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Elixir of immortality

The young dancer Maya faces the challenge of playing the role of Mohini Murti — the Almighty in His enchanting female form, the very embodiment of beauty. Maya fails, she cannot convey the nature of the goddess. At the same time, the charming face of Mohini Murti eludes the painter’s view. He cannot complete his painting which is to depict the gods and demons awaiting Mohini Murti's decision. According to the legend, Mohini Murti was to prevail over the opponents and share between them the nectar of immortality, obtained by them while churning the Universal Ocean. The artist is plagued by visions, and he soon no longer knows where dream ends and reality begins. The appearance of a wandering stranger helps the dancer and the artist to gain access to the mystery, and it manifests itself in the arts with full force. Maya achieves success in her dance, and the artist is able to complete his painting.

  • Stanislav Aistov
    Director
  • Stanislav Aistov, Dmitriy Kartashev
    Writer
  • Stanislav Aistov
    Producer
  • Viktor Aistov
    Producer
  • George Aistov
    Producer
  • Aiswarya Behera
    Key Cast
    "Maya"
  • Rayairath Unnikrishnan
    Key Cast
    "keeper of the lighthouse"
  • M.Shridhara Maharana
    Key Cast
    "temple priest and artist"
  • Sarvan Kumar
    Key Cast
    "antique book shopekeeper"
  • Tej Sankhala
    Key Cast
    "boy with treasure"
  • Patitpavan Praharaj
    Key Cast
    "Guruji (dance master)"
  • Anusaya
    Key Cast
    "Mohini Murti spirit"
  • Project Type:
    Feature
  • Genres:
    Art House, internationa, special interest, parable, allegory, animation, feature film, ethnographic, musical cinema, music, dance, painting, poetry, message, legend, meditation, spirit, spiritual, mystical, ndia, culture, human, tolerance, time, immortality, Whitman
  • Runtime:
    49 minutes
  • Country of Origin:
    Russian Federation
  • Country of Filming:
    India
  • Language:
    Hindi
  • Shooting Format:
    RED
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2.35:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Stanislav Aistov

Stanislav Aistov was born on 6 October 1967 in Leningrad, where he graduated from high school. He then studied for four years at the Extramural Direction Department of the Russian State Institute of Performing Arts in St. Petersburg. He went on to learn camera skills in the Moscow Film School (VGIK). Then he left to work in Thailand, where he has collaborated with the production company LivingFilms as a cameraman. There he learned film editing and colour correction. He is currently working on new scripts for upcoming films.

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Director Statement

Through exposure to the art and philosophy of India, my impulse was to create a story that would combine the past and present, the elements of dance and painting, symbolism and mysticism, the sacred wisdom of ancient scriptures, the synthesis of matter and spirit, concepts of time and immortality. The result was a film with elements of a parable, that are epic and meditative and have a questioning intonation. To create a measured rhythm of the film, we used long takes, some scenes were subjected to intra-frame editing. I incorporated few close-ups and details into the film; I preferred to achieve a kind of "monumental visual perspective" with an emphasis on the atmosphere, nature and architecture. The film makes use of the language of signs, symbols and metaphorical sounds to affect the subconscious of the viewer.

Though the story is set in India, I decided not to use classical Indian music for the film - the images are enough to convey the setting. The sounds, tonality and rhythm are intended to create an emotional portrait of the characters - thus a special musical key was chosen. The sounds of a metronome can be heard in the background of all the musical parts. They are to emphasise the transience of Time.