By Pramod Kumar
The mahurat for the two-hour Hindi feature film, titled Param Pujya Dr Hedgewar?Ek Samarpit Jivan, was shot on the RSS Sarsanghchalak, K.S. Sudarshan at RSS headquarters in Nagpur on October 22. Former Deputy Prime Minister, L.K. Advani gave the mahurat clap. Nirvan Peethadhishwar Acharya Mahamandaleshwar Swami Vishwadevanand (Sannyas Ashram, Karnavati) was also present on the occasion. ?I hope the film will present Dr Hedgewar and RSS in the right perspective,? said Shri Sudarshan while giving the mahurat shot.
The film is being produced under the banner of Bharatiya Sanskriti Darshan Sanstha, a Pune based forum that also plans to undertake further projects on matters of Indian heritage. Shri Anna Joshi, former Member of Parliament, is chairman of the project. Shri Vijay Rao Kopare is the working chairman. Senior thinker and scholar, Shri C.P. Bhishikar, Avinash Dharmadhikari, Suresh Kokile, Prashant Shukla, Shailesh Sathe and Smt. Sunandatai Joshi are patrons of the project.
According to Shri Milind Dastane, director-producer of the film, the work on the film'sscreenplay is on and shooting is expected to take off by the year end or early 2005. Shri Dastane plans to release the film by Vijayadashmi 2005. Research work on the film has been on since two years. The story of the film is based on the biography of Dr Hedgewar written by Shri N.H. Palkar and Dr Rakesh Sinha. The dialogues are being written by Shri Suresh Kokile and Shri Satish Pendkar. The budged of the film is estimated at Rs 8 crores and the producer expects to raise the funds from public contributions. Shri Anna Joshi appealed to the people to contribute generously to the project.
The 43-year old Shri Dastane is known for his association with films like Dr Ambedkar, The Legend of Bhagat Singh and The Rising. ?The film deals only with Dr Hedgewar'sideologies, the reasons behind setting up of the RSS and where the organisation finds itself today. There is much about the RSS that is non-political and needs to be clearly understood,? said Shri Dastane. He added, ?If not in these times, this film will be of great value in the years to come simply because it incorporates the views of those who have been associated with Dr Hedgewar.?
It is the first full-length film on the life and works of Dr Hedgewar. A 30-minute documentary?Keshav Sangh Nirmata, was prepared during his birth centenary year in 1989. Shri Yakub Sayeed of the Films Division is also preparing a documentary film on Dr Hedgewar. Lata Mangeshkar has sung songs for this documentary. The cost of the documentary has been borne by the Film Division.
When asked why he had decided to produce a film on Dr Hedgewar, Shri Dastane said, ?This towering personality of great foresight and vision that transcends the barriers of caste and religion has left behind a distinct mark of his own. Undoubtedly amongst the rare gems who strove for the emancipation of India and uplift of humanity, the name of Dr Hedgewar stands foremost. Sadly, most of us, beyond a few bits of information on him, are unaware of his work and vision. We never attempted to know about this beacon light that tried to expel the darkness from our lives, as also, about the innumerable infernos he had to cross. Moreover this great man always shunned limelight and fame. As a result, painfully his message and work could not reach the masses. My endeavour to project the complete life of this great leader through a full-length film, is the outcome of this anguish of my heart.?
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