CHRISTAAYAN FILM, REVIEW

CHRISTAAYAN Film Review

As the Biblical Coordinator of INE, I would like to congratulate Fr. George Kannanayil SVD, his staff, INC Provincial and Province, other Indian Provinces and all the artistes of the recently released film “Christaayan”.

I was really impressed by the creative way of presenting Christ and his message in the Indian setting. Many of the episodes are really mind capturing. The dialogue has a beautiful and captivating Hindi language with many meaningful and humorous Hindi expressions or sayings. All the characters have acted beautifully, including the amateur actor/actresses belonging to the SVD and the SSpS. The film is very devotional with a touching flavour of Indian spirituality. The human and divine aspects of Jesus are well portrayed. But, the human side of Jesus is more touching even to a villager. I liked the fact that His divinity is not glamorized like a “Superman” or “Shaktiman”. I am terribly impressed by the lyrics and tune of songs which are either highly devotional or culturally appealing (such as the lullaby). A dance-song during the festival of light, in which various cultures of India are fused into one song, is a masterpiece of socio-cultural blending we find in Indian religions.  What a trouble the producer must have taken to go to so many parts of India to create this wonderful symphony.

I can very well imagine the amount of hard work, efforts, innovation and creative imagination which has gone into its production. Fr. George Kannanayil and his team deserve our congratulations and kudos. Also, the INC Provincial and Province deserve our special appreciation (since they shouldered the major responsibility) for making such a valuable contribution for the cause of evangelization in India. I feel, after a long time, Indian SVDs have produced something highly valuable for the Church in India and have made a distinctive contribution by way of presenting Christ to the people of India in their own cultural/spiritual setting. I hope it will be dubbed in other Indian languages and a shorter version (different from the premier version) be made for people who can’t watch for 6 hrs.

After mentioning my genuine appreciation for such a hard work, let me mention some of the observations which I have made. This is not a criticism at all, but a clarification in order to understand the reasons behind certain depictions in the film. It is mentioned that the film, though a fictional representation of Christ and his message, is based on historical facts. Even though, many of the plots and settings are fictional (which is ok), it is made clear that it is not a totally fictional film. In fact most of the sayings of Christ are directly lifted from Camil Bulke’s version of Hindi Bible. Hence, for an ordinary viewer there is confusion about how much of it is fictional and how much is factual (historical). How will the viewers make out? There is a possibility of taking what is fictional as factual, especially by the Christian laity. It is good to know the producer’s mind about this.

Secondly, I admit, since it is a partially fictional presentation, it is understood that some colouring to the plot and dialogue needs to be composed (like the prodigal son having a mother and sister also). That is ok. But deviation from certain basic features that go against the mind of Christ could have been avoided, I feel. What come to my mind immediately are the following examples:

(1)   The elder son of the parable of the Prodigal Son, getting converted and asking pardon from his younger brother and joining the party thrown by his father on his return is contrary to the mind of Christ. Here in our Region when lay people put up role-plays on this story and do the same, I normally object to it. Christ (or the evangelist) has left that story unended purposely. It is not mentioned that the elder brother changed his mind and came in. The elder brother in that story, who represents the Pharisees, also seems to be lost while still at home. It is possible that such brothers do not get converted easily. This would have been more realistic as per our experience also both in social and religious circles.

(2)   Secondly, I was surprised to see Judas asking mercy and pardon from God before committing suicide. Judas was a disciple who joined the team with ulterior motives. He remained hardhearted till the end in spite of the repeated appeals (knocking at his heart) by Jesus. 

(3)   Thirdly, showing the repentance and conversion of Jewish religious leaders who plotted to kill Jesus, except the High Priest, after the resurrection of Christ, is also not that realistic. Such people do not dramatically get converted. Did the producer want to say that such people also can get converted? If yes, fair enough. But looks too idealistic! It is also contrary to history of the early Church, I suppose. Again, if it is fictional, a question arises which is actual and which is fictional.

Hence, it is possible that the producer had different intention or purpose to depict these characters in this manner. Honestly, I am very interested to know his intention so that I can learn other ways of understanding and presenting the message of the Gospel.

Once again, hearty CONGRATULATIONS!

Fr. Freddie Santhumayor, SVD

Biblical Coordinator, INE