Shekhar Kapur making short film on Buddha’s enlightenment

Shekhar Kapur has embarked on a quest to sneak into Lord Buddha’s mind when he attained enlightenment, with his camera.

The filmmaker says he is making a short film on what went in the mind of Buddha at the time of awakening in a more virtual and immersive space.

“I want to make a film on what actually happened to Buddha at the time of enlightenment. So, I’m trying to make a 13-14 minute film on it. I’m trying to give the audience a feeling of what could have happened in his mind, how he saw the world, how the world changed when he was going through enlightenment,” Kapur said on the sidelines of Film Bazaar here on Monday.

The period of enlightenment in Buddha’s life was when he distanced himself from all the materialistic things and luxuries of life as a king and tried to find true meaning of life.

The director, best known for his award-winning films like “Masoom”, “Mr. India”, “Bandit Queen” and “Elizabeth”, delved into detail about the project while addressing a session “VR Technology & New Film Narratives” at the film market.

Beaming with joy while explaining the project, Kapur said that the new virtual reality technology will enable audience to “enter Buddha’s mind, look around it, look through his eyes and come back. It will give audience an immersive experience and they can decide how they want to see it”.

He added that the project was in his mind for long.

“I wanted to make a three-hour long film on him and suddenly I have found a way to use virtual reality to go into Buddha’s mind. I may not be right but that is my interpretation of what might happen if you experience enlightenment,” Kapur said.

What’s the status of the project? Kapur shared that he is already in talks with a couple of writers.

Inputs by IANS