''Sri Ramakrishna Darshanam'' is a 2012
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, nati ...
-language
biographical film
A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of a non-fictional or historically-based person or people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from docud ...
based on the life and philosophy of 19th century
Bengal
Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...
i mystic saint
Ramakrishna
Ramakrishna Paramahansa ( bn, রামকৃষ্ণ পরমহংস, Ramôkṛṣṇo Pôromohôṅso; , 18 February 1836 – 16 August 1886),——— — also spelled Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, born Gadadhar Chattopadhyaya,, was an In ...
. The film was directed by G N Dass produced by G.N.D. Vision International Private Limited. The film had screened in
Chennai
Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of ...
before being shared 17 August as a part of the 150th anniversary of the birth of
Swami Vivekananda
Swami Vivekananda (; ; 12 January 1863 – 4 July 1902), born Narendranath Datta (), was an Indian Hindu monk, philosopher, author, religious teacher, and the chief disciple of the Indian mystic Ramakrishna. He was a key figure in the intro ...
.
Synopsis
The film attempts to cover the entire eventful life of Ramakrishna. It starts with the birth of Ramakrishna (Gadadhar Chattopadhyay) at
Kamarpukur
Kamarpukur is a village in the Goghat II CD block in the Arambag subdivision of the Hooghly District in West Bengal state of India. It is the birthplace of Sri Ramakrishna. It is the block headquarters of the Goghat –II community develo ...
,
Hooghly and his childhood, but mainly focuses on his spiritual development. Young Gadadhar rejects conventional education system, stops going to school and spends most of the time in studying Indian mythological scriptures such as
Ramayana
The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th to 4th centuries BCE, and later stages e ...
,
Mahabharata
The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the '' Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the K ...
,
Puranas
Purana (; sa, , '; literally meaning "ancient, old"Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature (1995 Edition), Article on Puranas, , page 915) is a vast genre of Indian literature about a wide range of topics, particularly about legends an ...
. He also starts meditating.
In the youth, he comes to Calcutta (now the city is known as
Kolkata
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...
) and gets appointed as the priest of Dakshineswar Kali Temple. Very soon he starts ignoring his responsibilities in the temple and starts concentrating mainly on spiritual practices. He goes to the nearby forest and meditates for days.
Finally Ramakrishna attains fulfilment in his ''
sadhana'' and becomes popular as the mystic saint of Dakshineswar. Many people come to him to learn about spirituality and ''
Bhakti Yoga
Bhakti yoga ( sa, भक्ति योग), also called Bhakti marga (, literally the path of '' Bhakti''), is a spiritual path or spiritual practice within Hinduism focused on loving devotion towards any personal deity.Karen Pechelis (2014) ...
''. He meets
Narendranath Datta
Swami Vivekananda (; ; 12 January 1863 – 4 July 1902), born Narendranath Datta (), was an Indian Hindu monk, philosopher, author, religious teacher, and the chief disciple of the Indian mystic Ramakrishna. He was a key figure in the introd ...
too whom he prepares to dedicate himself for the welfare of humanity. Ramakrishna develops throat cancer, but he continues to preach and attend his devotees, neglecting his health till his death.
Cast
*
Vicnesh as Ramakrishna as a child
*
Sashikumar as
Ramakrishna
Ramakrishna Paramahansa ( bn, রামকৃষ্ণ পরমহংস, Ramôkṛṣṇo Pôromohôṅso; , 18 February 1836 – 16 August 1886),——— — also spelled Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, born Gadadhar Chattopadhyaya,, was an In ...
*
Delhi Ganesh
Delhi Ganesh is an Indian actor who mostly acts in supporting roles in Tamil cinema and serials. He has acted in more than 400 films from 1976 to present. Before films, he was a member of the Delhi-based theatre troupe, ''Dakshina Bharata Nat ...
*
Ravindranath
*
Suraj
* Lakshmi
*
Uma
Parvati ( sa, पार्वती, ), Uma ( sa, उमा, ) or Gauri ( sa, गौरी, ) is the Hindu goddess of power, energy, nourishment, harmony, love, beauty, devotion, and motherhood. She is a physical representation of Mahadevi i ...
Production
The film was directed and produced by G N Dass, a 74-year-old Singaporean, under his banner G.N.D. Vision International Private Limited. Dass stated the film "is not a commercial movie" and that "a film covering the entire life of Sri Ramakrishna, right from his childhood, was never made before" and that's why they decided to make this movie to spread the vision and teachings of Ramakrishna.
Release
The film released in Tamil (original) and Hindi language (dubbed) on 17 August 2012 and was shown in Singapore and India. The film was released as a part of the 150th anniversary of the birth of
Swami Vivekananda
Swami Vivekananda (; ; 12 January 1863 – 4 July 1902), born Narendranath Datta (), was an Indian Hindu monk, philosopher, author, religious teacher, and the chief disciple of the Indian mystic Ramakrishna. He was a key figure in the intro ...
and marked the anniversary celebration in Singapore.
On 24 November 2012 the film was screened at University Cultural Center in Singapore where Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore
Tharman Shanmugaratnam
Tharman Shanmugaratnam ( Tamil: தர்மன் சண்முகரத்தினம்; born 25 February 1957) is a Singaporean politician and economist who has been serving as Senior Minister of Singapore since 2019 and has also been ...
watched the film.
Reception
The film was released as a part of the 150th anniversary of the birth of
Swami Vivekananda
Swami Vivekananda (; ; 12 January 1863 – 4 July 1902), born Narendranath Datta (), was an Indian Hindu monk, philosopher, author, religious teacher, and the chief disciple of the Indian mystic Ramakrishna. He was a key figure in the intro ...
and marked the anniversary celebration in Singapore.
Upon release the film received mixed and mainly positive reviews. Indian newspaper ''
The Times of India
''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English language, English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the List of newspapers in India by circulation, t ...
'' rated the movie 3 out of 5 stars and commented the film was interesting, though the director had nothing new to offer. They told the acting in the film was satisfactory and Sashikumar's acting was "okay". They concluded their review with "if what you are looking to get a brief account of the mystic's life, this one is eminently recommended.".
References
Citations
Sources
*
{{Swami Vivekananda
2012 films
2010s Tamil-language films
Indian biographical films
Singaporean drama films