Private Project

THE LORD OF THE UNIVERSE.

In the mystical land of India, where faith intertwines with the fabric of life, a belief in the eternal cycle of rebirth pervades the culture. This belief finds its embodiment in Lord Jagannath, in the ancient city of Puri, located in the state of Odisha. Here, the timeless spectacle of death and rebirth unfolds through the vibrant tradition of Lord Jagannath.
The idols of Lord Jagannath and his divine entourage are crafted from sacred Neem wood, which is bound to decay. Just as mortal bodies succumb to the passage of time, these divine forms too require renewal. This sacred process is known as "Nabakalebara." It involves a critical and extensive process of replacing the idols at intervals ranging from 12 to 19 years. Therefore, the occurrence of Nabakalebara is rare and as per the Indian lunar calendar, when an intercalary month added in the month of Asadha then only Nabakalebara ritual can occurs.
This film delves into the grand celebration of Nabakalebara, witnessing the magnificent rituals of divine transformation. It illuminates the depth of human understanding about the universal truths of existence and the belief in the cyclical nature of life, where even gods themselves undergo the transformative change of mortality and resurrection.

  • Shibu Prusty
    Director
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    47 minutes 20 seconds
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital, HD
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Shibu Prusty

Shibu Prusty is an Indian filmmaker and cinematographer, who is a recipient of the National Film Award 2016 for his film ‘THE LORD OF THE UNIVERSE’ as Best Arts / Cultural Film from the honorable President of India.
Shibu's artistic inclination started in his childhood through his father's paintings, inspiring him to pursue painting as a hobby. However, his fascination shifted towards filmmaking during his Marine engineering studies, leading him to leave engineering and enroll in cinematography at BPFTIO, Cuttack (2000-03).
After completing cinematography studies, he initiated his career in the Mumbai film industry in 2003. Over the span of approximately 15 years, he worked with prominent production houses including Aamir Khan Productions, Azmi Pictures, Rajlaxmi Film Productions, Square Peg, Tale-smith, BBC India, and others. He has been associated with 11 feature films, numerous short films, around 40 TV commercials, various documentaries, corporate films, and TV shows such as 'Satyamev Jayate’.
Notably, as a director, his previous film was 'THE MOTHERLAND' (61 min.), which was selected at prestigious film festivals including the Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF-2020), Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF-2018), and Jaipur International Film Festival (JIFF-2018), etc.
Along with filmmaking pursuits, he completed his Master's degree in journalism and mass communication in 2011. Now he is pursuing his Ph.D. in the Department of Humanities at IIST.
Presently, working for ISRO at Space Application Centre, Ahmedabad.

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Director Statement

I believe good cinema is always resonates with the reality and ignites the imagination of the audience. This film delves into the profound concept, ‘Nothing is ever truly created or destroyed; instead, physical forms continuously transform from one state to another. This phenomenon is not only the essence of this film but also a reflection of the entire universe.
To me, fiction represents the illusion of reality, while a documentary serves as an interpretation of reality. Since my childhood, I have been captivated by the notions of birth and death. Even during my student years, I explored this theme through a photo feature titled 'Finite within the Infinite,' which is based on human life.
When I realize this universal play of death and rebirth is reflecting in the culture of Lord Jagannath. I thought the whole world should know about it.
However, to convey this idea was very challenging due to the restrictions on camera inside the Jagannath temple. The whole film took around 2 years to complete. 6 months for the research, round another 6 months to capturing the whole rituals and took 1 year for script-writing, editing and post productions to complete this film.
Though this film speaks about the great culture of Lord Jagannath, so lots of responsibility was there to make it unquestionable and simultaneously making it engaging. So I had verified my script with the experts, took feed backs and re-edited the film many times to get a final shape.