Short film traces success of ancient art form Silambam

Virtual Bharat is a 1000-film journey of untold human stories from India spanning people, landscapes, literature, folklore, dance, music, traditions, architecture, and more. 

A brainchild of filmmaker Bharatbala, this project will be a tale of India told person-by-person, story-by-story, and experience by-experience. The recent entry to this prestigious project is a short film titled Silambam that traces the journey of silambam, a 3000-year-old martial art form that has changed with time to become what it is today. 

Chennai-based silambam performer Aishwarya Manivannan walks the viewers through her journey with what is considered to be a masculine sport.

“This is the story of a weapon — one that has made its way from the hands of a defender to those of a dancer. Silambam is a martial art that has travelled across Asia. In this short film, I talk about how the martial art form became a part of my life. One of the reasons why the team approached me is that I am an example of how tradition and modernity can coexist.  That aspect fascinated Bharatbala and he contacted me to be a part of the film. Though silambam is an ancient martial form, it still has relevance in today’s world.  We can learn a lot from this traditional martial form. And I am glad that this film can play a huge role in triggering people’s interest in it,” says Aishwarya.

Aishwarya is also a huge admirer of handloom sarees and in this 7-minute film, the makers have stressed on how we can support handloom weavers as well. “Silambam has never been portrayed and presented in such an aesthetic manner. This is the first time the martial art is being showcased in such a beautiful way. 

Over the past four years, many people, irrespective of gender and age are practicing silambam,” says the international champion.

The music for the film is inspired by lines from the Thirukkural that speak for the power in a woman’s glance. 

“We shot the film for the past two years and released it recently. Since it is lockdown, I have been doing online silambam lecture demonstrations where I teach some easy techniques that can be practiced with whatever sticks available at home like PVC pipes, mop sticks, curtain rods and so on,” she smiles.