Burning Goddess

From the first day of my research, then shooting, and then at the post-production stage, I always wanted to treat this festival true to its form in my film. I wanted to capture the images just the way people of Kathi looked at it in the last years. As a maker, I tried my best to not invade my personal opinion and the belief of people belonging to Satpuda region while narrating the story of the festival.
At the beginning of the shoot, and after research, it was clear to me that this documentary film is all about visual experience. I shot it in a way that I don't need to feed more information through voiceovers. My focus was to tell this story more through ongoing actions and visuals which I believe is the need of this film itself.
Adivasi communities worship nature and they celebrate nature in every festival and also in day-to-day life. During the making of this documentary, I spent countless hours in the forest tagging along with the villagers. I realized how crucial role nature plays in their life and I started to feel the same. I felt close to nature and more connected. After knowing the culture and behaviour of the Adivasi community, my respect towards them grew ten folds. I lived their life, I walked long distances in the forest, slept under the open sky, ate their food, and made many friends. And, since I have seen this village, the people, their community, and their culture so closely I know the soul of this story.

This documentary is my way to express the gratitude towards the people of Kathi who celebrate and worship nature and are also taking care of it.

Through one hour of this documentary film, I want the audience to feel what I felt, to experience what I experienced. I want to take them on a visual tour of this holy Adivasi festival and witness their celebration and culture.
As a maker of this documentary, I want to bring this story of Kathi people to every other culture in the world to celebrate and protect human society.