THE UPSTREAM STORY “Because Your Question Searches for Deep Meaning, I Shall Answer in Simple Words.”
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RIVERS THE UPSTREAM STORY “Because your question searches for deep meaning, I shall answer in simple words.” Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy The poster shows the dry bed of Banas River in Rajasthan, India. Rising beyond the horizon is the map of Dante Alighieri’s 'Paradise' from the book The Divine Comedy, an introspective spiritual exploration of life. Produced, Written and Directed by Aditya J Patwardhan Outline Rivers dry up not only due to lack of rainfall but also due to congestion of smaller streams, chaotic urbanization, deforestation, and climate change. A civilization too can suffer from a 'drought,' one caused by oppression, disparity, and unsustainable lifestyles. Synopsis Adriana is a refugee from crisis-hit Venezuela, Kankana is an Indian actress working in Hollywood, Suraj is a street cleaner from a slum in Rajasthan, and Ravi is a television news reporter from Jaipur. We journey with them as they travel across India, an ancient civilization struggling with climate change, water crisis, poverty, and hygiene issues. ADRIANA About Adriana Adriana, a Venezuelan national, is forced to stay in India during the 2017 financial crisis of Venezuela, where her own family seeks refuge in Colombia. She joins in as a foreign correspondent with an Indian news channel. Adriana travels across the country with the Rally for Rivers campaign, a pan India water conservation initiative that saw the participation of people from all walks of life. As she witnesses the cross-section of Indian society, she sees a reflection of her own country in it, one that is on the brink of a crisis. “Far from my home in Venezuela, here in India I see the imprints of similar problems.” Adriana “I didn’t know much about her past, or why she was here. But it was something beyond these answers that I wanted.” Ravi KANKANA About Kankana Estranged from her family in India, Kankana now works in Los Angeles as an actress. After landing her first significant role in a film as an Indian classical singer, she visits India to study Indian-Classical music from the revered Guru Pandit Krishna Mohan Bhatt of the Bhatt Gharana of Jaipur. A trip meant for character research ends up becoming an introspective journey. “But only when you have a true home, you will have true freedom. Much as a home in the real word, the root note ”Sa” is important to a musical scale.” Krishna Bhatt “In a rush to conform with the rest of the world, have you ever left someone?” Krishna Bhatt SURAJ About Suraj Suraj is a street sweeper, alienated in a world that is out of his control. He watches with indifference, a system that seems not to work, a nation at war with unemployment, malnutrition, and hygiene issues. Day after day, as he struggles for a livelihood, Suraj journeys through the darkest places the mind can go to, ultimately realizing that beyond its complexity, it's the most straightforward steps for change that may lead to the most profound opportunities for evolution. “All the complex ideologies in the world had failed to address the basic simple problems of food, shelter, and water? Maybe the solution was simple, all along.” Ravi “If the thirst survives long enough, humanity is gone and something else takes its place.” Adriana RAVI About Ravi Ravi is a television content producer at a news channel in a moderately sized city: a caricature of the Middle Class. He has always seen the world just through the 'TV Screens' of his studio, judging it without being involved, as a spectator. That changes when he has to reluctantly go with Adriana, watching his own country through a new perspective, setting aside his skeptical notions. “She reminded me of a river, one that was flowing upstream. Not one without a destination, but one that was looking for its source.” Ravi “Between the liberty of a child, and the bounded mind of a grown-up, what do you see?” Adriana SADHGURU About Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev Someone calls him Guru, someone calls him a preacher, but we see this one man, as he drives across the country for a cause that is bigger than an individual, a state, or a Civilization. Headed by Sadhguru, we follow Isha Foundation's Rally for Rivers campaign, a pan India river water conservation initiative aimed to rejuvenate the river systems of the Indian subcontinent. Rally for Rivers received national and international support, from ordinary citizens to politicians and celebrities in India and Hollywood. “Everyone who consumes water, must Rally for Rivers. This is not a protest, but a campaign to raise awareness that the rivers of this nation are dying.” Sadhguru KRISHNA BHATT About Pandit Krishna Mohan Bhatt An aging Sitar maestro who for Kankana is just her music teacher educates