Sanskrit Cinema is a part of
Indian cinema
The Cinema of India consists of motion pictures produced in India, which had a large effect on world cinema since the late 20th century. Major centers of film production across the country include Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, ...
. Only 15 films have been made in
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
have been made so far since 1983. There is no separate industry set for Sanskrit films.
History
The first Sanskrit film ever made was
Adi Shankaracharya
Adi Shankara ("first Shankara," to distinguish him from other Shankaras)(8th cent. CE), also called Adi Shankaracharya ( sa, आदि शङ्कर, आदि शङ्कराचार्य, Ādi Śaṅkarācāryaḥ, lit=First Shanka ...
in 1983 by
G.V. Iyer. At the
31st National Film Awards
The 31st National Film Awards, presented by Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India to felicitate the best of Indian Cinema released in the year 1983. Ceremony took place in Jun ...
, it won four awards, including
Best Film
This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards.
Best Actor/Best Actress
*See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...
,
Best Screenplay,
Best Cinematography and
Best Audiography.
The second film was
Bhagavad Gita in 1992, again by G.V. Iyer. The film won the
National Film Award for Best Feature Film
The National Award for Best Feature Film is one of the categories in the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in India. It is one of se ...
at the 40th National awards for 1992. The next film made was in 2015, after a gap of 22 years.
From 2015 to 2017, 4 Sanskrit films were made in
Kerala
Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...
, India.
Priyamanasam was the 3rd Sanskrit film and the first Sanskrit film from Kerala. The film won the award for 'Best Feature film in Sanskrit' at the 63rd National awards. The film was screened at the 46th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa in 2015.
Ishti
An ishti in Hinduism is a series of oblations to different deities
A deity or god is a supernatural being who is considered divine or sacred. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines deity as a god or goddess, or anything revered as divin ...
made in 2016 was the first Sanskrit film based on a social issue. The film was screened at the 47th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa in 2016, in the panorama section.
Suryakantha is the fifth Sanskrit film and the third one made in Kerala. It is the first Sanskrit film on contemporary life. The film won 'Special Jury award' in Kerala Film Critics Associations awards, 2017.
Anurakthi is the first Sanskrit 3D film with a song in the film picturised in 3D format. That also made Anurakthi the first Sanskrit film to have a song in it. The film was screened at the 48th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa in 2017.
Pratikriti is the first Commercial film in Sanskrit.
This is written and directed by Dr. Nidheesh Gopi.
is the first animated film in Sanskrit.
Madhurasmitham World's First children's Sanskrit film. Directed by sureshgayathri 2019.
Madhurasmitham won the Travancore International Award for Best Film.
''Namo'' screened at IFFI in 2021 and its story resolve around friendship between
Sudama and Sri Krishna.
List of Sanskrit films
References
{{World cinema
Cinema of Karnataka
Cinema of Kerala
Cinema by language of India
Mass media in Sanskrit
Sanskrit revival