022. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
28. ^ "Indian Panorama Announces Official Selection for 52nd IFFI, 2021". pib.gov.in. Archived from the original on 26 February 2024. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
29. ^ "This Sanskrit movie has shows sold out in California and has Canada connection as well – HinduTimesCanada". Retrieved 2 January 2025.
30. ^ Nagarajan, Saraswathy (14 June 2021). "G Prabha's second film in Sanskrit, 'Taya', focusses on the landmark trial of Thatri". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 30 November 2022. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
31. ^ "Sanskrit film runs housefull at KIFF". www.telegraphindia.com. Archived from the original on 30 November 2022. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
32. ^ "സംസ്കൃത ഭാഷയിലെ ആദ്യ വനിതാ സംവിധായികയുടെ ചിത്രം വരുന്നു: ധർമ്മയോദ്ധാ" [First woman director's film in Sanskrit comes: Dharma Yoddha...]. manoramaonline.com (in Malayalam). Malayala Manorama. Archived from the original on 22 February 2024. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
33. ^ "സ്വപ്‌നത്തിലേക്കുള്ള യാത്ര" [Journey to the Dream]. Mathrubhumi (in Malayalam). 19 November 2022. Archived from the original on 22 February 2024. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
34. ^ "സംവിധാനം പൊലീസ്‌, വൈദികൻ, അധ്യാപകൻ". Deshabhimani. Retrieved 10 January 2025.
35. ^ "അണിയറയിൽ വൈദികനും പോലീസ് ഉദ്യോഗസ്ഥനും അധ്യാപകനും; ഏകാംഗ സംസ്കൃതസിനിമ ഒരുങ്ങി". Newspaper. 29 December 2024. Retrieved 10 January 2025.
36. ^ "Ragini Dwivedi Announces Her Debut Sanskrit Film 'Sloka'". Times Now. 6 September 2024. Retrieved 13 March 2025.

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