About Fascinating India 3D
India is the primal ground of spirituality for many people – a strange and enticing civilization, thousands-of-years old. It is mythical and mysterious, abundant in ancient traditions in literature, architecture and religion, full of fascinating culture and terrific landscapes. According to an age-old wisdom, this is Paradise, this is the place where man discovers his true self. Here he finally becomes one with the all-embracing cosmos after many cycles of life.
“Fascinating India 3D” presents this strange world with an impressive and powerful photography. Simon Busch, Alexander Sass and their small crew traveled for months through the north of the Indian subcontinent. They intentionally avoided filming tourist attractions; but rather captured and artistically portrayed this large and diverse land. They wanted to discover what is hidden under India’s exotic and enigmatic surface, and to show what is rarely revealed to foreigners.
This was impressively achieved. The film spreads out a panorama of the historical and present India, whose name alone has in the East and in the West always held a secret but enticing image.
The film is not simply a travel report in the classic sense, but is distinctly ambitious both content-wise and aesthetically. By capturing India’s most important cities, royal residences and temple precincts, often part of the UNESCO World Heritage List, the film plunges into the mythical darkness of history. It follows the trail of different religious denominations, which were historically often anything but peaceful but which influence India to the present say. Some of the world’s greatest masterpieces of architecture, art and literature can be attributed to this history.
India is far more than the stereotype of snake charmers, tigers and maharajas – although they of course also appear in “Fascinating India 3D”. The film descriptively shows a variety of facts and facets, presenting India for a broad audience, even for those unfamiliar with the country and its history.
The temple arena in Ranakpur is holy to the Jains, as they are sworn to strict non-violence. Khajuraho is world famous for its unique revealing portrayals of sexuality with a diverse pantheon of nymphs, gods and demons, which are deemed a reflection of the universe. The Taj Mahal is a gem of Indian architecture accepted as one of the most beautiful buildings in the world.
Jaipur, the pink city of the North, containing the famous “Palace of the Winds” with its legendary display of maharaja splendor. Impregnable fortresses, majestically enthroned on mountains and in the desert. Splendid residences such as Udaipur, set picturesquely on a lake, where traditional Hindu and Islamic elements melt. Jodhpur, the “Blue City” of the Brahmins and the fortress Mehrangarh, an enclave of incomparable luxury. Jaisalmer, located in the desert close to the border with Pakistan, famous for its unique havelis, trading mansions of powerful, wealthy merchants – “Fascinating India 3 D” tells the stories that belong to such amazing places, passionate and sentimental, thrilling and yet sometimes cruel.
At the same time, the film deals with the people who live there, whose daily life is not always as picturesque and comfortable as it may appear. The film plunges into the bustle of the bazaars, it presents the inner courtyard of India’s largest mosque, the Jama Masjid, where thousands of believers ritually wash before their prayers and to Varanasi, the most divine city of Hinduism where the dead are burnt to ash. The film crew has captured images that are sometimes shocking yet highly emotional in an unprecedented blunt manner.
This applies to the Kumbh Mela too, the world’s largest religious gathering, taking place once every twelve years, where 35 million people bathe in the holy River Ganges. The overwhelming, breathtaking scenes are shot from cameras not only in the middle of the crowd, and boats alongside, but from a drone circulating over this epic event. Never before was an outsider so near.
“Fascinating India 3D” is not just a movie – this is a movie in 3D. The viewers feel as though they are literally in the center of this hyperrealistic and sometimes graphic scenes. This is a premiere, the first time that India is presented in such an alluring and engaging fashion on the big screen.
Fascinating India 3D
90 min, HD, D 2014
Director: Simon Busch
Written by: Gunar Hochheiden
Camera: Alexander Sass
Production: Busch Media Group
Read the interview with director and producer Simon Busch
