Let me tell you the story of storytelling!

Back in the olden days, when kings were asked to learn the sacred teachings of the Vedas, they all got together and requested Brahma to find a more entertaining way for them to remember all the vedic lessons. You see, even gods didn’t like to study much!

So Brahma assigned this duty to Bharat Muni, a sage, who then came up with an entertaining way of teaching the vedic lessons.

He took myths from the Rig Veda, melody from the Sama Veda, gestures from the Yajur Veda, and from the Atharva Veda he drew sentiments. And the culmination that came together was called ‘Natya Shastra’ – the fifth veda

A sacred text that is considered as the foundation of all forms of entertainment as we know them today – films, music, dance, performing arts – as we know them today.

I truly believe entertainment is not the end goal of storytelling; entertainment is a powerful syntax of communication, with the ultimate goal of delivering a profound message to humanity.

A message to introspect, reflect, and finally act!

Films like ‘Taare Zameen Par’ helped us understand the world of a dyslexic child, ‘Sairat’, ‘Jai Bhim’ and ‘Pariyerum Perumal’’ threw light upon the underlying caste discrimination in society, ‘Piku’ redefined the modern, Indian woman for us, ‘Margarita with a straw’ raised relevant questions about women’s disability and sexuality in India and ‘Mandela’ used political satire to help us understand the importance of a vote in a democracy.

I believe films can nourish a society and boost cultural, creative and economic growth. But this is only possible if we can build a solid foundation of great storytelling.