Upanishads, the age-old sacred texts depicting the philosophical attitudes of humanity, are to come alive on screen and the mega-serial project is to be handled by film-maker Shaji N Karun.

Noted artistes and technicians from Hollywood, Bollywood and South India are associating with the project, tentatively named 'Upanishad Dhara'.

The shooting is slated to begin in 2008.

"Discussions are on with many eminent personalities in the filmdom who have evinced keen interest in the project, the internationally acclaimed film maker told PTI here.

Shaji, renowned for his debut film 'Piravi' (1988), considers the Upanishads as the "nucleus of beauty and wisdom." He got inspiration for the project from Swami Sandeep Chaithanya, Director of the School of Bhagavat Geeta.

To be shot in 35 mm film format for preservation, the series, running into more than 100 episodes (108 episodes are being planned now), would be beamed by a national channel.

Shaji has his own ideas about how to interpret the Upanishads of sages in the visual form without losing their philosophical content. "The beauty is gone if we lose the clarity and sublimity of the Upanishad philosophy. Nothing we show on screen should be allowed to be seen as ordinary."

Shaji hopes that with visual support, the content and meaning of Upanishads would be taken to a higher level. "At a time when cinema has been reduced to the ordinary, we will be gratified if the project raised the level of thought of viewers to an extent," Shaji said.

Earlier, cinematic art aimed to take students to the level of teachers. Now teachers were being made to stoop to the leve of students, depriving us of true academicians, Shaji said.

"This will not happen in the Upanishad project. It should contain elements to raise the level of thought which requires huge effort," he said.

Shaji said the promoters of the project were least worried about the prospects of profit or loss from the project. Cost of the project is initially estimated at Rs 25 crore, but more funds would be required. "It is no big money as we have a feeling that the project is for human virtue."

Research work for the project is being done by a team of experts and would take at least one year. The cast for the series of films have not been fixed. However, several locations have been identified for shooting.

"We are not looking for any star to portray a character in the series, but the series may throw up a star," he said.

Episodes would be shot by different directors, with Shaji overseeing the visual element in each part.

Shaji is to focus on the universality of the philosophical thoughts contained in the Upanishads. He is certain that the project would be universally accepted as "thoughts and beauty have no boundaries."

source:HINDU