her about the value of 'home' akin the 'root' note of a musical scale. Reminiscing the loss of a loved one from long ago, Krishna connects classical music with astronomy, psychological stability, and, ultimately, inner peace. “Home is a peculiar thing. It can be made of walls or it can be a feeling.” Krishna Bhatt ABHIJIT About Abhijit Abhijit is a plant nursery owner and an expert bonsai maker. As he passes on his skills to his son, more often than not, he sees that it is not just trees that can turn into a bonsai. “You have to enjoy the process of bonsai. Starting with the leaves, cutting, wiring...you have to shape your bonsai.” Abhijit MUSIC & BACKGROUND SCORE The soundtrack of Rivers: The Upstream Story has been composed by Gaurav Bhatt, a member of the revered Bhatt Gharana of Jaipur, known for Grammy winner and Padma Bhushan Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt and Sitar Maestro Pandit Krishna Mohan Bhatt. The film has five songs, all made with Indian classical music as their base. Bhor Bhayi, the sunrise song, is a Raga-Mala composed of 8 Ragas meant to be sung in the morning. Aeri Mein To, is a song written in Bhakti- tradition with the theme of Meera Bai’s devotion to Lord Shri Krishna. Banjare Khwabon Ke Gaon, Isi Maati Ka Bana, and Roshiniya are indo-western fusion songs highlighting the universal theme of the film. The soundtracks also feature solo and ensemble Sitar performances from Pandit Krishna Mohan Bhatt and Pandit Chandra Mohan Bhatt. Apart from this, the film features the instrumental track Dance of Dunes, composed by the Sounds of Isha (Music team of the Isha Foundation), who have composed the track specifically as an ode to the grand Gharapuri Temple (Elephanta Caves, Mumbai) and Ellora Temple (Ajanta and Ellora Caves, Aurangabad). Also, taking a cue from Indian Classical music and blending it with popular Hollywood music genres, guitarist and composer Amit Jain from Mumbai, composed the background score, thereby giving the film a unified musical theme. DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT Director's Statement Writing and Directing 'Rivers: The Upstream Story' was a unique experience because this film is a blend of fictional narrative with a non-fictional backdrop that looks at the world through a civilizational lens, following a variety of characters. Suraj is a street sweeper from Jaipur, alienated in a world that is out of his control. Adriana is a refugee from crisis-hit Venezuela, who travels across India with the Rally for Rivers campaign. Abhijit is a bonsai-maker from Jaipur whose estranged daughter Kankana is an actress in Los Angeles who visits India to study Indian-Classical Music. Ravi is a television journalist from Jaipur who travels reluctantly with Adriana, watching his country through a new perspective. Krishna Mohan Bhatt is Kankana's music teacher, an aging maestro, with life lessons that find their origin in the simple concepts of music. Sadhguru, who is the founder of the Isha Foundation, initiates the Rally for Rivers campaign, bringing together politicians, celebrities, and civilians on one platform so that they can set their differences aside and solve the problem at hand i.e. river water depletion and environmental crisis. Together these characters live out the film's central theme: The idea of a home or its lack thereof. The absence of a 'Home' is a peculiar thing. It can be concerned with walls and people, or it can be a feeling of surety and stable footing. For Adriana, it is the knowledge that she cannot return to her family in Venezuela. For Kankana, it is the hidden fact that she is estranged from her family, seeking solace in the glittering life of a performer. For Suraj, it is the absence of a real sense of belonging with anything that he sees around him. For Ravi, it is the objective perspective that never lets him get involved in anything. For a River, it is the choking of streams, and urbanization causes it to dry up before meeting the ocean. And finally, for the society, it is the economic disparity, unsustainable lifestyle, and climate change, that throws it off balance. With a wide range of characters, locations, stories, and ideas, the best method to visually narrate this film was to make its fictional narrative presented in a hybrid documentary format. While Krishna Mohan Bhatt and Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev play themselves in the film, Suraj, Abhijit, Kankana, Adriana, and Ravi are fictional characters. To summarize, I would say that rivers dry up not only due to lack of rainfall but also due to congestion of smaller streams, chaotic urbanization, deforestation, and climate change. A civilization too can suffer from a 'drought', one caused by oppression, economic disparity, and unsustainable lifestyles. I hope this film can be a way or a nudge for the viewers towards the place called 'Home'.